I'm not sure having a silver lip on a wheel that didn't come with a polished lip is going to look that great. But I've never really seen someone do the BBS with a lip, so maybe it will look good.

The BBS Sti stock rims don't even have a lip to polish. The spokes are flush with the outer lip of the rim. :~:

You can get away with polished lips on rims that have deeper spokes, like Rota Subzeros (by way of example - I don't expect anyone in their right mind to run Rotas on an STi).

:?: There are probably more STi's with Rotas on them than any other aftermarket wheel brand!

That doesn't mean I think it's fundamentally right to replace BBS rims with Rotas. :P

Not that I'll own an STi anytime in the forseeable future, but on a car like that I'd be intent on having something a little less "cheap imitation." I'd probably want some Gram Lights or Volks.

But that's just me. I just think it's oddball to run Rotas on an STi.

Nothing wrong with Rotas. Best bang for the buck rim out there...except maybe the now discontinued Enkei RP02. ;)

Without a doubt. They're cheap, are replicas of some really nice rims, and some models are still quite light. I'm just saying that if my car started out with BBS rims, I'd feel a fool replacing them with Rotas.

But I have an RS, so. . . you know. . . I have Rotas. :lol:

I feel ya. I think most STi people just use Rotas for their winter wheels.

That's what I do.

2 sets of RPF1s for the track, one set of MB Motorsport Weapons for "Winter???" Stockers for daily driving.

The Wapons, and RPF1s are probably close to the best bang for your buck. The former is a good cheap JDM wheel in 8", and the later is light, strong, and relatively cheap.

Considering the winters here, I can see that as being a safe choice. :idea:

Lots of STi folk use the Rotas over the "nicer" factory BBS's because in '04, the BBS's are only 7.5" wide. The extra .5" means running 245's instead of 225's. *Never* underestimate the importance of tire width... I picked up several seconds per lap at RFR by going from 255 RA1's on 8" wide wheels to 225 Pilot's on 9" wide wheels. :eek:

Yes, and the fact that they are less then half the price of new volks or any comparable "nicer" wheel means a lot too.

Personally, I like Rotas for the fact that if I bend one, I can buy a new one easily and cheaply. More expensive rims are mostly just bling, and I worry about replacement costs.

You picked up time going to a narrower tire on a wider wheel?

I think he actually went from 255 toyos to 255 michelins, but just on a wider wheel. The Mich's run larger too. he made a typo

Oops. Yeah 255's all around. But the Michelins run about a half inch wider than the Toyos... they absolutely require more than an 8" wide rim.

That makes more sense.

Matt, what did you edit in my post? It looks the same to me. Did I type something bad? :~:

I'm retarded, I accidently hit edit instead of quote when I was typing....I didn't change anything. And yes, I'm a mod on this board :rolleyes: :lol:

I've done that before on i-club. Some people get pissed :lol:

Wonderfully intelligent mods, always assisting me with my inability to communicate in the english language! :lol:

BUMP. Has anyone been to Metal Master in the last few months? I am thinking about getting some wheels powder coated and was curious about the current price.

I need to know too.

Bump for myself, need to get my track rims powdercoated before the 275/40's go on next week!

:eek:

I was the last/one of the last to get 'em done cheap. :cool:

Whats the going rate for rims now ?

Have a set of 17s that I would like to get powder coated a flat black.

I might be finding out soon, will post when I do :)

I checked not too long ago and the price is more than I would ever pay.

As you can tell from this thread, a bunch of us had them done quite a few years ago when we had a hook up for $35 or so a wheel. I had one done about 2 years ago for about $80 out the door. At those prices, there was much less interest.

Maybe with the economy, they are back down. Give Guy over at Advanced a call and ask him. Mentioning the Subaru club might be worth a few bucks off...

Anybody had anything PC'd since Dean's last post? A friend and I want to get our wheels done this week, but don't want to be wallet raped. Or any suggestions to go anywhere else? I'm looking to get my Rota's Gunmetal Grey. I bought them a couple months ago and am tired of seeing them sit in the garage.

It would probably be cheaper to buy a set of rotas in the color you like vs. having them PC'd. At least then you would have a spare set for winter or you could sell them.

I did buy them for 300 haha. I hope I can get them painted for under what i payed for them.

If you can't, I've got a set of gray (though they're technically bronze) boosts for sale.

^I thought those were sti bolt pattern?

Woops. They sure are.

I've got a Makita. We'll make it happen.

I wish I could fit those wheels on my car. I'd buy those instead of getting the powdercoat. If I were to buy them new, I would get that color... Wait.. Is there anyway we can fit these on my car?

You can do a hub conversion... which costs more than a new set of Rotas. :lol:

http://www.6gunracing.com/products.asp

haha dammit... I'm screwed. Imma look into how much new rotas are. haha

$650-$700 depending on design for 17"

http://www.wheeldude.com/catalog/ind...=90_217_96_135

$700-$750 for 18"

http://www.wheeldude.com/catalog/ind...=90_217_96_136

from wheel dude anyway (who I would recommend).

Wow, I should have just bought their 05 STi 5x100 Front Hub Conversion Kit with Custom Knuckles for WRXs and STis . I still would have had to buy an axle for $75 but my wheel bearing fiasco is costing me $800 and then I'm paying Cory to do the other side on top of that. :unamused:

Actually, you'd pay ~$1000 for the conversion kit which is similar to the bearing fix you're doing. But then you'd also need to buy all new wheels and brake rotors for the car.

Wait, this sounds like it'd work with my existing wheels and suspension. But not brakes?

I was just looking at that. I think it would work for you actually.

:rolleyes: I posted that in the bearing thread 2 days ago... :rolleyes:

Post #22...

Which is where I saw it. So sorry for not properly citing my source. :p

Was ragging on Cody mostly, & Scott a little, not you, but I'll take the pin action. :)

I saw it in your thread and in the threads you linked on Nasioc. I didn't realize that the bill was going to get so high with the route I took. ESP legal? Wonder what grease they use, probably just the OEM stuff that they come packed with.

I didn't realize that kit kept the 5x100 bolt pattern. I though it just allowed you to use <'05 struts.

That's actually a pretty cool deal for folks looking for a stronger setup that aren't running coilovers or big wheels. The drawback is that if you kill one of the unit bearings, you have to get the replacement machined back to 5x100, negating the easy bearing swaps that make the STi hubs so great.

Do you mean if you kill the hub, you have to get it machined back to 5x100?

It's a unit hub. The hub and bearing are a sealed unit. If you kill the bearing, you replace the whole hub. And since they don't sell 5x100 unit hubs from Subaru, you'd have to buy a machined one from 6Gun that's had the conversion to 5x100 done every time you kill a bearing.

Like this:



(though that's a bolt in Legacy rear bearing)

Gotcha. So you'd probably have to buy another one off 6gun. Wonder what they charge for just the "unit hub". It would suck if they aren't around any more when you need one.