Why the BIG DEAL about wheel gap?

[StraightOuttaCanadaEh]

I absolutely cannot wait to lower mine. I already bought coilovers and I'm itching to get them on. I don't know if the wheel gap on the 2017 car is taller or what, but the car looks like a monster truck. I was parked next to two lowered twins and my car looked huge as a result, while their looked mean and lean.

[SuperTom]

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh

I absolutely cannot wait to lower mine. I already bought coilovers and I'm itching to get them on. I don't know if the wheel gap on the 2017 car is taller or what, but the car looks like a monster truck. I was parked next to two lowered twins and my car looked huge as a result, while their looked mean and lean.

Agree the first mod I did for my 86 was to get coilovers then painted my wheels. Drastically changes the appearance along with any handling increases. I still see people with big wheels or body kits still riding on stock height and it doesn't look good to me. These cars have a nice natural styling to them with some lowering and nice wheels is usually enough at least to start off with.

[Mr.Impreza]

I found the perfect balance. STI Pink springs. 15mm drop which just add a little bit of a difference in ride height without affecting everyday driving. Really happy with them.

[KnightRyderx2]

The thing that I did not like is how much the wheel is sunken in on stock form. Whenever I looked down the side of the car and see the beautiful waistline of the rear fender then the way the wheel interacted with it was like it had the spare tire on, horrible. Put some spacers so the OEM wheels, fill the wheel wells just a little more and you have a much more aggressive/better looking car. Id much rather get a set of wheels with a good size and offset so I'm not advocating for spacers. I'm mostly saying that Toyota/Subaru could have given the OEM wheels a lower offset and gotten them to fill it out a bit more, maybe a +30 or something.

To me this is how you fix the wheel gap if you dont want to drop the car.

[ImAdopted]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

I found the perfect balance. STI Pink springs. 15mm drop which just add a little bit of a difference in ride height without affecting everyday driving. Really happy with them.

how many fingers could you fit in stock compared to your drop? looks nice and not too low but still noticeable

[SuperTom]

Mr.Impreza looks better. Could probably go another 1/2" down. Also like mentioned a wheel that sits closer to the fender will make it appear visual lower. Or spacers on stock wheels. 20mm front, 25mm rear I used

[Lynxis]

Lowering is mostly an aesthetic thing for me but I also track regularly and wanted the increased performance from a lowered car with stiffer suspension. I only lowered 1 inch so I don't worry about scraping except over the worst speed bumps but I scraped on those at stock height too if I wasn't careful anyways.

I didn't think to do any specific before and after photos when I did my coilovers so I've found 2 photos with the same wheels and close to the same angle, one before coilovers, one after.

Stock


Lowered

[dattran86]

It never bother me much, Life is easier with wheel gap

I can go in any driveway
I dont have to worry about speed bump
No rubbing issues


DSC_0562 by Apex 86, on Flickr

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh

I absolutely cannot wait to lower mine. I already bought coilovers and I'm itching to get them on. I don't know if the wheel gap on the 2017 car is taller or what, but the car looks like a monster truck. I was parked next to two lowered twins and my car looked huge as a result, while their looked mean and lean.

I saw pictures of the concept back in 2009 and then promptly forgot they were even considering making the car. Never saw one on the road and had no clue they were even in production. Fast forward to 2014 and while killing time waiting for my Mitsubishi to be serviced I wandered into the Toyota/Scion dealer next door. They had a Lava and an Ultramarine in the showroom and I immediately fell in love. After I had established that I was interested by climbing all over, under, inside and through the engine bay I asked for a test drive. They said they had a used one out front and we could go for a spin. I walked out and stopped and stared at the used one trying desperately to figure out why it looked so different than the showroom cars and why all of a sudden it didn't look as good. At first I was baffled but then I sat in the car and realized it was much higher than the ones in the showroom. It turned out that both the ones in the showroom were lowered on RSR Superdown springs by the dealer so there was an 1 1/2" difference in height from stock. That drop made all the difference in the appearance of the car.


Oh, and yes I bought the Lava so I literally got the very first actual production version I had ever laid eyes on in either real life or pictures.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by dattran86

It never bother me much, Life is easier with wheel gap

I can go in any driveway
I dont have to worry about speed bump
No rubbing issues


DSC_0562 by Apex 86, on Flickr

Well they is "lowered" and then there is "way too low for your own good".

[nikitopo]

Waiting to install my coilovers and lower the car.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by nikitopo

Waiting to install my coilovers and lower the car.

[ImAdopted]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I saw pictures of the concept back in 2009 and then promptly forgot they were even considering making the car. Never saw one on the road and had no clue they were even in production. Fast forward to 2014 and while killing time waiting for my Mitsubishi to be serviced I wandered into the Toyota/Scion dealer next door. They had a Lava and an Ultramarine in the showroom and I immediately fell in love. After I had established that I was interested by climbing all over, under, inside and through the engine bay I asked for a test drive. They said they had a used one out front and we could go for a spin. I walked out and stopped and stared at the used one trying desperately to figure out why it looked so different than the showroom cars and why all of a sudden it didn't look as good. At first I was baffled but then I sat in the car and realized it was much higher than the ones in the showroom. It turned out that both the ones in the showroom were lowered on RSR Superdown springs by the dealer so there was an 1 1/2" difference in height from stock. That drop made all the difference in the appearance of the car.


Oh, and yes I bought the Lava so I literally got the very first actual production version I had ever laid eyes on in either real life or pictures.

from one canadian to another, the RSR superdowns have not been an issue in the harsh canadian winters for you have they? im trying to decide on RCE yellows, TRD or RSR but my biggest concern is the winters here aha

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by ImAdopted

from one canadian to another, the RSR superdowns have not been an issue in the harsh canadian winters for you have they? im trying to decide on RCE yellows, TRD or RSR but my biggest concern is the winters here aha

None at all. I commute between London an Windsor twice a week and London to Woodstock the other days. Drive it year round through all weather and never had a single regret. Get some good snow tires and you are fine.