Wide wheel guys... gimme some help!

[Nix]

Disclaimer: I am not into the flushness/wide wheel thing. I don't hate but it's not my thing. This is the wifes DD so she wanted it to look a particular way. I was all about 18x8 +40.....


Ok so I got the new wheels and tires mounted on my wifes sedan this morning. They look awesome. Exactly the look she wants.... but the rub. (I was against the size due to the potential for problems.)

2009 LX sedan
Stock height! Upcoming drop is the 0.75" HFP.
18x8.75 +35
225/40/18 tire: Falken 912
Alignment just done: no more than -0.5 camber anywhere.

I consulted tons of threads and fitment charts. I even messaged some people who own the same wheel and they said they were lowered with no rub.

I have rubbing in the rear only. Fronts seem fine so far. I took some pics so I need a quick consult with some of you wide wheel guys as to the best fix.

Side shot: Yes they are dirty and have the mold release stuff and the mounting goop on them. It's rainy so Ill be cleaning them as soon as possible. (They have been sealed already, should clean up quick.)

Front: Poke a little? Camber bolts on the way. Will -1.25 or so pull it in enough? Currently no rub in the front.

The problem area: The rears.


Here's where I need some help. sk8nava , AlienPrime. Sk8 I hope you can help me the most since you used to have a very similar car.

This shot shows the "rub" line on the sidewall of the tire. Right above where it says ZIEX

I took a shot looking up at the fender. Is this white line where the tire is hitting? I'm going to try and clean it off and then drive and see if it reappears indicating a contact zone.

So my question is: Should I roll? Shave? Just run a camber kit? Let me know guys. For the next couple days Ill be driving very carefully. I only rubbed on a large dip pulling into the parking lot so far. No issues highway and otherwise flat driving. Thanks!

 

[AlienPrime]

I would suggest a very very mild roll. like only enough to make the rubbing stop.. maybe 1/16th of an inch

camber is an option but will be a lot of money for camber arms :/ like $300+

 

[SiEnthusiast]

Camber kit can be expensive but check on ebay, sometimes you can get the skunk 2 rear camber kit for less than $200.
The camber kit will help but you will want - camber, what you'll need is probably not enough to make your tires wear too fast though.
I would wait till after the drop and see then

 

[Nix]

You think that'll clear? What about that white line on the underside of the fender? Thanks for the help

 

[SiEnthusiast]

You'll definitely need to roll your fenders though... My boy had rubbing issues on 2012 si dropped with 8" wheels.
Again though, i would wait until after you lower it to roll them
When you lower the car you will get -camber anyways, don't know how much the HFP kit will give though

The white line is definitely where it's scraping. You can try clearing it, then go over a speed bump and check for it again

 

[Nix]

Thanks! Im going to go for a drive and see what's up.

 

[Nomar06]

The white line is not where the tire is rubbing. There is too much metal between the line and where the fender ends. Try driving the rear tire onto a curb or load the trunk/rear seat up with weight to get the tire to "tuck" so you can get a good look.

I think you might be able to get away with just camber but the HFP drop will not yield enough camber to help.

 

[Nix]

Sweet! Great idea Nomar! I just cleaned the line and went for a drive. It did not reappear so I don't think that's where its hitting. I bought an angle grinder($15) and im going to take down some of the inner fender lip this weekend. I'll definitely use that trick to see how much I need to take off. It is a very very slight, thin line on the tire. Her car has horrible body roll as well so I think getting the new rear sway on there with the stiffer springs will help also.

Ordered camber sliders for my car but they might be going on her car now! Jeez....

 

[the insider]

I'd really think twice about taking a grinder to your car. I think rolling is the better choice. Can you rent a roller locally?

 

[Nix]

I know... I really wanted to avoid all fender work....

As far as rolling... Fronts yes. Rears? No. Shaving works out much better for the rears. I def wanted to roll but after some research the rolled rears came out wavy or damaged too often.It tended to put a strange crease is the rear fender line. Also my rub is so slight I think I can get away with a little trimming.

A guy I work with just had to do it to his 49 Merc' that he's been restoring forever and he said he'll give me a hand. Im still nervous though.

Negative camber is out since the car drives a lot of highway.

 

[Nomar06]

I would advise against the grinding. To me it seems like you are barely rubbing since there is no groove in the tire, just a little rubbing. I would go with camber around 1.5 degrees or so and keep a steady rotation on the tires.

Camber will cause some extra wear but not enough to worry about if you keep a steady rotation schedule. Toe being out is you main worry on tire wear.

 

[Nix]

Yea, I should really stop being a ricer already. The ill fitting wheels and now thinking about taking a grinder to my fenders.... sweet jeebus.... Lemme just spend the $$ and put the sliders on.

I hope some minimal neg camber will do it.

 

[squiggy]

Yea, I should really stop being a ricer already. The ill fitting wheels and now thinking about taking a grinder to my fenders.... sweet jeebus.... Lemme just spend the $$ and put the sliders on.

I hope some minimal neg camber will do it.

Becomes a japanese car forum moderator...becomes a ricer.

 

[Nomar06]

I can't remember the exact camber specs I was running on the Si but it took me a little over two years of driving/dragon runs for the tires to show bad camber ware on the tires. I only aligned the car when the rims and tires were put on. I want to say I was running 2 degrees of camber all around on same spec tires as yours with BF super sport tires.

 

[Nix]

Crazy thing... I took the snowtires out of the trunk and back seat when I had to drive to work.... no rubbing. -100 lbs and no rub. Thats how close it is. But yeah I think im gonna invest a bit more and just do the camber.

 

[Nix]

UPDATE: Remembered to grab the alignment sheet out of the glove box from yesterday...

Rear Camber: Left side -1.5 Right side -1.6

ugh. I guess I could go up to like -2 and see what happens. I was hoping they would be at like -0.5 so I could justify buying camber arms or bolting up my ingalls sliders. Now I feel like the grinder is the best option again. $200 for -0.4? I dunno....

I don't think the HFP drop is going to drop enough to effectively increase the camber. However... I will bolt it up first just to see and then grind since Ill be doing everything all at once and already have the tools, jack, stands, and all that out.

 

[sk8nava]

Its really hard to see how you are rubbing in the rear with less than a 1" drop. But also you are running a 8.75 wheel with a good size tire. I ran into this issue with my 07 coupe when I ran evoX wheels on it with a 225 tire. Here are some options...the ideal, but headache option is to get a set of wheels with different specs; Ideally a x8 +35, you would be golden! The other option would be getting a camber kit, Im running the EMUSA rear camber kit from an 8thgen civic and it only cost me $118 shipped. If im not mistaken, -.5 camber is more positive than the stock camber, so you might want to run about a 1.8/1.9 in the rear to avoid the minor rubbing especially with a .75" drop.
Those are what my options would be, I actually haven't read the rest of the replies cuz I'm lazy but if any of this has already been said then disregard my opinion. Its an easy fix, but somewhere along the way you will run into a headache. No matter whether you are low by an inch or 5 inches, being low is crappy sometimes!

 

[sk8nava]

But none the less, the car looks good btw!!

 

[Nix]

Thanks SK8... I think im gonna look for a set of those camber arms, that's not a bad price. Also im takin the grinder to the inner fender lip either tomorrow or sometime this week. Shouldn't need much. Hopefully just under -2 camber and a little grind should clear.

 

[Nix]

...the ideal, but headache option is to get a set of wheels with different specs; Ideally a x8 +35, you would be golden!

That's what I said in the first place! hahahahaha. Thanks man.