Studdog Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 I have a 1998 Legacy Outback with stock 15" wheels. I am looking to replace the tires with some slightly taller and wider BFGoodrich radials. Does any one know if 215 70's or 225 70's would fit? Current tire size is 205 70. I'm not looking to make any modifications. I am just interested in what size tires I can fit on this car with everything else being stock. I have always put taller wider BF Goodrich radial tires on every vehicle I have owned. I like the look and smoother ride. Plus they always seem to do better in the snow. I don't drive alot of "twisties", so I'm not interested in wide low profiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studdog Posted March 19, 2006 Author Share Posted March 19, 2006 I take it know one has ever tried different size tires??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I take it know one has ever tried different size tires??? ill look at my car i think i may have the larger size on my car. I have the BF tires, and they look plenty big on the car nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadbryan Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 i would ask your local tire dealer:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studdog Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 The local Tire shops won't suggest anything other than stock. They say it's for legal reasons. How about your car nipper? What is the size of your current tires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Distance Commuter Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Taller is nice, but - A larger overall diameter will make your speedometer lie to you. What could be worse is that the trooper's radar won't lie to him - so if you believe your lying speedometer you might see twinkling red and blue lights in your rear view mirror. Your actual mpg will improve, though this won't show using your odometer, as it will be lying too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studdog Posted March 22, 2006 Author Share Posted March 22, 2006 Taller is nice, but - A larger overall diameter will make your speedometer lie to you. What could be worse is that the trooper's radar won't lie to him - so if you believe your lying speedometer you might see twinkling red and blue lights in your rear view mirror. Your actual mpg will improve, though this won't show using your odometer, as it will be lying too. I realize that the speedometer and odometer will be off, but it won't be much. I am looking to go from a 205 70 to a 215 or 225 70. I would guess that at 65 the difference would only be very minor and at slower speeds it would be hardly even noticable. I have put taller wider tires on every vehicle I have ever owned and have not had any problems yet. Knock on Wood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 I have a 1998 Legacy Outback with stock 15" wheels. I am looking to replace the tires with some slightly taller and wider BFGoodrich radials. Does any one know if 215 70's or 225 70's would fit? Current tire size is 205 70. I'm not looking to make any modifications. I am just interested in what size tires I can fit on this car with everything else being stock. I have always put taller wider BF Goodrich radial tires on every vehicle I have owned. I like the look and smoother ride. Plus they always seem to do better in the snow. I don't drive alot of "twisties", so I'm not interested in wide low profiles. The limitation may be the rims as much as the fenders. try 'plus 1' sizing your vehicle at www.tirerack.com or emailing Luke there. no connection - just a satisfied customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 i've put different size tires on subaru's. if you currently run 205 70 then 215 70 shouldn't be an issue. one size in either direction will fit on the rim. you can use on-line tire size calculators to figure out what ratio is best to keep overall diameter and speedometer in synch, but the difference will be minimal for the little change you're looking for. be advised too that different brands/model of tire can look much "wider" than others regardless of the official "size". wider is worse in the snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger83 Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 I take it know one has ever tried different size tires???If you look at the suspension, particularly the rear, you'll see that there's precious little extra room. As increasing the tire width .3 or .4 inches doesn't make a significant difference in handling, and might interfere wit hthe suspension and trash a couple tires, 99.5% of Outback drivers buy the stock size. The other 0.5 percent buy the stock size but upgrade to a high performance tire with a stickier tread, and lose some longevity. At significant expense. The speedo might be right or wrong before or after the change. We have GPS's on six different vehicles and all but one speedo reads slow - 2-4 mph at 75. That's 2.5 to 4% or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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