255/40/18 tire rubbing!

I'm thinking either alignment with more camber or you'll have to roll your fenders. Not sure of any other possible solutions, sorry

You won't need to pull your fenders that's for sure.

mooshoo said:

well, this was a bit surprising. i am running the MPSS in 255/40/18 on the stock BBS wheels. its mildly lowered on the RCE yellows. yesterday while pushing the car in turns, i was very suprised to hear rubbing from the tires when the suspension was under full compression. i was under the impression that the tiny extra width would not be a problem with my car. any fast solutions? id rather not roll/pull flenders

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Are you sure that what you heard was a rubbing sound or that you were really rubbing a fender and not a strut? Do you see any markings on a tire?

I'm really surprised if you really were rubbing fender.

I run 18x9.5in rims with ET45 offset (that's 10mm wider offset compared to stock BBS ET55) and 275/35-18 Hankook RS3 tires. I've seen a very very minor rubbing on a very edge of the rear fender's lip. And that was on a street probably coming through a big bump. No rubbing on AutoXs.

I'm a bit higher though - RCE Black springs plus GTWorx Bilstein shocks (they are stiffer than OEM shocks). So, that may be helping a bit. Although the difference in height is minor - a few mm. And you're running on a narrower rim with narrower offset and narrower tire.

I seriously doubt you are rubbing your fender. My stock wheels with 225/45/17 (stock) tires occasionally rub my inner fender liner on full lock. Ive never even been close to rubbing my fenders, and I am lowered on JDM Pinks and RCE lowering camber plates (front only). I am also now running 1" spacers as well, and still no fender rubbing...

Take a quick look at your inner fender liner for rub marks

EDIT: Also, for what its worth, that tiny bit of extra tire width is probably not worth having your tires flex out. It'll reduce the crispness of turn-in and does not yeild much extra overall traction... my .02

At the moment I can only assume its rubbing against the fender. I hear it coming from the front only. Not sure about rubbing against strut though. This is under load, hard corner, at speed.

Other than the yellows, is your suspension stock? What about alignment?

Even if your convinced its your fenders not inner fender liner/strut rub, just take a look in there for rub marks. It's unlikely that you are rubbing your fenders just from some wide tires on stock wheels... These cars have pretty big fenders. Either way, there should be rub marks on something.

BlueScooby said:

Other than the yellows, is your suspension stock? What about alignment?

Even if your convinced its your fenders not inner fender liner/strut rub, just take a look in there for rub marks. It's unlikely that you are rubbing your fenders just from some wide tires on stock wheels... These cars have pretty big fenders. Either way, there should be rub marks on something.

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This. Check you liners for rubbing. You did replace the bump stops when you swapped springs right?

Ill take a gander tonight. Yes, I did swap over the bumpstops. There's a whole bunch of additional bars, braces and bushings underneath but none that contributes to height change. Front camber is -2.5 rear is -1.8.

Wwrx, I'd love to get a ride in your car, as I'm very interested in the billys/gtworx strut! I'm
In San Jose.

mooshoo said:

Wwrx, I'd love to get a ride in your car, as I'm very interested in the billys/gtworx strut! I'm
In San Jose.

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No problem! Shoot me a PM sometime later this week. I work in San Jose too.

Yeah, it's most likely inner liner rubbing, not fender if we're talking about fronts...

Not surprising! You bought the wrong tires. They are too tall. I run 265/35/18 on stock rims with no rubbing at all. The tires you have are taller than stock.

Stock is 245/40/18....

mooshoo said:

Stock is 245/40/18....

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They aren't the same height. See for yourself. The sidewall height difference on a 255/40/18 compared to a 245/40/18 is 4.1% taller. The overall height of the tire is also taller causing it to rub. If you go to a 265/35/18 the smaller sidewalls allow for the same tire height as oem. Your speedo should also be reading a little bit slower also as it is revolving slower. At the end of the day it's not a big deal. Just do a slight roll. Unless.... you are rubbing the inside of the tire with suspension components. Then your only solution is new tires or spacers.

245/40-R18 vs 255/40-R18 Tire Comparison - Tire Size Calculator

Stock 245/40/18 are 25.7 inches high., where your tires 255/40/18 are 26 inches high.. .3 can sneek up on you..

Here is a tire height calculator...

Tire Height Calculator

.3" shouldn't be a problem, because it's half that on top and bottom so .15" or 3.81mm.

Find out where the rubbing is occurring first, put painters tape on the fenders and on potential rub spots on the fender.

You could have a toe problem, a fender liner drooping etc.

Are you running whiteline com c plates or camber bolts up front?

Is it rubbing up front or the rear?