andyb5 Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 I figured this would be a good place to record how I adapted BBS wheels from an 05-07 STi to fit on my 99 R. The wheels themselves are 17"x8" et+53, 5x114.3, centerbore of 56.1mm, and weigh 18 lbs. I bought a set of 5x108 to 5x114.3 adapters secondhand. You can order new ones from a number of different sources; Motorsport Tech would be my preferred choice based upon recommendations from friends and the ability to fully custom-order them to the specs you want. The ones I bought are 19mm thick, and are hubcentric to our hubs (65.1mm) with a final wheel-centric centerbore of 69.1mm The adapters attach to our hubs with M12x1.75 socket head bolts (30mm length) and use M12x1.5 studs for the wheels, making it much easier to find lug nuts. Installed on my car. Make sure to clean any corrosion off the hub prior to installation and always properly torque the bolts that fasten the adapters to the hub. Now, if you custom-ordered adapters that are both hub and wheel-centric you can skip to installing the wheels, but for me, since I bought second-hand adapters, I was stuck with the specs the previous owner ordered. I had to enlarge the STi BBS hub bore (56.1mm) to fit over the centerbore on the adapters (69.1mm) Fortunately, the difference between the two hub bores is 13mm, or 6.5mm per side of the opening. 6.5mm is 1/4" so I ordered a 1/4" rabbeting bit to enlarge the hub bore. Aluminum is a fairly soft metal, and is not hard to machine with basic tools and a bit of patience. Fit the bit into your router, and adjust the depth to ensure the wheel will fit over the lip on the adapters. The rabbeting bit has carbide steel cutting teeth, so it will cut aluminum no problem. You can see the bearing on the bit, it will act as your depth stop to ensure you don't remove more material than is needed (very bad!) Next, spray the bit with WD40 to act as a cutting fluid. Working slowly, move clockwise around the wheels. Remove a small amount of metal at a time, patience is the key here. I don't have any Before After Thoroughly clean all the aluminum off your wheels, and put your tools away. Last but not least, mount and balance your tires: I went with 235/45/17 Hankook Ventus V12s on my wheels. So far I am very happy with them, cornering grip is vastly improved over the Toyo all-seasons that were on my stock wheels, and the ride quality has actually improved relative to the stock wheels/tires. Here's the finished product. et+34 is pretty flush on all 4 fenders, the rears will require rolling of the outer fender lip. The fronts don't rub as badly, I've only experienced a bit of rub under hard braking while turning into a sharp corner. There is no rubbing at full steering lock. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEU Posted September 19, 2013 Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 Good stuff Andy! I didn't realize those BBS wheels were so light... I know a lot of guys that would pay a lot for a clean set of those... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb5 Posted September 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 Yeah they're pretty awesome, can't beat no change in inspiring weight while moving to a larger, wider wheel!My guess is most people in the Subie scene would pay big bucks for a set of 04 STi BBS. Those are 5x100, and fit WRXs, Foresters, etc. and are much more sought after than the 05+ which are 5x114.3. I flipped a set of them this summer, had the wheels sold <4 hrs after buying em *unsprung weight, not "inspiring weight" haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEU Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 The 5x114.3 sell for $$$$ too. I helped a buddy dip his gold wheels black. He's had some good offers, but didn't want to sell them yet or respray them to loose value. I see them for $1000 sometimes on my local NASIOC board. And yes the 5X100 are rarer but when you are neck deep in a WRX or Foz upgrade you usually grab the upgraded STi hubs and brembos along with the wheels... I concure with the light wheels. My 18x8 Ultraleggeras are only 18.4lbs and can TOTALLY feel the difference vs my 16x6.5 Satilites. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfishing31568908306 Posted September 21, 2013 Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 My exact thoughts, I had no idea they were that light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb5 Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Time for an update. I recently installed a pair of 996 Turbo 4-piston Brembo calipers and S60 R rotors (330mmx32mm) on the front of my car. These calipers are quite thick, thicker than the 928 GTS/993 Turbo and Ceika 6-piston calipers I'm pleased to report that the STI wheels, with 19mm adapters (final offset of +34) clear the caliper with plenty of space to spare. I haven't used I can fit a full finger in between the back of the spokes and the face of the caliper. This is conservatively measured at 8mm, but may be closer to 10mm. As you can see below, there is more than adequate space for the spokes to clear. I'll get out a set of calipers and take a proper measurement between the face of the caliper and the wheel spokes next time I'm at my shop. Here's the finished product http://s937.photobucket.com/user/andrew_buresh/media/V70R/BA900239-AC4E-4EDC-AD45-66B4256FC792_zps8syi8hqy.jpg.html'> 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEU Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 Looks great Andy, but big question is how do they work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_Dub Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 I ran the Hancook Ventus V12's for about 8,000 miles, until they began to rapidly deteriorate. They were great up until then, nice grip, good sidewall firmness, I was just disappointed by how quickly they went... Hopefully you have a better experience! Nice work on the wheels and BBK, looking great Andy! -Brandon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb5 Posted March 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 Neubar, my initial impressions have been very positive. It's been bitterly cold/snowing up here so I haven't had much grip (even with snow tires) so right now I can't even come close to using the full potential of this setup. I'm running Porterfield R4-S pads and this brake setup definitely has much more stopping power than my old 302s with OEM pads. With the 302s, I was never able to get ABS to engage on a dry road at highway speeds. With the BBK, ABS has been easy to engage. And these pads just get better the harder I drive, I'm a fan so far. I'll be sure to report back once they've been properly driven on with summer tires at autocross! Brandon, my V12s aren't wearing as well as I hoped, but given that I don't drive a lot (typically ~8000 miles/year) and I run snow tires in the winter, I'm ok with trading tread life for grip. I actually think the sidewalls are fairly soft compared to a number of competitors tires, and that's why they actually ride pretty comfortably given their performance capabilities. I also noticed a decent amount of roll-over under hard cornering during autocross if I didn't have the pressure fairly high (40+ PSI) when hot. Overall they're a good street tire but not the best for autocross. In the pic below my tire pressure was low, and you can see the tire noticeably deforming under load: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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