For the last 3.5 years people have been curious if the 9.5″ RPF1s cleared the Subaru Impreza WRX STi brembos. Well, they don’t. They require a spacer, how large of a spacer?
Up until last week I couldn’t say with confidence what size they needed to clear. Luckily for me a fellow Subaru owner on the forums with a crazy Wide Body STi happens to have a few Enkei connections. Earl managed to test fit one of the 17×9.5 +38mm RPF1s for Brembo Clearance.
He had a couple spacers laying around so he decided to test it and snap a few pictures to finally put the question to rest, “How big of a spacer do I need to run 17×9.5 +38mm RPF1s?!”
Once Earl got the wheels back to his house he tracked down the spacers and jacked up the car.
Now through the grapevine I’ve heard that these wheels could require a spacer as big as 15mm, I found that hard to believe. Luckily all that is needed to clear the Brembos is a 5mm spacer.
As you can see here the clearance isn’t massive but it should be plenty.
To Recap, 17×9.5 +38mm RPF1 require a 5mm spacer to clear the Brembo Brake Calipers on a Subaru Impreza WRX STi.
The 18×9.5 +38mm has NOT been tested and may require a larger spacer due to the different diameter/spoke design, I’m going to see if we can get that size confirmed as well. 🙂
A 5mm spacer on a Subaru will require longer wheel studs to allow full engagement of the lug nuts. There will be future articles on Longer Wheel Stud Options and the Negatives/Positives of running a spacer.
I want to thank Earl for testing these out and ending the rumors/misinformation floating around the Internets. We now have solid proof of what is required for 17×9.5 +38mm RPF1s to clear the Brembo Brakes on a Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Thanks Earl.
As always feel free to Comment, Email or PM with any questions.
-t3h_Clap
so, Enkei could just build a proper +33 wheel in the first place! 😉
Teh_clap, I’m pretty excited that I found this since these are the exact wheels I was looking at. My question now is the +38 offset RPf1s would be very hard to fit correct? Inother words you’d need a lot of rolling and pulling right? So then adding a 5mm spacer.. Wouldn’t that make it like a +33 offset? Wouldn’t that be harder to fit and even worse on the wheel bearings?
I’m qmania2 on nasioc in case you were wondering lol. Any insight would be much appreciated!
..hoping that you still watch this for comments lol!
Cory, it’s not super hard to fit. if you have an 05-07 STI you can use my fender mod article for the fender work. http://t3hclap.com/archives/49 and you’ll need coilovers stiff ones. You’ll need -3.0 camber front and -2.0 rear camber (or so + or -1 .1 or .2 degrees). The +38mm and +33mm will wear your bearings more then a stock offset but what modifications don’t reduce longevity of the stock parts? How much life is dependent on the current state of your wheel bearings and what type of driving/racing you do.
did you happen to write that article on the Negatives/Positives of running a spacer? I can’t seem to find it.
Also, do i have to pull the rear fenders to get these to fit? Can’t i just roll them a little and set the height at 13.75? I have RCE T2 with 600/500 springs. This is my daily driver and i also run in STU.
Thanks
Hello, thanks for all your advice on wheels. I’m looking into this exact set up for an 06/07 STI. Is it necessary to have stiff coilovers if fenders are rolled/pulled enough? I’d run a 245/40 tire.
Thanks!
You can get away with a stiff spring that isn’t very low like the RCE Blacks but most springs you’ll rub due to them being too low and too soft. It’s possible, but the coilovers make much better use of the added grip and width. Plus they are stiffer so you’ll have less chance of rubbing.
Do you think a 3mm spacer would also work instead of 5mm? I am wondering if this fitment could work without having to use extended wheel studs.
Thanks!
Any info on Brembo clearance with the Enkei NT03+M Wheels (17×9.5″, 5×114.3)? I run in SM class and want to fit 265s on this wheel, question is should i get the 44 or 38mm offset?
hi, i wana know if 18×9.5jj 38 will fit nicely on a s204? coz im planning to get that size for an rpf1. theres 38,40 and 45. which one shud fit nicely without using spacer. i dont mind doing the fender roll thingy.
thanx alot man.
p/s : reply to my mail if possible. :))
shooting you an email now.
Hey Clap… I am wondering about the 18×9.5″ +38mm wheels?? I know I’m going to need extended wheel lugs and just ordered them… Now I’m trying to sort out the spacer I’ll need… Prefferably the smallest spacer possible…
Thanks for any help!!
^^^ Sorry, the car is a 2006 STi… Already on track ready coilovers (Ohlins Flag-i) and have a set of Axis Reverb 18×9.5 +40mm on there with no rubbing issues at all… So all I’m really after is the proper spacer size for the 18×9.5″ +38mm Enkei RPF1’s…
Thanks!
the 18×9.5 +38mm RPF1 requires at least an 8mm spacer to clear the brembos, some have needed as much as a 12mm. The 18s have a different face profile compared to the 17s.
I can get you the info for the Motorsport Tech spacers if you’d like. Proper thickness, hub bore, wheel bore etc.
Alright, now (a year later) the question is which lugs to run? The only ones I can seem to find are the ARP’s… I want to do them on all corners (added safety) even though I’m only running the 8mm spacer up front…
I’ve heard / read / been told that the ARP’s are a ROYAL PITA to install on an 06 STi… Is there any way to make it easier?
Are there other studs that are longer than stock but not as much of a PITA as the ARP’s?
Thanks bud!
Do you know what size tires he was running?
Hello T3h_Clap,
I have been browsing for the last week or so to find the right enkei size for my 2011 Sti sedan.
I remember reading that You have posted an info that NT-03 +M 17×9.5 ET+38 will fit into Sti without the need of spacer.
Will it be possible for You to help reconfirm this.
Thank You so much for your kind help.
Eric
Eric, The 17×9.5 +38mm does clear brembos without a spacer. It’s a great option for the GV STi.
I just bought a set of 18×9.5 with 45 offset for my 07 STI and for sure it will need atleast 12-15 mm spacers on the front. They will not fit with a 5 mm spacer I tried with a 8 mm and did not work. I will be trying 15 mm soon and let you guys know shortly. Only thing I’m worried about now is rubbing on struts, still have stock suspension
You will need a 15mm spacer to clear the front brembos with the 18×9.5 +45mm. I recently published an article about the caliper clearances for all the RPF1s so the info is in one place.
Stock suspension with a 9.5 isn’t ideal, it has been done in the past (as I’ve shown) but you have to be careful. The issue you’ll find is the new +30mm effective front offset is going to poke substantially. Happy to chat about future mods and getting this setup to work right for you if you’d like.