//-SCOTT-\\

I'm sure, eventually, I will get to that point, but right now my primary objective is to compete and be competitive in a particular class, so I dont mind the limitations. Thats just part of racing... At this point, I just dont feel that any cost vs. gain for this particular mod is worth it. It would cost over $400 for the parts with on a "hope" of any gain. Thanks for your input... Scott

Thanks for the info......... Yes..I am allowed exhaust mods and do have a gutted stock up-pipe with full turbo back with one high flow cat. It almost seems that its just not a good idea or a waste of money, more or less, to do such mods on a mostly stock car, especially with no boost changes in the map. Scott

I need to know, hopefully from tuners, what gains in throttle response and/or spool up time can I expect, if any, from an intake and/or inlet hose on an Ecutek'd STX legal WRX..... STX legal = no boost alterations I am not expecting actual HP numbers, just response and spool changes, if any. Thanks, Scott

When I re-read everything, I think I agree with both of you. This is why... Your point is just correct. If you could go to a bigger wheel with the same offset and have no rubbing issues then great. However, more often than not, an increase in wheel width may present inherhent rubbing issues. Then, you could take my buddies equations and find a compromisable offset to fit your needs. OR....I'm still misunderstanding something here and causing lots of confusion.

I know this is an important thread and one that may be referred to by others. I, personally, dont agree that the wheel offset number will stay the same. It needs to change as the width changes for various reasons. My buddy explained it best in the write up below, so I'm just going to paste it here for review, etc. Wheel offset: In the 2002 WRX sedan, the stock wheel is 6.5” wide (165.1mm) and has a positive offset of 53mm. That is to say, the wheel- mounting surface is 53mm from the centerline of the wheel in a direction to the outside of the wheel. There has been a mile of threads discussing wheel offset for the WRX and its relationship to different wheel widths. I believe there is some misunderstanding or a lack of conceptualization on the part of applying wheel offset when increasing wheel width. There are two variables to consider when a change of wheel width is contemplated. One variable is clearance of the suspension, the other variable is load displacement over the wheel. Unfortunately, in the extreme, these variables will work against each other. Let’s look at the load displacement variable first. Some simple calculations will show that the stock wheel parameters listed above yield the following results: 82.1% of the load is displaced in a direction toward the inside of the wheel (that is, the car side) and 17.9% of the load is displaced to the outside of the wheel. Presumption one is that the engineers have designed this load displacement criteria as a best possible compromise between wheel bearing life, suspension geometry, handling characteristics and suspension clearance during compression and steering. Taken by itself (that is, load displacement) you would need to simply apply this ratio to any given wheel width. For example, say you want to go to a 7” (177.8mm) wide wheel. To maintain the same load displacement, some simple calculations yield, guess what….a 57mm positive offset. But wait a minute you say, the charts all now finally say that somewhere between 50 and 53mm positive offset is supposed to be optimal for the this width. That’s where I started to investigate why. 57mm is precisely the offset you would need on a 7” wide wheel to maintain the stock load displacement, but heck, all the recommendations were going in the opposite direction…ie from 53mm for 6.5” to maybe 50mm for 7”. So I tested the theory, because I just so happen to own 7” wide OZ Superleggeras. I cut two strips of paper to precise lengths, one 165.1 mm wide and the other 177.8 mm wide. I then precisely marked their centerlines and marked the offsets. Then I laid them against a perpendicular plane ( an imaginary hub ) at their respective offsets. What you will find is that the OZ wheel very closely maintains the inside space of the stock wheel, great for maintaining wheel clearance against the strut under compression and turning, but only 77% of the load is displaced to the inside of the wheel and 23% of the weight to the outside. I won’t ramble on any farther….Conclusion: There is a balance to maintain in increasing wheel width between load displacement (bearing life we keep hearing about) and inside clearance. If one were only to consider bearing life as important, then you would have to subscribe to the 82.1/17.9 ratio theory. Problem with this, is that as you increased width you would rapidly run out of clearance room. If you were only to subscribe to the clearance is important theory, then you would rapidly wear down the wheel bearing as you increased your width. The theories mutually exclude each other. No-one has ever explained this. So I generally question where folks are getting their information and how it was derived. Ultimately, you could learn Japanese and consult a WRX engineer, but skip all that…If you want the best of both worlds you will have to compromise: I have developed a formula that averages both extremes: the results for my version (I’ll call it Optimal Compromise): 7”-52mm offset / 7.5”-51mm offset / 8”-50mm offset. How’s it done: calculate ratio for each theory first. 82.1% theory : Step 1: .821 x wheel width (mm) Step2: Wheel width x .5 Step3: Subtract answer in Step2 from answer in Step1. SpaceMaintenance theory: Step 1:wheel width (mm) – 135.55 mm Step2: wheel width x .5 Step3: Subtract answer in Step 1 from answer in Step2. Then add result for each theory together and divide by two(2)….Voila!

'02 WRX---as seen in the avatar--- Tein HA Coilovers Cusco RSB PDE DP (going in tomorrow) EcuTek reflash in a couple of weeks Stromung catback Rota's with spankin new 225/45/17 MX's (ready to kick rump roast in STX---again---) '03 Baja (Stock) and ready for trade for Tribeca

Just registered and wanted to say hello to everyone. I usually frequent NASIOC and found this site in the latest Subiesport and thought I'd check it out. In Jacksonville Florida, BTW.... Scott