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I just bought some new wheels and tires for my wife's '04 Civic. The car has H&R Sport springs, which lowered the car around 1.5". The tires are 225/45-17s the rears were rubbing BADLY. Yesterday I had a body shop shave the inner fender wells. That eliminated the majority of the problem, but the tires still rub when going over big bumps/dips, corners or when weight is added to the rear (i.e., passenger in rear seat). I foresee the following options:

1. Have the rear fender wells shaved more.
2. Have an alignment done, with some negative camber on the rear.
3. Buy smaller tires (i.e., 215/40-17).

Any suggestions?

 
Rep Power: 285

The proper tire size to match up with the stock size is 205/45-17 or 215/45-17.
I have 215/45-17, and haven't had any problems at all, but I'm also not lowered.

Tire size would fix the problem the best but i'd be the most expensive.

 
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try 2, then go for 3.

 
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Try 3 I have the exact same springs and 215/40/17 and with people in the back seat there is no rub what so ever. I never tried 215/45/17, the tires and rims I have came with the car. I added the H&R springs and no rubbing. So try the tires it still rides Ok, just can feel more bumps, you may only need 215/45 though since you have 225/45. Hope something works for you.

 
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What amount of negative camber would you suggest? I know that any amount will cause uneven tire wear.

 
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The tires I use, RT-615s, are only available in 215/40-17 and 225/45-17.

 
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Oh ****. you used 225 Falkens? You realize those probably measure more like 240 right? This should be fun.

If you're going to attempt to camber it out, start with -1.25 and 0 toe, go from there. At some point, you're going to hit the inside of the wheel well, on the left side first (gas tank neck).

 
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Oo. right now im running 215/45/17 i had to adjust to some negative camber to stop the rubbing which wasnt too bad. I also rolled the fenders with a bat.

Im upgrading to 225/45/17 i hope i dont rub as bad as u
Im running BF goodrich T/A KDW in that size.

damn...

 
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you need 215/40/17.....mine is lowered 2 1/2" all the way around and with 17s i never rubbed even with my fat *** friends riding in the back..a 45 series tire also just looks too damn big

 
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Thats the size I have 215/40 and the same springs so they dont rub.

 
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get some coilovers and raise it up a little?

my 225/45/17 michelin's fit fine ... but then u guys mentioned that falken seems to have a problem making their tire sizes correctly ...

 
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Falken doesn't do it by accident, they don't have a problem making them right. it is 100% intentional

The Azenis sports (215s and 615s) are huge with the autocross crowd, falken knows this and knows that there are rules in Street Touring (where everyone uses these tires) that say that the width of the tire may not exceed 225 (STS) and 245 (STX). The rules aren't hidden secrets and everyone knows more rubber is more grip, so they hold the aspect ratio (the sidewall is based on the theoretical treadwidth), increase the width 10-15 more mm and it basically comes off as an accepted variation in size. Its basically legal cheating.

 
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haha i think 225/45/17 is too big, you should use the tire size calculator. it says to use 215/45/17 i think.

 
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hmm, that is an interesting piece of information.

assuming that falken's 225/45 is actually closer to a 235/45 or 245/45, wouldn't that make it not really recommended to fit on a 7.5" rim? (theoretically)

 
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Yes, I have the RT-615s, I use them for daily driving, and they are by far the best tire I have ever had. The grip is phenominal for a DOT approved tire.

I plan on getting a set of these for my S2000 once I wear out the stock tires.

 
Rep Power: 424

The wider the rim is, the better. A 205/50/15 azenis almost needs to be shoehorned onto a 6.5" rim, it fits a 7, it fits a 7.5 even better.

 
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dude, just roll the rear wheel arches, before sacrificing treadlife. also, 225 is way too wide for what i'm guessing is 7 in wheels...205 or 215s and you'd be good. i have 215/40R17 on my civic with S-techs and i never rub

 
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So, knowing that the wheels I have are 17x7s, should I go ahead and get the 215/40-17s? I can always use the 225/45-17s as front tires on my S2000.

 
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u might half to get ur fenders rolled.

 
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Fenders can't be rolled--they've already been shaved, therefore there isn't any material to roll.

 
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i am just curious on why you would want 45 series tires...you guys do not think that they look too big, i cant stand it....looks like freaking balloons on your rims...lol

 
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Didn't have a choice...RT-615s are only made in a 45 series (in terms of their 225-17).

 
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oh well I didnt know all that, I dont know much about tires but why dont you just get a different brand???im sure there is more than one good brand of stickey tires...yoko parada spec II work well for me, of coures i dont do much auto x, except on the to grannys house on the 2lane country roads

 
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Because the RT-615s are hands-down the best max performance tire you can buy. Bought the only thing stickier would be something like a V710, but you wouldn't want to use those for daily driving.

 
Rep Power: 288

get the camber negated and get nitto neo-gens with the innerlocking tread-ed shoulder design. it helps to reduce extreme wear for neg camber wheels.


problem solved.<<<<<link

 
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i've got 215-45-17's and they rub like a bitch in the back. When I dropped it, i threw the rims on real quick just to see how it was and they rub. I think a 45 profile is fine, especially in new england where the roads are ****. My offset on the rims is the problem, not sure the exact offset, but they are about 1/4" past the rear wheel well or fender if you know what I mean. I'm gonna try rolling them and see what happens-BTW the drop is sportlinse on blues

 
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Problem has been solved. I went back to Discount Tire and bought four 215/40-17s. I'll get them around Tuesday.

They offered to simply exchange the 225s for the 215s, but I told them that I don't blame them for selling me the 225s. I told them that I would simply use the 225s on my S2000. The guy said that the rear 225s are getting pretty tore up from rubbing and shouldn't be re-used. So, I gave in and let them charge me for two new tires.

 
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good call...thats what i would have done

 
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just use the right size - 205 45 17's.
No problem with rubbing.

 
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215/40-17 is also the right size.