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Recently got some new 19s with 245/35s. I had 245/45s on there and they were actually rubbing the front fenders enough to bend them a bit - wrong tires, but that's how I bought the car.
I understand those tires were a good 2 inches wider in diameter than my current ones -
So I'm looking to alleviate some of my wheel gap with springs, spring pads, whatever the case may be, without breaking the bank. Any suggestions? I don't want to slam it, but I imagine I can go 1 inch lower conservatively, and 1.5 at maximum without rubbing the fenders again going into driveways, for example.
1.5/1.6 is that grey area where I'm wondering if I'll still rub my front fenders. Is there any standard or go-to measurements for what will fit and not?
I have 245/35x19s all around and have no clearance problems. My previous car was a Lincoln LS which I also lowered, but the Lincoln would scrape on speed bumps and on some driveways. It was worse if I had passengers in the car. In comparison to the Lincoln, my E350 has never scraped. If I had it to do over I wouldn't hesitate. The only difference I notice is the ride is a little more firm, but I like it that way.
Also, depending on the number of miles on your car, when and if you decide to swap out the springs I recommend changing the strut mounts at the same time. I did the springs but used the original strut mounts. A few weeks ago I hit a fairly large pothole which resulted in one of the strut mounts letting go. When I got home and checked out the front end I expected to see a bent rim. Surprise! The rim was fine. The strut mount popped! So, I ended up replacing both. Less of a hassle because I probably wouldn't have been able to easily find a replacement rim. I do my own work so once the new mounts arrived I spent a couple hours installing them. All good now.
Maybe someone else on the forum could chime in to confirm what I am saying so you are comfortable with going this route.
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