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.

[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.

[907mge]

Yes with will fitment proper offset is everything. My friend is running a 17x9.5 in the rear with a 2754017 tire which doesn't rub with his h and r springs. If you are rubbing with a 225 you need a different wheel. Changing things like offset and overall wheel diameter can have negative effect on handling and suspension geometry.