Tires rubbing wheel wells
 

I took my car to Laguna Seca with the stock Touring suspension. In several of the truns the tires were hitting the top of the wheel wells, not the sides or openings or anything. I should mention the bump stops were destroyed before Laguna Seca.

I went to Tri Point and told them my problem. They gave me a H&R springs Koni adjustable shocks and new aftermarket bump stops. It lowered the car some.

I went to Buttonwillow this weekend and sure enough started beating the wheel wells up again.

My question is have any of you had this problem and what kind of springs are you running if you haven't?

Tom

When you say stock suspension, does that include stock wheels and tires?

You might be running a tire size that's tad too tall (25 to 25.3 inches).

Try to run 24.5-inch overall diameter tires (245/45-16, 245/40-17, 285/30-18s, etc) to keep the tires as short as possible without throwing off your rear-end gearing too much.

FWIW, the H&R Sport Springs are on the soft side (I have a set with stock Showa R1 shocks).

When I say stock suspension I mean just the way the car came off the lot. The rubbing happens even with the stock rims and tires. My track rims and tires are the same size as stock but sitting them side by side the track tires are just a little bit taller.

One thing I did notice is that the ride quality was about the same with the new H&R springs. I like the ride height but I think I need a higher rate spring. I believe the H&Rs lower it an inch and a quarter.

Which track tires, and what size?

Which wheels are you running for the track? IPerhaps it's an offset thing?

same thing happens to me. Im running 17" enkeis with 275/40/17s Falken ziers and racing beat springs. Its sounds like theres a freakin walrus in my trunk if i take a corner to sharp and it wears the edge of the tires a little every time. If i raise the back a little it should help it, but i dont have time for it really. I wish i could just get the pettit widebody wheel wells....

I am running Yokohama 225/50/16 A032Rs at the track on a 16X7.5 rim. They didn't have 16X8. I am running Yokohama 225/50/16 A520s on 16X8 stock rims on the street. Both tire and rim sets rub so it shouldn't be the size. They actually rub in the middle of the top of the wheel well so it looks like the off set is right.

The bump stops should stop the problem but they don't. I can't go with a longer bump stop because the shock has very little travel as it is. All I can figure is a stiffer spring is the only thing that will solve my problem. I'm just wondering what other people are doing in that department because there are a lot of RX-7s out there on the tracks.

This is happening because 275/40s on 17-inch wheels are an 1-inch taller than stock. You should be running 255/40s or 275/35s.

yeah, i figured, but since it was happening to other people i thot it could be something else. The guy that owned the car before me put these on with the springs. I guess that he just wanted a straightline car....

that's weird...i've heard that you can put 18s on FD w/ stock suspension w/out rubbing. Can someone clarify this since I plan on getting 18s w/out lowering the car.

I get the same thing with my fd. on sharp turns or some bumps ill hear the wheels rum the wheel wells, it mostly happend with the front drivers side wheel though

the tires rub on my car because i have 17's and my suspension drops the car like 2 inches almost, and my back tires are verrrrry wide. they dont rub the wheel well, they rub the outer edge of the fender. U can put 18's on a FD, just hafta have lower profile tires.

what will happen when i put the racing beat springs on with a set of 17X8 and 235/45-zr17? any rubbing? anyone have this setup?

OHHHH....you have Yokohama A032Rs! Well that explains everything...The Yoko A032Rs are slightly taller than stock. I had rubbing on my 8 x 16 wheels with 225/50-16 A32s, and I had stiffer Racing Beat springs then...!

The wheel diameter is NOT important. What IS important is that the tire+wheel diameter remains the same as stock. 18-inch wheels will fit fine provided they are the correct width and offset. If you are sticking with the stock suspension, you will need to keep the wheel to 9-inches wide or less. Which means you will be running 225/40, 245/35, or 255/35. You'll have to ask SleepR1 to be sure, but I believe 255/35 will not rub in normal use. Why go with 18s anyway? A lot of people agree that 17s are best for normal use.

The 255/35-18 on 9 x 18, 45-mm works provided your car isn't lowered too much...Kyle Bacon has this setup, and he did rub when his FD was set at with a ride height that was lower than optimal...

I have stock wheels and tires and also have an ocassional rubbing near the center of the front wheel well, drivers side. This sounds like an engineering f#$%#%up from JAPAN!:cursing:

I have almost the same setup. I have 17x8 rims with the racing beat springs with 225-45-zr17. no rubbing on the front, jest the back which is 18x12 275-40-zr17

Nice post, Gordon!