19" wheel experts!! Help fixing rear tire rubbing.

[Tkaugh29]

I have 19" wheels, my rears tires are 295/35R19 with all stock ISO's in and H&R sport springs. I also have 5/8 wheel spacers in and the fenders are rolled. There is also MM low profile ISO bolts in. that should be enough info.

Every now and again my when I go over a hump on the road my rear tires will rub the fender. I know this isnt a HUGE problem, but it still really bugs me and I want to fix it. I am not to famillair with these cars yet (ive only had mine for a couple weeks) so im not sure how to fix it.

Some options I thought of are:

1) New tires with smaller sidewalls. Something like a 295/30R19 - Im not sure if this will 100% fix the problem though

2) Get new lowering springs with a smaller drop than the HR Sport Springs - I really like how the car sits now.

I need the help of the SVTp crowd to help me fix this issue. Maybe you guys can think of other sure fire ways eliminate my tire rub. Or guys with experience can give me some ideas.

thanks in advance

-Travis

 

[bwahl602]

one thing you need to realize... the factory tires have a diameter of 25.6 inches... your current tires have a diameter of 27.15 inches...
the 295/30/19 is closer, but still a lil taller.. its just a bigger tire than what was origionally on there... so its gonna rub...

pics of the setup

 

[Tkaugh29]

Here are some picutres, they are the best ones I have; they were taken by the previous owner.

I would also like to note that the tire is rubbing on the rear, where the bumper connects to the rear quarter panel. If your staring at the wheel, the place where it rubs would be either 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock (depending what side your on). I would probably only need a cm or two of clearance.

Thanks for the help.

 

[moot09]

Could always roll your fenders.

 

[Tkaugh29]

they are already rolled...

 

[DICobra]

I think you will still rub on big bumps considering you have taller wheels/tires... Mine has 18" with 335's rears... Still have slight rub on freeway with big bumps but I'm not concerned about it because it's not cutting the tires... You have a badass Cobra btw and the wheels looks hot....

 

[SpectorV]

you should see where its hitting on the fender it may need a touch more rolling.

 

[TORQJNKY]

I run a 305/30-19, H&R race spring with only one ISO installed, no spacers, low profile IRS bolts, fenders are not rolled and I don't rub. I'm running the same TF Mach 5's you have but I am not sure what your offset is. I ordered my wheels with the factory offset and backspacing. Your tires are a little tall as previously mentioned but look good on your 19's. I would check the distance between your inner tire and low profile IRS bolt and see how much space you have. Maybe you can reduce the size of your spacer and move the wheel in a little more. Also as suggested, try to figure out where it's rubbing and maybe get a littel more rolling done.

 

[Tkaugh29]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have mentioned that it rubs right where the bumper meets the rear fender. So depending what side your looking at it rubs about 2 or 10 oclock. I will see if i can roll it a bit more .

TORQJNKY - i cant believe you dont rub! if my fenders werent rolled i think my wheel would rip it right off if i hit a big enough bump. and i need the spacers in there or the wheel will rub on the inside - i am told. I think moving the wheel in a bit via a smaller spacer would work, but i have been told by the previous owner that it will rub on the inside.

 

[TORQJNKY]

My tires are about 3/4inch shorter than yours so that helps. The only way to know if the tire will rub is to Jack it up. With the IRS fully extended, you can see how close the tire is to the IRS bolt.

 

[Tkaugh29]

After reading your previous post TORQJNKY I went out and quickly looked at my car, from just a quick look, its looks to me like i do have enough room to either remove my spacer or use a smaller one, which i think would fix the problem. But where exactly should i be looking for clearance on the inside of the tire. I found what I am pretty sure is the IRS bolt, and im not even close to it. So where exactly would it rub if it was going to on the inside.

But like i said it was just a quick look and it wasnt jacked up. I will take a closer look when i get time.

thanks for the help.

 

[TORQJNKY]

After reading your previous post TORQJNKY I went out and quickly looked at my car, from just a quick look, its looks to me like i do have enough room to either remove my spacer or use a smaller one, which i think would fix the problem. But where exactly should i be looking for clearance on the inside of the tire. I found what I am pretty sure is the IRS bolt, and im not even close to it. So where exactly would it rub if it was going to on the inside.

But like i said it was just a quick look and it wasnt jacked up. I will take a closer look when i get time.

thanks for the help.

This is the IRS bolt we who run wider tires and lowered cars worry about: (Pictured from drivers side, with low profile bolt).

What you need to do is, jack your car up. With the wheels installed on the car and hanging normally, measure the distance between the inside of your tire and the head of the IRS bolt. That will tell you how much less of a spacer you can use. With the round head MM low profile bolts, you can get the tire very close to it if not just barely touching it. What you have to remember is, your car will never get to the same condition as being jacked up off the ground and your wheels hanging freely unless while driving, you hit a bump/hump big enough to get the car completely off the ground. Even then, with rounded IRS bolts, it will not cut the tire.

I have better pics at home but am traveling until Sunday afternoon. If you need better pics, I can get you some then. Let me know if you have any other questions.

You can see the space I have above my tire in these pics and how the tire is tucked in a little.

 

[Tkaugh29]

Thanks for the pics TORQJNKY.

I had to time jack the car up and take a look. the space between my irs bolt and the inner tire was about the width of my thumb, which i measured to be 3/4 of an inch. The spacer I am using is 5/8 so by math, I should be able to remove the spacer, and still have enough room to clear the irs bolt.

I ran into a problem though, To get my tires off i need a thin walled, preferably deep head socket. A tool I dont have at the moment. So i couldnt acutally take my wheels off and get to the spacer to see if i can solve the problem. So i will have to go out and buy that tool or borrow one and try again..

 

[TORQJNKY]

That's great. You should be able to reduce your spacer by at least a 1/2". That would tuck your wheel in some and probably solve your rubbing problem. I would try to remove it completely first and see how close it is then go from there.

 

[Tkaugh29]

well for those following, I took my 5/8 spacer out, and have no problems any more. With the 5/8 spacer out, I have about 2 cm of room between the low pro irs bolt and the inside of the tire. So, I havent driven the car that much, but it seems as though that I solved my rear tire rubbing problem for the most part. I still need to try riding with a passenger and go over some bumps.

Thanks alot to TORQJNKY for all the help.

 

[TORQJNKY]

Good deal and glad to help out. The spacer could have been on the car for any number of reasons. Either the previous owner liked the way the car looked with the wheels out a little further or wanted to move the tire away from the IRS bolt and didn't bother measuring for clearance and just bought some spacers to move the wheel out some thinking that 5/8" would definately get the job done. Glad it worked out for you. Have a good one.

 

[Tkaugh29]

Yeah. Honestly, with the spacers in, the wheels/stance looks better, it just looks meaner somehow with the tires sticking out that extra 5/8ths, but I would rather save my fenders from getting wrecked rather than have a meaner looking stance. The 5/8ths of an inch the wheel moved in doesnt really make that much of a difference appearance wise, I think it is somthing only I will notice.

 

[BIGV]

You could always go with a 3/8 inch spacer that would give you the look you want and should not interfere with the fender. Here is the page from lethal Lethal Performance 3/8 Wheel Spacer and Upgraded Lug Nut Kit [LP-38SPACERKIT] : Lethal Performance, Performance parts for Ford Mustangs

 

[drew454u]

torqjnky- your car has the best stance of any cobra i have ever seen, I will have one that looks similar someday.