It is time to get some new shoes for our Project GD WRX. We wanted an upgrade for the car that would easily fit into the wheel wells and would look period correct to pay homage to the car’s rally heritage. This came in the form of a set of Speedline Corse Turini Type 2120 wheels which are a reissue of the iconic wheels that were used on some of the older Subaru WRC cars. The Speedline Corse, and in some cases OZ, were the wheels that were run on the WRC cars of the era. So being a WRC fanboi, Ian just had to have a set. We sourced the wheels from Mann Engineering, a Subaru parts specialist located in Santa Clara, California.
The Speedline Corse Turini Type 2120 is a strong Flowformed (cast) wheel made to take rally car punishment so they are not exactly light but for their strength the weight is reasonable. The stock WRX wheels were 16×6.5 with a 53mm offset and weighed in at a respectable 16.5 lbs. Our new wheels were a much larger 17×8 with a 48mm offset to clear the larger brakes and to accommodate a wider tire. The Speedline Corse Turini Type 2120 weighed in at just under 21 lbs which isn’t feather light but reasonable considering their strength and larger diameter and width.
Since our WRX came with smallish 205/55-16 tires, we wanted to upgrade to something larger but didn’t want to roll the fenders or cut anything to make them fit. Ian also wanted something that could be everyday driving durable that would hold up to his trips to Northern California without wearing out super fast. We came up with a larger Nitto NT555 G2
The NT555 G2 is an ultra-high-performance summer tire that has decent rain performance. It also has a UTQG rating of 320 so it should be exceptionally long-lasting. The Nitto NT555 G2 is a redesign of the classic Nitto NT555 with the change done mostly to the tread design and compound to greatly improve wet traction while still offering improvements in dry traction as well.
We opted to get the NT555 G2 in 225/45-17 which is a step wider and lower profile than our stock tire. The tires weighed in at 22.8 lbs each for a total of 43.7 lbs when weighed with our wheels. This is 1.7 lbs more than our stock wheel and tire combination as it came from the car. This is less than what we expected when going plus 1 in wheels size.
7 comments
Mike why Ian (or you guys) didn’t opt for the stock BBS that come on the STI? If I’m not mistaken they’re forged.
Hi Alex,
I see those STi OEM BBS wheels swapped onto WRXs all the time. I just wanted something a little different than what I see all the time. (plus I get 1/2″ more wheel width should I want to run a wider tire later haha)
I see. Nice choice. Unique!
By chance will the future engine build include a cnc block guard?
Not specifically a block guard, but I do plan on close-decking the block.
I don’t like using block guards because the distort the cylinder walls.
I am interested in running the same wheel but can only seem to find them in 17×8 with an offset of 40mm instead of 48mm. Where or how did you source the set used? Thanks.