cgiles9

Hey guys,

I bought a 93 RX7 a couple weeks ago for a really good price w/ the knowledge that it was a small project. It seemed to have all the common problems that face the Rexers, glove box light always on, passenger interior door handle is broken, sunroof doesn't like to always open, leaks oil from what appears to be the oil pan, and a coolant leak.

The coolant leak was the major problem and it was an easy fix. Just needed the hose from the AST to the overflow reconnected and a ***Cap put on the AST tank*** (yes there was no cap!) White lithium grease fixed the sunroof, a little electrical tape has fixed the glovebox. The oil leak I'm not messing with and the handle I've yet to address.

The other problem was that the tires rubbed when going over a bump or during heavy cornering. The car has 17s and wears 225/45s up front and 245/45s in the rear. I know, from reading the sticky, that it's suppose to have 40s, but I'm not so sure that'll be enough for it not to rub. I'm starting to wonder if the car wasn't ghetto dropped. For those who don't know what that means, it's when you cut the springs to lower the car instead of buying a lowering spring set.

Would there be any way for me to tell if the springs had been cut? Should I ditch the 17 in. Momos in favor of the OEM stockers that I can pick up in the classifieds? Do you guys think that going to a 40 will solve the problem. It seems to be really low, 6 1/2 - 6 3/4 off the ground. Does that sound about right?

Thanks for any and all help and for reading my dissertation.

Black91n/a

Check to see if the offset is in the right ballpark. Having a wrong offset can cause rubbing problems that otherwise wouldn't exist.

cgiles9

Sorry, I'm new to the suspension game. I'm coming from a Pontiac Grand Prix GTP where all we had was one good set of springs and adjustable struts. I never even got into wheels and tires. My question would be... can any tire shop check the offset on these wheels?

Also, I was reading a couple threads down about a guy saying "his ride was too soft" and this caused rubbing. Apparently he's shopping for coilovers, so his struts are causing the "soft ride?" Another thing to look into, maybe?

EDIT: Grammer is your friend, always proofread.

aznpoopy

just take the wheel off the car and look at the inner face of the wheel

it will have the size printed or stamped onto it
aftermarket wheels may have it stamped or on a sticker
usually says something like

17x9jj
ET15

that would be a 17x9 +15mm

cgiles9

It's been a little while, but with Christmas out of the way I can now get back to working on my car.

I took off the wheels today and all of them are 8Jx17H2 ET38. The front have 225/45s and the rears have 235/45s. The fronts scrap pretty bad; is there anything short of buying new wheels that I can do? Will 40 series tires fix it?

Rxmfn7

iTrader: (4)

Stock tire size is 225/50r16 on a 16x8 wheel with a +50mm offset. A 225/45r17 is the correct sizing for the front, being almost exactly the same diameter as stock ( 24.9" tall vs 25") The 38mm offset wheel isnt helping, pushing your wheel out 12mm more than stock, but with a 225 tire and about the same rolling diameter, it shouldnt be giving you that many issues. Can you measure the ride height from the center of the front fender wheel well to the ground?

cgiles9

Ride height is about 25.5 in. Are you thinking that it may be time for new struts?

cgiles9

Bump

Do you guys think it's the offset or maybe the springs/struts?

Juan

iTrader: (28)

Your wheel offset up front is pretty low considering the stock offset is +50. Is the tire rubbing the lip of the fender or the top of the fender liner (black plastic piece above the tire)?

Your ride height doesnt sound too bad. If I remember correctly, my car is roughly the same height as yours (about 25"-25.5"). I'm also running 17s with a 245/40 up front and I dont rub. My wheels have an offset of +45 and are 17x8.5" wide in the front. Since my wheels have a higher offset, they sit "deeper" into the wheel well. Yours sit further out from the car since the offset is lower (+35).

apex_sideway

Something isn't right here . . . . a 225/45/17 on a 17x8+38 doesn't sound too bad.

I guess going with a 40 would help but i'm no expert. Wait for the more experienced guys to chime in.

Maybe you could roll the fenders if you like the rims alot. That might help out

aznpoopy

wan... you have 8.5 +45. he has 8+38. outer clearance is almost exactly the same. on top of that, he has more inner clearance than you. and you are running a wider tire.

assuming everything else is equal (and that is a huge assumption lol...)
it seems to me that if you are not rubbing, he definitely shouldn't be rubbing.

just based on wan's info, it seems like your problem isn't with the wheel sizing. i am no FD fitment expert, however.

ptrhahn

iTrader: (9)

You could have worn upper strut mounts, worn shocks, droopy or cut springs, worn or removed bumpstops, an alignment problem, too-low offset.... best to get the car up on a lift with someone knowledgeable and first see what you've got going on there as far as componentry, and where it's rubbing... then we can help more... but 225/45/17 on a 17x8" +38 all by itself shouldn't be too much of a problem.

cgiles9

With that offset, it is hitting the lip of the fender to the point where the lip gets knocked out and starts cutting into the tire on the outer edge of the tread. I don't know what a RX7 is suppose to feel like so I can't say whether or not the shocks or struts are bad but I can tell you that the black stuff at the top and bottom of the strut are broken and falling apart. I think the top part might be the strut mount.

ptrhahn

iTrader: (9)

The top part is the upper mount, and they do wear out.

Fender lip catching is common on RX7's even with fairly conservative-looking wheels... you're best off getting them rolled.