SleepR1

That's b/c you have Fikse FM10s

RedR1

iTrader: (5)

ma. . Manny?!?! are you back? Or are ya just stopping by?

scratchjunkie

yo chris, stiffer springs may cure your problem. so far with my new set up, i do not rub my liner where i use to on certain lanes on 80.

SleepR1

Just stopping in to check things out. Peace!

SpeedKing

iTrader: (4)

245/35-18 on 18x8.5 +44 fronts; lowered w/ Bilstein HDs and H&R Sport springs and NO rubbing at all, not anytime, not anywhere.

sicminded

did everyone miss my post on my little rig to push the fender liner in more? cuz i got back from work just right now, to test further if there is anymore rubbing. and i'm assuming there isn't anymore! i thought i may have heard the fender liner when braking hard once during my entire commute today. but i think i may have been hearing something else.

and i think we've agreed that tire diameter is not the reason for rubbing here. it is the width. i've posted a flash demo explaining what i mean, a page or two back. wider width= more sweeping radius. i don't believe an higher offset would help either (not hitting the fender liner atleast). it would just push the tire inside more, but won't do anything with tire width and it's sweeping radius.

i will consider running a 235/40 if it gets too close, or if i'm still getting any rubbing up front. especially when i get into doing the suspension/lowering. but the ride height right now isn't bad. i agree it would be nicer if the tire gap is closed up a bit. but where it sits at now is street height, and it kinda makes my car look like an RC.

back to my little 'rig' to prop the fender liner in more. i think it really works. it has pushed up the fender liner up enough where when fully locked left or right, it has a pretty good clearance to the fender liner. as opposed to how it was before, sitting on the parking and fully locking the wheel left or right, the outer tire corner would touch the fender liner and push it inward.

thanks all for the help. i will be doing some more testing to see if it rubs anymore. will be doing the testing with masking taped up under the fender liner to make it easier to see if it is rubbing still.

btw, did i mention, this wheel tire combo has mad grip?

chris

Nathan Kwok

I think I know what your problem is, because I have the same problem. Check out your upper strut mounts. There is a pretty thick layer of rubber that cushions the suspension between the top of the strut and the chassis. Over time this starts to sag and deform, effectively lowering your ride height. The problem is you still have the soft stock springs so when you hit big bumps or rapidly compress them due to braking, there isn't enough clearance anymore. I still have stock springs and Koni's on the highest perch and my car is noticeably lower than many lower mileage examples I've seen. This is actually quite common, have you ever noticed how high all those super low mileage cars look?

sicminded

yea, i've heard that sagging might do it. but my car does only have 49k on the clock. and i don't think ride height is a problem, as my fender liner is a left and right thing, not an up and down.


well, i got back from test driving my car with a lot of duct tape all over the wheel well (finer liner, fender lip), not entirely covered with duct tape, just on areas where i think clearance is close. did some mediocre hard driving. i thought it might have rubbed these two times where i heard some scraping noises. the first time when hard braking on a pretty steep down hill. the other when holding a long sweeping turn. but when inspecting the wheel well after the test drive, i could not see any indications of damage/rubbing on any of the duct tapes.

weird.

chris

sicminded

just wanted to double check, IF i decide to go with a 17x8 +43 with a 225/45 tire, i should have virtually no rubbing?

chris

SleepR1

None whatsoever--especially with 235/40-17 (shorter and wider than 225/45-17).

sicminded

thanks for double checking. it seems i may be keeping them or not, i'm totally happy either way. if the guy interested in them still wants them, ill sell them. but if he doesn't want them, i'm going to keep them.

i just did another hard test tonigt. did a lot of hard braking, including uphill and downhill (which i thought i heard the rubbing the most). also brought along my brother for a second set of ears to listen. we couldn't hear any sign of rubbing or scraping of any kind. it seems like i am getting 'paranoid' and what i may have heard was probably something else. i checked the fender liner for any new marks or further scrapes or damages.... nothing. car feels super grippy compared to the stock 16x8 with 225/50s.

thanks all again for the help,
chris