Wheel Fitment - rubbing HELP

[SinglemaltWSKY]

Hello all,

I've put on the new wheels - all seem to fit great, apart from the drivers side front. Passenger side is fine

The tire is rubbing the bottom of the strut at the spring stop. In the bottom pic you can see how much of the tire is being rubbed, it's not severe, but enough.

It looks like I only need a couple mm shaved off the bottom of the metal stop to clear. Can I shave it? Other solutions?

http://imgur.com/CmsxW.jpg

http://imgur.com/SLAWe.jpg

[SinglemaltWSKY]

Another pic to illustrate

http://imgur.com/CWee3.jpg

[mikewolf]

I would shave it. It's not going to take much and it will still be strong enough even if you went all the way through and made a hole. You could also possibly grind off the weld that holds the spring mount and rotate it out of the way and then reweld it. It would be tricky to weld since you don't want to heat up the shock or it will likely blow a seal. You'd have to have the shock body under water to keep it cool and just do a little at a time.

[SinglemaltWSKY]

OK - good.

I think Shaving is the way to go - if it will retain enough strength after knocking that edge off, we're good to go.

Thanks!!

[JoeT]

If it's only a couple of mm's out, I'm betting there's a difference between the manufacturing tolerances of the lower spring mounts. If you have a 5Lb mini sledge, I'd take the strut off and flip the strut over and hammer on the low spot. It's a permanent fix that way and you never have to worry about it again.

If you shave your tires, you'll need to do it everytime you buy a new set. You won't believe how soft that spring perch is actually... If you can get some leverage, you can even do the BFH adjustment while it's on the car.

Also, I'm betting if you took measurements between the left and right, you'll find that the spring perch is where the culprit is relative to the clevis (if it's a mac strut).

[Cavemanrjc]

I like JoeTs method, Bash it till it fits.
:hammer:

[elementZ]

maybe a 3 or 5mm spacer?

[Navigator]

Jonas,

Isnt the end of the spring sitting right against that spot? Hammering it may work, just make sure to account for tire deflection under load.

When the car is on the ground does it sit level (center of wheel to fender arch)?

[oldguy]

First, that tire looks pretty tall for those perches. What is the OD of an OEM tire and what is the offset of the OEM wheels ?

Second, if you adjust front camber with eccentric bolts in the clevis, then I'd take a careful look at the range of camber adjustment you have available.

You might just sweat blood to 'modify' your perches and then find out that you have such limited range of camber asjustment that the car is only useful for drag racing using those wheels/tires.

[SinglemaltWSKY]

Good points.

The diameter of the wheel is the same as stock - it's the width that's making things a little crazy. It's a 17X9 with 245 40R17 rubber.

From what I can see - the spring is not sitting against that low perch spot. If I hammer it back - I think the smallest spacer I can find (3mm) will give me a bit more insurance for deflection.

Oldguy - also a great point on the camber - hadn't thought about that. The inner wheel is pretty tight to the shock, but there is room. These are the wheels recommended for the job on the E36 BMW according to MANY BMW forums, very popular application.

So - BASHING......then spacers for insurance. Any other thoughts before I locate my sledge?

[Navigator]

This may or may not make sense. You can cut that area with a Dremel such that you can bend it up. The bend should be done to that the spring can never move and travel down any farther potentially hitting or hooking your tire. The added benefit is that the bulge may be gone.

My other question is are the ride heights the same from side to side, is it possible that the strut isn't right?

[SinglemaltWSKY]

Well- - everything on the car is dead stock - and the shocks were replaced just before I purchased the car. The ride heights appear to be the same on both sides - but I have not measured.

Strange - the passenger side does not have this problem, the low side of the spring perch is tucked to the back and the wheel has lots of clearance.

If I hammer the section flat - I imagine the spring will not force it back down.

[oldguy]

Are the struts on the appropriate sides ?

That could change the alignment of the perches.

[SinglemaltWSKY]

Is there any way to tell if they are on the incorrect side?

The passenger side is fine, no clearance issues. But that driver side strut is just different enough. Why the heck would the bulge in the perch be anywhere else but tucked to the inside away from the tire?

Is it possible that they used 2 right side struts?

[Navigator]

Yes they could have. Check the mounting tabs for the brake lines to see if they are the same or different.

[SinglemaltWSKY]

man - I don't want to have to go buy another strut.
Will look tonight and see what's up.

[Navigator]

If you can get the camber you want and hammering it out works then it should be fine. But it is possible that its wrong.

[Cavemanrjc]

After market replacement struts often fit poorly, spring stop in the wrong spot and such.

[SinglemaltWSKY]

Well - the BFH method didn't work in this case. The strut is VERY strong. The more i hit it, the shinier it got.

The spacers arrive today for the fronts - only 3mm.

Angle grinder time.