The Short Version
- 5×100 from the SF in 1997 through the end of the SJ in 2018. Twenty-one years, one pattern.
- 5×114.3 from the SK onward, launched July 2018 on Subaru’s global platform.
- The hub bore is 56 mm on both sides. Only the pattern changed.
- So SF, SG, SH and SJ wheels are one pool, and SK and SL are another. Nothing crosses.
The Changeover, Pinned to a Generation
Subaru moved its whole range from 5×100 to 5×114.3 over several years, model by model, and the Forester is one of the last to make the jump. We checked grades across every Forester generation and the boundary is unambiguous.
Every SF (1997–2002), SG (2002–2007), SH (2007–2012) and SJ (2012–2018) grade we opened reads 5×100. That includes the turbo S/tb grades, the STi-tuned SF5 S/tb STi-II, the SG9 STi Version and the SH tS.
Every SK (2018 onward) and SL grade reads 5×114.3.
The model index shows the last SJ batch running to July 2018 and the first SK batch starting July 2018 — a mid-2018 changeover with the new platform.
The hub bore is 56 mm on both sides. That is unusual and worth noting: normally when a manufacturer changes the bolt circle they change the hub too. Subaru did not.
Factory Specification
| Generation | Chassis | Period | Grade | Wheel | Tyre | PCD / Holes / Bore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF | E-SF5 | 1997.02–1998.09 | 2.0 S/tb | 16×6.5J +48 | 215/60R16 | 100 / 5 / 56 |
| SF | GF-SF5 | 2000.05–2002.02 | S/tb STi-II Limited | 17×7J +50 | 225/45R17 | 100 / 5 / 56 |
| SG | TA-SG5 | 2002–2005 | 2.0XT | 17×7J +48 | 215/55R17 | 100 / 5 / 56 |
| SG | TA-SG9 | 2005 | 2.5 STi Version | 18×7.5J +48 | 225/45R18 | 100 / 5 / 56 |
| SH | CBA-SH5 / SH9 | 2007–2011 | 2.0XT / 2.5 tS | 17×7J +48 | 225/55R17 | 100 / 5 / 56 |
| SJ | DBA-SJ5 / SJG | 2012–2018 | 2.0S-Limited / 2.0XT | 18×7J +48 | 225/55R18 | 100 / 5 / 56 |
| SK | 5AA-SKE / 5BA-SK9 | 2018.07 onward | 2.0 Advance / 2.5 X-Edition | 18×7J +48 | 225/55R18 | 114.3 / 5 / 56 |
| SL | 5AA-SLG | 2024 onward | 2.5 Premium S:HEV EX | 19×7.5J +48 | 235/50R19 | 114.3 / 5 / 56 |
+48 Almost Everywhere
Something else worth noticing: the offset barely moves. +48 appears on the SF, the SG, the SH, the SJ, the SK and the SL. The only outlier we found is the SF5 STi-II Limited at +50.
So across twenty-seven years and two bolt patterns, Subaru kept the wheel in the same place and grew it from 16 inch to 19. That makes the Forester unusually predictable to shop for — once you have the right pattern, almost any factory Forester wheel sits where the car expects.
For aftermarket work, 17×8J to 18×8.5J in the +40 to +48 range is the sensible window, with a taller tyre if the car is used the way a Forester usually is.
What This Means Across the Subaru Range
Subaru did not switch everything at once. The Impreza and WRX made the same 5×100 to 5×114.3 change at their own platform generation change around 2016; the Forester followed two years later with the SK. So a 2017 WRX and a 2017 Forester are on different patterns.
Our GC8 Impreza guide covers the early end of that story — where, incidentally, the 5×100 goes all the way back to 1992.
Importing
The SF ran 1997–2002, so cars built through August 2001 are eligible now with the rest following to 2027. The SG and later are 2027 and beyond.
North America had the Forester throughout, so the reason to import a JDM one is the grades America never got — the STi Version and tS cars in particular.
What We Could Not Verify
- Every individual SJ grade. We spot-checked representative grades across each model-year batch and found no exception, but there are dozens of grades and we did not open all of them.
- The exact calendar date of the SJ to SK changeover. The index bands overlap in July 2018.