theNumber23

hi guys, i'm new here and obviously a newb. anyway, i've got a 98' coupe that i just bought some new rims and tires for: 225/45/17 Nexen n7000 on 17" MSR rims (black with red stripe).

i'm having some problems with the tires rubbing, which i didn't anticipate on the stock suspension (maybe that makes me a complete newb?). anyway, i didn't realize how big everything was till i got them on there (i made the purchase off of craigslist). i just figured that as long as the car wasn't lowered, i'd have nothing to worry about, despite the tires being pretty big.

i've had lowered cars in the past and didn't want to sacrifice the smoothness of the ride [ever] again, and i figured the largeness of the wheels would fill in some of the wheel well gap which i think is a better look. i mean, i've had 18" rims on an rsx before where i couldn't fit a single finger in the wheel well gap, and had no problems with the ride. then again, i had one of best set of springs out there (Tein), but i really don't know what is what when it comes to cars. the springs and rims were already on that car when i bought it.

anyway i love the way they look and i want to keep them, so i've got to figure out a way to make this work, and i need some help. i'm also going to post some pictures just in case anyone is interested.

as far as the rubbing goes, it seems to be mostly concentrated in the rear, even though it sounds as if all 4 wheels are doing at least some degree of rubbing. when i turn the front wheels back and forth while stationary, it seems ok, but i'm not 100% on that just yet - i'll know more tomorrow. in any case, i took it for a test drive yesterday and the slightest dip in the road causes the wheels to rub. when i got to a friend's house, i took a look, and the rear, driver-side fender well was bent out a little towards the front of the car (which i bent back in a little for the ride home - i didn't know what to do).

but when i got home, i was able to really pinpoint that it's the rear wheels doing the bulk of the rub, specifically the driver-side had the most wear and it was to the outside of the wheel. the rubber was sticky and shreds of it were spattered inside the wheel well. i suppose the tire will be fine, they are practically brand new (supposedly 500 miles on them). the rear passenge-side had some slight wear, enough that i could tell it was making contact.

as for the front two tires, they seemed to be ok, and i couldn't really even detect any where. regardless, i'd say that they are all making at least some contact at some point during the drive.

anyway, any suggestions on what i should do? specifically, what is the cheapest thing i should do?

thanks guys

theNumber23

theNumber23

here are some various pictures of the different wheels and the amount of spacing i have between the tire and wheel well. the last few are of the rear driver-side which has the most damage as you can see to the outside edge of the tire. it might look a little worse than it is because there is kind of a wavy "S" design that was shredded which you can see what it would look like in the pics of the tires with less wear. you can also see the inside of the wheel well a bit, and the damage it did to the well, which i bent back, temporarily - i didn't know what else to do.

btw, that big black spot on my bumper is just some rubber that i got on my fingers last night and accidentally smeared on there. just in case it might throw anyone off...

slow_n_low01

im new to this forum also but have had rubbing issues in the past on my chrysler and had to roll the frenders and quarter panels. From the minimal wear that should fix the issue nicely. If that doesnt work you can sell me the rims.

theNumber23

just wondering, what exactly does rolling the fenders and quarter panels imply? is it a lot of work, and does it cost much?

i called my mechanic earlier before i made the post, and he mentioned something of the sort, but i didn't have much time to talk to him. though, i'm going to take my car over to him tomorrow.

thanks

theNumber23

ok, i did a little research on what rolling the fenders is all about. now, would it be safer/cheaper/easier to take this to a body shop to have done? how much might something like this cost? i live in NJ if anyone can give me any info.

theNumber23

ok, i had my mechanic give it a shot today and no more rubbing. he said he used a pipe and bat to roll the wells and the paint was fine. then, i had him spray the well over with that protective paint **** to keep from any rusting. i still get a little rubbing on the front left side on hard turns, but it's not bad, the rear was where i was having the problems.

nonetheless, he recommended i get a coilover kit. so, that'll be my next project.

i would post some pics of the wheel wells and wheels, but no one else has even bothered to comment on this page... but they sure like nice.