in desperation, i need some advice on my front wheels and them scrubbing on the suspension.

 

the story goes - ive recently got some 245/19s on the front (to replace my 225/18s). now the problem is that theyre right up against the elbow joint in the first picture, and i mean the wheels are almost being prevented from going to full lock. the first picture shows that even with that side of the car jacked up i can barely get my finger in the gap between the tyre and the joint - it doesnt look it but that's crushing my finger!

 

needless to say that when going over even the smallest bump, i get some horrible rubbing sounds (oddly enough only from the offside though - yet both sides have the same 'zero' clearance)

 

also needless to say ive only done about 3 miles in it since the wheels went on

 

my idea was to space the fronts out 20mm to give the required clearance, but (as you can see in my other thread) the stock hub thread is slightly too long and doesnt sit inside the alloy, leaving the alloy not seated upon the centre of the spacer properly - so i'll have to go 25mm to overcome that problem.

 

even with the 20mm spacers on (and the wheel kind of held in place) you can see from the 4th pic that there's still not a lot of room to play with

 

...but by going 25mm on the front, it seems that the tyres will be almost by not quite outside the arches and therefore being illegal.

 

so my exasperation is: how the hell have those of you (you know who you are ;) ) with 245 up front overcome these problems? surely you have sufficient clearance between the tyre and the (u-join?) - and if you spaced them out, how come the rubber's not spilling outside the car? :confused:

 

could it be that my stock suspension/geometry is just fooked and causing this problem?

 

id really appreciate some help on this one gents as ive just gone from a high (bodykit next month - NA subframe on way, etc.) to a 'i cant even drive the barsteward thing'

is the car lowered?

Will a 3mm or 6mm slip on ontop not be enough to clear the studs and push the wheel out further to help clearance probs.

is the car lowered?

 

to the best of my knowledge its all stock. it probably gradually lowered itself over the years though, lol. perhaps a new suspension all round will help clear things up. ive thought about stiffening the ride just a little, to try and reduce the amount of travel

 

Will a 3mm or 6mm slip on ontop not be enough to clear the studs and push the wheel out further to help clearance probs.

 

i reckon 5mm will just be enough to do it, but as i mentioned in the other thread id prefer to use a 25mm spacer instead of my 20mm, rather than pad the existing spacer out and lose spacer thread onto the wheel. watch this space!

stiffening the suspension will do a hell of a lot more than you think, it also has adverse effects, your brakes wont seem as sharp and forever bouncy

what width rim and offset u got, I,m running 8jx19 35 offset 245/40/19 tyres onlly prob i get is they rub on the liners on full lock car was lowered when i bought it dunno how much by but can only just get my fingers btween the arch an the top of the tyre don't have any special parts fitted to the suspension jus bilsten shocks

stiffening the suspension will do a hell of a lot more than you think, it also has adverse effects, your brakes wont seem as sharp and forever bouncy

 

if it sorts my problem out, where do i sign? lol

 

what width rim and offset u got, I,m running 8jx19 35 offset 245/40/19 tyres onlly prob i get is they rub on the liners on full lock car was lowered when i bought it dunno how much by but can only just get my fingers btween the arch an the top of the tyre don't have any special parts fitted to the suspension jus bilsten shocks

 

8.5x19 35 offset 245/35/19 on the front. im starting to come to the conclusion that for one reason or another my front is lowered. hmm....

Bin givin this abit of thought ur wheels r 1/2 inch wider than mine with same offset which theoretically makes them 1/4 inch closer to the suspension, havin looked at standard front tyre size of 225/50/16 (think this is right) using a wheel calculator (http://www.nice-wheels.co.uk ) and your new tyre size it would appear that your overall tyre diameter is 23 mm larger hope this helps (think I've got the sums right)

i've got 235/35/19 on the front and get no rubbing at all... could it be the tyre is the prob? have you tried with a different size tyre but same size wheel???

 

HTH

 

Neil

Easy peasy, u cut the stock studs down then stick on the 20mm job done, btw mine are cut to overcome this prob, Dont worry about cutting them they are only 2 quid each and easy to replace. Took me a few mins to cut them down with bolt cutters then i groumd them down so they were smooth and so the nuts catch on the ends.. Just dont cut them off to much lol. You must leave ebough thread to be safe. I still have plenty of thread left to play with.

Edited March 19, 200916 yr by j1mmytt

Bin givin this abit of thought ur wheels r 1/2 inch wider than mine with same offset which theoretically makes them 1/4 inch closer to the suspension, havin looked at standard front tyre size of 225/50/16 (think this is right) using a wheel calculator (http://www.nice-wheels.co.uk ) and your new tyre size it would appear that your overall tyre diameter is 23 mm larger hope this helps (think I've got the sums right)

 

thanks for looking at that mate - well i want to space out by 25mm so fingers crossed that will be part of the solution.

 

i've got 235/35/19 on the front and get no rubbing at all... could it be the tyre is the prob? have you tried with a different size tyre but same size wheel???

 

HTH

 

Neil

 

the 18s that came off were 225 and although there hadn't been any noticable problem over the last 4 years, when they came off they were bold on the insides! it seems that they are also a little too close to the u-joint (or whatever it is) - which brings me back to suspension problems...

 

Easy peasy, u cut the stock studs down then stick on the 20mm job done, btw mine are cut to overcome this prob, Dont worry about cutting them they are only 2 quid each and easy to replace. Took me a few mins to cut them down with bolt cutters then i groumd them down so they were smooth and so the nuts catch on the ends.. Just dont cut them off to much lol. You must leave ebough thread to be safe. I still have plenty of thread left to play with.

 

i still dont like the sound of that even though enough experienced people on here have said its ok. i rang the chap again and explained my problem. unfortunately they don't do 25mm spacers, but he suggested that i get a 5mm standard spacer, put that on the hub BEFORE the 20mm hubcentric. this sounds like it makes sense, cos ive got about 5mm too much stock stud, and i dont lose any engagement between spacer and alloy. so i might pop down to halfraudulent and get a pair of 5mm paxo spacers

thanks for looking at that mate - well i want to space out by 25mm so fingers crossed that will be part of the solution.

 

 

 

the 18s that came off were 225 and although there hadn't been any noticable problem over the last 4 years, when they came off they were bold on the insides! it seems that they are also a little too close to the u-joint (or whatever it is) - which brings me back to suspension problems...

 

 

 

i still dont like the sound of that even though enough experienced people on here have said its ok. i rang the chap again and explained my problem. unfortunately they don't do 25mm spacers, but he suggested that i get a 5mm standard spacer, put that on the hub BEFORE the 20mm hubcentric. this sounds like it makes sense, cos ive got about 5mm too much stock stud, and i dont lose any engagement between spacer and alloy. so i might pop down to halfraudulent and get a pair of 5mm paxo spacers

 

 

Sh1t idea, Two spacers is asking for trouble. The second spacer wont be resting on the hub and all the load will then be resting on the studs, BAD IDEA especially when going as big as 25mm.

Whats your current wheel offset without any spacing so we can get an idea of how much width youve got to play with.

 

Only way and safest way is to cut the studs, its real easy i was up and running same day, Your stuck without a car coz your not brave enough to cut a couple studs lol. As long as all the nuts thread is on the studs thread your safe.

 

BTW driftworks do 25mm spacers

Edited March 19, 200916 yr by j1mmytt

Sh1t idea, Two spacers is asking for trouble. The second spacer wont be resting on the hub and all the load will then be resting on the studs, BAD IDEA especially when going as big as 25mm.

Whats your current wheel offset without any spacing so we can get an idea of how much width youve got to play with.

 

Only way and safest way is to cut the studs, its real easy i was up and running same day, Your stuck without a car coz your not brave enough to cut a couple studs lol. As long as all the nuts thread is on the studs thread your safe.

 

BTW driftworks do 25mm spacers

 

good point mate i hadnt thought of that, and neither it seems did the chap who reckons he runs that setup on his skyline v-spec :slap:

 

lol im brave enough im just thinking about all options first :smash: i'll probably end up doing just that

 

current offset is 35mm

good point mate i hadnt thought of that, and neither it seems did the chap who reckons he runs that setup on his skyline v-spec :slap:

 

lol im brave enough im just thinking about all options first :smash: i'll probably end up doing just that

 

current offset is 35mm

 

Well what i would do is, Fit the 5mm and the 20mm together and go for a short drive just to see if the tyres scrub at all before you go cutting the studs, if all is good then get back home safely and get the grinder out. Bare in mind theres an extra 5mm that wont be there once the 20mm is fitted so you must be sure theres enough clearance on the inside also. If the 20mm scrub on the inside then you will just have to get the 25mm bolt ons, lifes a biatch aint it. btw whats the tyre profile your running? 40 or 35? just to add 40 would be too chunky on them 19's.

http://www.driftworks.com/catalog/products/25mm-bolt-on-wheel-spacers.html

I think your answer is as said 25mm spacers I have 25mm spacers with 245 x 45 x 18" and no rubbing and they dont go pass the wheel arches as they passed an mot inspection

I think your answer is as said 25mm spacers I have 25mm spacers with 245 x 45 x 18" and no rubbing and they dont go pass the wheel arches as they passed an mot inspection

 

Yes but it depends on the wheels offset not that simple.

Well what i would do is, Fit the 5mm and the 20mm together and go for a short drive just to see if the tyres scrub at all before you go cutting the studs, if all is good then get back home safely and get the grinder out. Bare in mind theres an extra 5mm that wont be there once the 20mm is fitted so you must be sure theres enough clearance on the inside also. If the 20mm scrub on the inside then you will just have to get the 25mm bolt ons, lifes a biatch aint it. btw whats the tyre profile your running? 40 or 35? just to add 40 would be too chunky on them 19's.

 

yeah ill probably give that a try tomorrow mate.

 

front profile is 35.

 

noobish question here - but are those five small nuts all thats required to hold the spacer to the hub???

yeah ill probably give that a try tomorrow mate.

 

front profile is 35.

 

noobish question here - but are those five small nuts all thats required to hold the spacer to the hub???

 

As long as they torque up yes of course, All the load rests on the hub/lip not the bolts, the bolts just hold the stuff in tight that's why its so important to have the correct size spacer hub-centric with the wheel . I bet there are loads of zeds out there with improper spacers fitted, most common symptom is wheel vibration/wobble at about 70-80 mph.

update: got a pair of 5mm ripspeed (wikid) spacers, chucked them on the hub first, chucked the hubcentrics on, chucked the wheels on, and...

 

...well, they clear the inside of the arms nicely...

 

...they stick out just a tad too much to be legal i reckon, but then again my intention was to see if the 25mm would fix my problem altogether and if so, take the 5mm's off, hack the thread by 5mm and leave just the 20mm's on.

 

unfortunately it seems that for some reason now my fookin wheels are pointing in different directions (probably not good :slap: ) checked all round to make sure spacers etc. seated properly, which they were. even though the driveway is sloped slightly from house to road, there is definately about 10mm less clearance in the offside arch :( which makes me think my suspension is really fooked and is sagging down on that side and causing the problems (or making them far worse).

 

pic 1 shows 5mm's on before 20mm's.

pic 2 shows offside front arch clearance (or lack of)

more pics:

 

this is with the steering pointing in the same direction. the nearside wheels are pointing slightly left, and the offside wheels are pointing slightly right

 

F**K!

Dave, I have been reading through this thread and unless your wheel bearings are shot it's not possible for the tyre to touch at this point as the wheel and top mount move in relation to one another, the gap will remain the same with the car jacked up or not. If you want piece of mind put the 3mm spacer on for extra clearance and get your tracking checked this is why your other tyres were worn on the inside.

 

Paul

Dave, I have been reading through this thread and unless your wheel bearings are shot it's not possible for the tyre to touch at this point as the wheel and top mount move in relation to one another, the gap will remain the same with the car jacked up or not. If you want piece of mind put the 3mm spacer on for extra clearance and get your tracking checked this is why your other tyres were worn on the inside.

 

Paul

 

using the tyre calculator, my wheels have grown 17mm in diameter from 18 to 19, plus 20mm in width. somethings definately gone up s**t creek though.

 

plan of action: get some new rubber for my old 18's (front only, as they were bald on the insides) - remove the spacers and chuck the 18s back on the front so its back to how it was (and therefore driveable), and get the tracking checked. this is no doubt in lieu of finding something else wrong.

 

forgot to mention that yesterday after putting the spacers on, i couldnt even get my car down the ramp and out of the driveway - the tyres weren't just rubbing on the arches, they were trying to MOVE THE WINGS. :rofl: :headvswal

well, new rubber on the front two old 18s (set me back £120), so with the 19s and spacers off at least the sh*tbag will be mobile again. im gonna risk skipping the tracking and just get a new suspension setup all round, and then get it tracked.

Hi mate

 

I have just had my front studs replaced with longer ones as mine were not long enough. It turns out this was because they had been cut down to fit inside the 20mm spacers that were on my car. If you want them then I'm happy to put them in the post for you. Let me know.

 

Cheers Ron

Hi mate

 

I have just had my front studs replaced with longer ones as mine were not long enough. It turns out this was because they had been cut down to fit inside the 20mm spacers that were on my car. If you want them then I'm happy to put them in the post for you. Let me know.

 

Cheers Ron

 

you have pm mate :)