Tires Rubbing

[lazer371]

Hey everyone,
I just finished installing my H&R lowering springs and bilstein shocks and the car sits where it should imo. But I'm having trouble with the wheels rubbing on the fenders/wheel wells from just a spin around the block. I've got a set of mitsubishi starion wheels (16x7 up front and 16x8's in the back) with 205/55r16 tires in the front and 225/50r16 tires in the back.

My question is if I just buy tires with less of a sidewall, say 45's or 40's will this solve the rubbing issue?

Thanks.

[cre]

If you think it's bad now just wait until the springs settle.

I've known a few people who've complained of rubbing while turning hard with H&Rs but from the sound of it your situation is more severe. I expect the offset of those rims may be a large part of the problem. A lower profile tire may help but it's hard to say until you find out where it's rubbing and how much clearance you have... It may fix it or it may not make any difference at all.

[907mge]

I agree with cre on this one. Your off set is most likely way off with the rim and tire pushed to far out. My friend runs 235s in the front and 275s in the rear with H&R Springs. His tires sit close to the fenders but don't rub. Proper wheel fitment has everything to do with offset.

[cre]

If the offset is too far off one way the wheels may hit the fender or the wheel well covers, too far the other way and they hit suspension members. If they're hitting on the inside, and you just love the wheels, you could probably just add spacers to move the wheels out.

[lazer371]

From what I understand from doing some research is that the offset is +18 in the front and-10 in the back for the starion rims and the my mk3's rims have a stock offset of +37. I'm not too familiar with wheel offset, is the difference in offsets enough to cause an issue by itself?

On a side note,I'll definitely be getting new tires in the near future with smaller sidewalls.

[cre]

Sure the offset could be the entire problem. Offset it the distance in mm from the mounting face (the area where the rim meets the brake rotor)to the center of the rim. So it's not just a magic number, the width of the rim plays a significant role too. For a rim that's 1cm wider than stock you'd have to have an offset 5mm lower than the stock offset of 37mm in order for the interior lip to remain the same distance from the suspension. Are those rims wider than the sawblades? Have you identified where it's rubbing?

Quick Google search and viola! http://kgm.tiwing.com/calcs/offsetcalc.htm


EDIT: Nevermind, I see you posted the wheel dimensions above already. Given those dimensions the offset isn't to blame, it's a number of factors including the drop, sidewall and offset. Are the tires rubbing the outer part of the fender? Rolling the fenders may be in order.

[lazer371]

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps98e999dc.jpg
(sorry I'm having trouble with the photo, click the link please)
Here's a picture of the tire and the edge of the fender(where the two are making contact). the backs only rub when I hit bump or something like that. But either way you can see the rut in the tire that has developed from just going a mile or so. The fronts are just the same. But the rest of the tire is clean in all four cases, the tires are only rubbing on the edge of the fenders, so yeah rolling the fenders might be my solution.

But, like I said, I'm going to buy new tires with less of a sidewall soon anyways, so I think I'll go from there and decide whether or not I'll roll the fenders.

Thanks a bunch guys.

[cre]

Ok, yeah, a lower profile ire would help but I'd try rolling the lip of the fender under first... Sadly, you'll have to ditch or somehow modify the wheel well liner. Personally, I'd roll the fenders even if I did switch to lower profile tires... A guy on SM trashed two fenders when going down a driveway with the wheels turned... Do all you can to get the most clearance possible there because if something happens to make you regret not doing it, the odds are you'll REALLY regret it.

[lazer371]

Alright, I'll definitely roll the fenders down the road then.

Thanks again.

[ianstaley]

Mine is dropped 3" from the Toyota dealer using a toyota aftermarket deal. They are 17" and have Goodyear NCT's 225 x 45 x 17 with the correct offset. Shouldn't use another cars wheels unless the pitch is okay and the offset is okay. I have no rub at either maximum wheel turn.