[Mk1] 17 inch wheels rubbing

[goodfella]

Hi all,

I purchased my car complete with 17 inch rims and 205/40/17 tyres last summer and today I went to get some new rubber for the front. Problem is that now the tyres have lots of tread they are rubbing against the spring supports in the arches.

Anyone know what my options are in order to make them run free??

For the mean time iv swapped the new tyres and put them on the back. The trouble is I need new ones on the front so I cant just wait until they wear down until I swap them again. My MOT is coming soon as well to make matters worse.

Ive seen mk1s with 17s before so Im wondering how they've achieved this?

[TheRoadWarrior]

205/40/17 is almost exactly the same diameter as the stock wheels- in fact i've just worked it out and its only 0.05% bigger in circumference, which is nothing.

So it isnt rubbing because the tyre is too big. All i can think is the wheel is a really low offset, like et30 or less and thats making it rub against the side of the strut.

Do you know the wheel offset? Sometimes its stamped on the wheel. Also, have you checked the tyre company has actually fitted 205/40's- and not something with a larger profile?

[MegatronUK]

So it isnt rubbing because the tyre is too big. All i can think is the wheel is a really low offset, like et30 or less and thats making it rub against the side of the strut.

... it works the other way round. A smaller offset pushes the wheel further to the outside of the arch... for example the rear wheels on my mk1b are 8" wide with an ET27 offset, if I had standard arches they would stick way out by about an inch and a half.
On the other hand if I was running an ET40 or ET45 offset the wheel would be brought further inboard where it would probably catch the spring platform, which sounds like what the problem is here.

Check your wheels, you really don't want anything higher than ET40.

BTW, 205/40x17 is quite a way out from original mk1 tyre sizes (185/60x14).. the speedo will be out by another +3.15%.

195/40 or 205/35 would be closer to what you need - but they'll be mega expensive.

I'm running...
195/45x16 up front = +0.7% difference
225/40x16 at the rear = +1.5% difference
It gives a bigger footprint, still keeps the front end sharp and a nice compromise between looks, handling and comfort.

[TheRoadWarrior]

Ahh my bad. 1st mistake, offset- you're correct. Smaller offset would push the wheel out more.
2nd mistake, i assumed you had a MK2.. thats the correct tyre dimensions for the MK2.. sorry!

[Andy Jones]

What make of tyre did you have & have just had fitted?

Are you sure it's the tread height thats the problem as you were running this size before?

Just that i've seen it happen on various cars where the wheel is running so close to the susension sometimes when you replace tyres and go for another brand which offers more rim protection it can start to rub on suspension/inner arch liner

[PW@Woodsport]

ive taken a hammer to the underside of the spring pan before just to "relieve" it a bit where the tyre has rubbed.In general 17's fit without a problem,as the lads say it must be down to a strange offset.

By the way im not advising hitting your spring pan with a hammer,its just something ive done on my own cars in the past.

[RePete]

You can easily run spacers to fix that problem, this will push out the wheel more towards the fender and clear your spring perch.

Your first order of business is figuring out what your offset is. Try popping the wheel off and checking for any stamps inside near the hub or the spokes, or if you're lazy you could just Google the wheel and you might get lucky with some info.

If you get spacers you're going to be subtracting from the offset. So if your wheel is ET45 and you get a 10MM spacer than it will have an overall effect of having ET35.

You'll want to produce an offset between ET34 and ET42 for 205/40-17s for a 7" wheel width.

[goodfella]

Well I dont know the offset but Il take them off tomorrow and see what I can find but you may be correct Andy Jones as Iv just had a look and their must be 15mm of room between my old tyre which is on the front and the spring pan. That distance cant be made up of just tread so perhaps it is the brand of tyre im using.

The old tyres are Yokohama A539 where as the new ones are some budget Nexen N3000 (Im broke). Anyone heard of this tyre?

So do I invest in some new Yokos and hope they fit or try the spacers?

Thanks for the help guys.

[Andy Jones]

Heard of the Nexen's but not seen them yet so can't comment on rim protection and how much they bulge but the A539 does sit square with the rim.

A 3mm spacer "may" cure it but if it is the new tyre thats definitely rubbing i'd go back and explain whats happening and see if they'll swap them or come to some deal so your not out pocket - If it's catching or rubbing on anything it's an MOT fail.

Stay away from V rated Federal SS595's too. W rated are fine, They sit flush with the alloy but the V rated have an insane rim protecter which is more of a damage prevention system Actually should fit these to the g/f's car next time as she seems to use her alloys as a 3rd brake.

HTH

[goodfella]

=D>

[goodfella]

Problem solved guys, 3mm spacer has saved the day!! =D>