the car is a 1985 gsl-se with 143k miles

i have a set of 14X6 mesh all the way around and i used to run on 185/60/14 bridgestone potenza until i had to replace the tires..in my eyes the old tires seem a little too small for me so i wanted fatter tires to fill in the gap around my fender,which lead me to buy 215/60/14 bf goodrich radial T/A tires because i was told that 215's were the biggest size i could go without rubbing but when in fact the person who told me they would fit meant to say 205 instead of 215

so i go and pick up my tires..balance and mount em on to my car and find out that they not only rub, but cut into the front tires anytime my car would "bounce" due road imperfections (dips, railroad tracks,etc)

desperate times call for desperate measures so i immediately rolled up the lip of the front fenders as much as i could as a temporary fix so that it would only rub instead of cut.

The cuts are gone and a lot of the rubbing has gone away but when i hit a big enough dip or even BRAKE hard enough, the insufferable noise returns...and to the best of my knowledge the shocks and springs have never been replaced in this 26 year old car..however, i have replaced all of the oem bushings with polyurethanes.

the springs are not sagging but the tension/strength just isnt all there anymore..if i used all of my body weight and force to bounce the car, the fender would hit the tire..if i replaced my shocks and went with a stiff spring rate ,such as re-speed coilovers and illuminas, would this fix my problem?

In the front, I have about an inch clearance from fender to tire as of now....checking with the factory service manual, i found out that im actually about an inch lower than factory ride height in the front (unintentionally), so given that the shocks/springs are bad, a replacement set all the way around should give me about another inch of clearance correct? Basically what i want to know is if there is anyway i can pull off this ridiculous tire size while keeping performance in mind..somebody please help me because i cannot afford new tires and since i already mounted them, i cannot exchange them...and for those of you who have read this far, i cannot thank you enough!

 

I'm running a 205/50R15 on a 15x7 4x110 +7 offset Enkei 92's (photos below). I had to roll my drivers front fender because the tire was getting eaten by the lip. I am running RB springs w/ Tokico Illuminas in the front, Tokico HP's (a.k.a. Blue's) in the rear, and I rub my drivers front, and sometimes both rears. What you need is this:

ReSpeed coilovers with Illuminas, the Kentetsu spring rate setup (?275F/150R?), and some camber plates.

I have tried running @ setting #5 on the Illuminas, and it does reduce the amount of rubbing, but a stiffer spring with a softer shock setting will be my ticket to no-more-rubs.





Mind you, this is with a S2 front strut/rear axle setup, so the offset is not applicable to your -SE wheelset, but this will give you an idea of what you need for suspension to eliminate the rubbing.

 

Look into rolling the fenders - search for it if you don't understand.

Possibly add rubber spacers you the coils of your springs. as a temporary fix to stiffen the suspension and possibly raise the car 1/4" to 1/2". Any shop that works on truck suspensions ahould have them as well as most auto shops (or at least they used to). This would be the cheap short term fix to hold you over until you can get the problem resolved.

Getting stiffer springs on all 4 corners should help.

 

I'm running 225's in rear & 205's in front on stock Gsl-se suspention/rims, only rub I get is up front & that's only when I cut the wheel all the way and on the throttle...

 

I'm running 195 all the way around on stock rims. The stock tire size is 205/60R14. I have riubbing when I turn the car all the way of 195's so I guess I must have something wrong with my car.

 

i agree with everyone here... your springs are probably sagging. when you replace them, your car might be an .5 inch to 1 inch higher. performance shocks will definitely help. good luck!

 

I lowerd my car with the suspension technics springs. Then i bought the bf radials for the back in 215 but i get no rubbing, The stock 205 in the front for that staggerd look. I get rubbing from front only when i turn my wheel lock to lock but other than that there is no grinding. Maybe something is loose i don't think your springs are sagging.

 

i'm running 225/45/15's and have plenty of room up front

 

dude that camber looks sick

 

wow how did you fit 225's up front? do you have alot of camber wear?

 

The stock 205/60-14's will rub lightly on the swaybar at full lock, and can rub lightly on the plastic fender inserts when the front bottoms out.
Getting anything wider than a 205 to fit between the fender lips and spring perches requires the perfect offset wheels, and coilovers can really aid as well by allowing a bit more room on the backside.

 

I am running 195/50/15 up front and just switched to 225/60/15 in the rear. I only rub on the drivers rear due to a bad shock. Not happy with the 60

 

Why not happy with the 60, too high??

 

If your still touching the fender I know a trick a few of my friends have used that are into the "hellaflush" scene where they basically want the tire to tuck and be as close to the fender as possible...

After they roll the lip of the fender they will jack up their car and put a phonebook between the tire and fender. then slowly lower the car onto the phonebook which will pull the fender out slightly to clear the tire. Use a heat gun or a hot hair dryer to warm up your paint so it doesn't crack or spider web. The thicker the book the more of a gap you'll have between the tire and the lip

 

sounds dangerous

 

Yea its to tall for what I'm wanting. I'm going back to the stock SE wheels for the winter so I wont have to deal with those tires much longer lol.

 

Gotcha, looks like your offset's a lil' too low for 60's. I love the look of the low offset but the rubbing is an issue w the Gsl-se. I'm thinking +35 on a 6" wide rim should work perfect, looking into a set of +40 15's but I'm concerned it'll hit my strut... Can't go wrong w the factories lol

 

im just gonna throw on my old 185's in the front for now until i save up enough money for illuminas and coilover kit...hope it'll fit after that :X

 

i think i can fit 15x8's in the front with stock fenders... its a nice fit to the fender, and i still have more than an inch on the INSIDE with the 15x7s i have now.

the right offset wheel + a little camber = win