[91TB78]

I am completely excited about the STi. It has everything, and I mean EVERYTHING we were hoping for (ok, not the twin-scroll turbo, but with 2.5L?!?!). Now, how about the nice touch on the forged aluminum BBS wheels. THe design is about 200% better looking than the old split 5-star style. Now that they are this design no way will I need to change out the stock wheels.

What does everyone else think?

 

[m ben]

who said that the car as shown on the stand is the stock set-up ?

those are the 18" Spec-C wheels,which are not stated in the spec. the stated spec only lists " 17" x 7.5" BBS wheels, forged" or something to that extent.

I've never heard the 5 twin-spoke wheels refered to as BBS nor forged, but perhaps they are.

note that in the pics from the show there is a silver WRX which has the optional dealer-accessory BBS 17's, so it's just as likely that the STi on the stand is equipped with factory accessory Spec-C BBS 18's.

sorry to burst your bubble.


Ben
stock wheels for at least a while...

 

[STiWant1]

Seats

regardless of what ever wheels are in the picture. the stock wheels will more than suffice for summer tires. but something will have to be done for the winter.

 

[91TB78]

Ben,
Good points made about the picture. I did not know those were 18s. I did know they were the SpecC wheels..I just didn't know whether or not SOA carried them over to our STi.

My guess is either those gold 18s as an option or a 17" version exactly the same since the picture shows the production car (albeit with possible accessories shown).

The split 5-star wheels on the STi7 were NOT BBS wheels. That is for sure. I believe they were a semi-forged construction and decently lightweight.

We'll see..

 

[m ben]

if the stock wheels are a semi-forged - perhaps the semi-solid forging method which SSF uses for their wheels, tho you'd think STi would play that up if they were - that's a good thing. if you're not racing, spending the extra money for the weight advantage of forged wheels seems silly. in theory the added strength is a good thing, but I've found that if you pay attention to the roads you drive on normally, you can learn the locations of most of the nasty potholes - it got me thru 45k on 40 & 45 series 17" tires w/o any wheel or tire damage - you can survive.

my bet is we get the "normal" split 5-spoke wheels in a choice of colors (gold or silver of some sort) like the previous rumours & have the 18" Spec-C wheels as a dealer option.

I think I'd opt for aftermarket before I'd pay dealer prices for Subaru wheels, but since I'm not going to track the car heavily (I have a dedicated car for that) I'll likely just swap on 17" snows onto the stock wheels in the winter.



Ben
still torn on colors...

 

[91TB78]

Ben,
Yeah you would figure they would play up the fact that they might be using something from a good company like SSR.

It might be silly to spend the extra dough on forged wheels, but bringing everything they announced almost seems silly. I bet you're right as far as the STi7 split 5s stock with the 18 BBS optional. I would sure hope those BBS wheels they show would make it on the stock car..that would be unreal. Of course they did say forged wheels and several BBS wheels are forged, so possibly the list they unveiled yesterday is everything possible with the car either standard or as an option. Let's hope not.

I'm with you..go aftermarket on a nice set of Volks before dealer prices.