Tall tires for 2011 Impreza Outback Sport?

[SWortham]

Hi everyone. I'm a 2006 STI owner and I just moved to Colorado Springs. I'm thinking about possibly trading in my STI for a new Impreza.

I'm just doing a little research on the 2008-2011 Impreza Outback Sport. I see that it has a 0.4" ground clearance advantage over the non-Outback version (http://www.cars101.com/subaru/impreza/impreza2011.html).

I was just curious if anyone has tested the limits in terms of tire height. It may be a long shot but what about a 205/55/17 tire? Would it rub? That would give an additional 0.4" of ground clearance, putting the total ground clearance at 6.7 inches. That's no Jeep but it's about a full inch more than my STI has, and I'd imagine it would handle some of the dirt roads around here pretty well.

[scuba7183]

FYI, the extra clearance is solely due to 17" wheels and low profile tires, rather than the 16" and normal tires that the 2.5i has. The suspension is the same

[SWortham]

You sure about that? I thought for sure that I read that the suspension was revised.

Plus, the tire sizes for the two cars are as follows:

205/55-16 for regular (24.9 inch diameter)
205/50-17 for Outback Sport (25.1 inch diameter)

That would only account for a 0.1" difference in ride height.

My sources...
http://www.cars101.com/subaru/impreza/impreza2011.html
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

[darkhill240]

i have seen numerous sources that back that up including the brouchure. official word from SOA

[WAGONLOVE]

why the trade?? if its just for more clearance.... dont do it. just buy some spacers... and keep the boost, you will surely miss it.

[DeathSStar]

Or I'll take the STI and you can have my OBS :thumbsup: