quick question regarding Speedy Desert Rats

Phizinza · Post by **Phizinza** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 10:24 am

Just wondering if anyone here has had their car over the pits with 14" speedy desert rats on it and if so did it pass or not?

bluesteel · Post by **bluesteel** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:27 pm

i have in tas.. not an issue

dunno about SA tho

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:30 pm

In WA here at the pits they seem to have no issues with a car with an EJ20turbo engine adaptor plated to a part-time fwd L series gearbox........yet insist on having factory 13" wheels on the car or else they won't pass it.

Go figure!

Post by **Alex** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:50 pm

i think theyre ok, so long as they dont stick out past the guards. Wheel flares fix this problem.

alex

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:37 pm

I saw an L series soob with 185/60r14 rubber on Desert Rats and they didnt appear to stick out. So maybe its only when you have 195-205 rubber on them

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:49 pm

AndrewT wrote:In WA here at the pits they seem to have no issues with a car with an EJ20turbo engine adaptor plated to a part-time fwd L series gearbox........yet insist on having factory 13" wheels on the car or else they won't pass it.

Go figure!

Does this mean that every subi in WA with 14 inch rims and 27 inch rubber fitted has a set of standard rims and rubber lurking in the shed for the pits? Or is there a set of standard rims and rubber that gets past on to each member as they have to go over the pits?

Bennie

Phizinza · Post by **Phizinza** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:53 pm

My brother was talking to a bigger 4WD owner and he was told by an engineer that pretty much the only thing he couldn't sign off on was the bigger wheels. Not sure which state but you can only go 10mm bigger diameter, and 1" bigger wheel. Can't go wider on the wheel and it can't increase the track by more then 20mm.

I've also looked into the rules in SA that state you can't increase track by more then 20mm, your allowed to increase wheel size by 1" and I think tyre size was allowed to increse no more then 5% or something.

Stock 13"s have an offset of 58mm on a 5.5" wide rim. Speedy's have a 23mm offset on a 6" rim. So theres a 41.35mm difference between those two for each rim. This gives the car 82.7mm more track doesn't it? Thus making them totally illegal. And if engineers can't do anything about wheels or tyres whats the deal with Desert Rats?

Obviously my theory applies that if you make it look legal that's enough.

Of cause I'm only going on what a guy my brother was talking to heard from an engineer...
But I do know for a fact that 14" Speedy Desert Rats can't legally (by the books) be fitted to a Subaru. Unless theres some rule somewhere hidden in the abyss that states that they can.

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:24 pm

Yeah Speedies aren't legal, BUT I reckon that by legion of so many cars being fitted with them over the years that they have become by de facto a standard fitment and so unless a failure could specifically be pinned on the wheel (ie lateral bearing failure causing shear loss of the wheel) then I'd doubt anything could be pinned on you should the worst happen.

However by the text they are not legal...

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:29 pm

Stock 13"s have an offset of 58mm

According to the book, they are 55mm

So why have so many of them (desert rats) sold if they aren't lega, and why dont they make them with a 55mm offset like the stock wheels or Scorpans (and i buy scorpians if they weren't $185 each)

What ever happened to the 14" 55mm offset group buy? Im still keen

Point · Post by **Point** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 6:04 pm

track is measured to the centreline of the wheel, so rim width has no effect on it. rim offset however does.

SUBYDAZZ · Post by **SUBYDAZZ** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 8:13 pm

L-Series 13 inch wheels are 5 inches wide and the offset is +42mm. 14" and 15" Impreza & Liberty, Forester and Early Outback wheels are +55mm. Where are you guys getting these figures from? What book?

Phizinza · Post by **Phizinza** » Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:35 am

I used a ruler.. no books.
Ok, remath. So assuming standards are 55mm and Speedies are 23mm (I think it says that on their site?) your looking at an increase in 64mm track.

I don't mean to scare anyone off the rims. I was just interested that they are illegal in most (or all) states but they are still sold. Really what I was after was if anyone couldn't get them over the pits. Which Andrew as confirmed does happen.

What I got the jist of from the story I wrote at the top was no matter what brake or suspension upgrades you do you can't techinally put these bigger wheels or tyres on. So even with a 5stud conversion your still stuck with small 14"s with low profile tyres legally.