Blake P

Bottom line: I want to drop the front of my car lower and want to avoid any potential rubbing issues.

Other than blindly guessing then testing it out and listening for rubbing noises when you drive, is there a best practice for determining whether the coils will rub the front tires? Some people say that you can jack the car up, then stick a piece of paper/cardboard/etc. between the wheel/tire and the suspension, but I'd think this isn't an accurate representation of how the wheel/tire sits in relation to the suspension when the springs are compressed after you set it back down. I've heard others say you can turn the wheel all the way to one side, then look behind the wheel to see how much space you have between the wheel/tire and suspension, but I'm not sure if this is accurate either since our wheels tilt to the outside when turned to provide a better turning radius. Some are able to hear or feel the rubbing during a quick test drive, while I know others who have taken their wheels off after a while to find out they had been rubbing and never noticed. I also know another guy who was driving along and smelled burning rubber, but by the time he could do anything about it, his tire already blew. Hopefully someone has insight they can share.

white_w203

this actually happened to me because i wanted to be so damn low. i lowered my car too much in the front and smelled burning rubber from the tires rubbing against the coil. i also heard the actual inner lip of the wheel rubbing against the strut when making u-turns. i felt this when i first lowered it. you should notice it right away. if you smell anything or feel/hear anything then raise it a turn or two asap. i learned the hard way.

Blake P

This is exactly what I want to avoid. I don't want to adjust, then have to re-adjust after I find out there's rubbing if I can avoid it. You were able to hear and smell it, but there have been others whose tires were rubbing and they only noticed later on when they took the wheels off and saw marks on the strut and/or springs.

Zeppelin

The space between the tire and strut does not change when you jack up the car. The wheel is attached to the hub and the hub is fixed to the strut. That measurement remains constant.

Blake P

Hmmm. You sure the wheels won't camber in more towards the strut/spring once the car is set back on the ground? Also, you say the space between the tire and strut does not change, but what about the space between the tire and the spring. I know the larger coils that are closer to the top will compress toward the tire once it is set back on the ground, so wouldn't I still have to worry about the space between the tire and the springs?

sdsilverm3

That's what you have to worry about. The space between the tire and spring will change as the suspension compresses/rebounds.

Zeppelin

How does the space between the tire and the spring change regardless of whether the car is on the ground or jacked up? The only moveable piece is the spring itself and that will only effect how far the tire will go into the wheelwell. Granted with coilovers you can screw the lower spring retainer down too far and it will contact the tire.

Zeppelin

The camber pivots at the top of the strut therefore the tire to strut clearance remains the same. This is why there is so little change in camber when you lower your car because the pivot point is the top of the strut.

sdsilverm3

I'm taking it that you're not very familiar with coilovers? When the car is off the ground the springs are FULLY uncompressed widening the gap between the tires and coils. Reference the picture below. The car is off the ground with my stock 18" AMG wheels. Once on the ground the tire moves further upward and will contact the wider spring coils if compressed far enough.

MJ50

my installer told me the clearance will not get any closer when driving on the roads... mine was rubbing also... it was fixed with 2mm spacers... if u look from under the car, i think there is about 1mm clearance... i heard no rubbing even when driviing on bumpy roads so far... i call is precision tuning...

sdsilverm3

If that was the case I would have dumped my car even more.

BIGjohnny

Easy... just raise the car and spin the wheel. It the wheel/tire rotates freely then you're fine. And to do a double check, slide a piece of paper between the CO and wheel/tire. If it goes through, you're fine... if not then you need to raise it.

BIGjohnny

I must disagree with you. From what i know, the suspension and wheel act together as one. If you turn really hard, everything else will turn with it. Same with upward and downward movement. I wouldn't worry about anything once the wheel/tire spins FREELY when the car is raised. I'm pretty sure i'm right.

Blake P

I hope you are...gonna try it this weekend!

sdsilverm3

I disagree. The STOCK suspension acts as one not coilovers. You are correct that the clearance doesn't change when turning but hitting bumps is a different story. You don't have that luxury of having the spring seat sitting above the tire (like they do with the stocks) with the coilovers. When the coilovers compress the tire/wheel gets closer to the wider spring coils on top. The spring coils on the stock suspension are not exposed like the coilovers. I have pictures to prove it.

This is Neal's car


THis is the result of setting my car on the ground with my stock wheels. In the previous pic you'll see that it doesn't touch while in the air. Now that we're on the ground the wheel moves upward causing contact. Same thing happens when you drive and hit a bump. It goes even further up. I didn't even drive the car in the pic below. Imagine what would happen if i did.

BIGjohnny

I understand what you mean, but that doesn't make sense. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the wheel moves upward, doesn't the Coilover moves up as well due to the shocks? So far i haven't had any problems with my Tein CO going on bumps or accidentally running over deep pot holes (with the exception of blown tires due to low profiles and cheap Falken tires).

sdsilverm3

You're correct that the shock and wheel both move upward in unison. The only problem is that only the bottom section of the shock moves upward on compression. The springs are still hanging overhead when the shock and wheel move upward so that's where the potential contact could take place (on the wider coils towards the top). It's difficult to explain over the net.

I haven't really had issues with my coilovers and aftermarket wheels until recently. I saw some rub marks on my passenger side spring coils. Nothing extreme though.

B189s

Guys,

I've been having rubbing issues lately Front and Rear with my Tein Basic COs.For the fronts, I found many chipping marks on my inner lip.My wheel rubs against the perch/coil?Should I raise it/put 5 mm spacers ( I have spare spacers)?ET of my front wheels is 35.If I put 5 mm spacers, I will have ET 30(corect me if I'm wrong).Will my tires rub against my outer fender?

For the rears,everytime I hit big bumps,my rear wheels/tires rubbed against something.From the sound of it, it sounded like steel rubbed against steel,really SCARY sound.Anyone has any ideas?All I can think off,maybe, my inner lip rubs against my shock?is it possible?My original ET for my rear wheels is 38.I put 3 mm spacers,so now it's ET 35?!

TIA

sdsilverm3

You should be able to go down as low as ET27 with no problems. I'm running ET32 with a 5mm spacer.

Blake P

I was actually running 24ET up front on my old 18x8.5" HRE 441R's with absolutely no problem. The sidewall of the tire was pretty much dead even with the fender.

B189s

Thanks guys,I'll use spacers on the fronts then,I just hate it when spacers make my car vibrate.Any idea for my rears?

BadAssC230k

with all this in question, im curious about camber. im getting my 18's on 235/40 series [now on the 3rd week and a day, lol], but im thinkin if ill be okay, compress/decompress as well as camber, to drop down a click or two.

sdsilverm3

Get a set of hubcentric spacers. They should help out with your vibration problem. Just make sure they fit your hubs.

WaveyKat

i have a 38mm offset wheels and i just put 10mm Spacer so am at 28mm and my tires are not rubbing or sticking outside the fenders

c230 o5

cool .. you think even with my new tires for the front (225/40/18) i will still need a 5mm spacer?