Rear Tires Rubbing...

[BlackLion]

I have had the current tires on my Protege since fall of last year and never had a problem but this weekend my rear tires would rub the when I took a turn a little faster than I really needed to. I didn't hear any clunking or anything else but the rubbing.

Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S - P205/50 ZR16TL 87WM+S

I have about 95k on the car (2002 ES). If this is a rear strut problem, what strut would be recommended for the car?

Thanks

 

[Black_Protege_5]

What rims do you have on the car?

 

[BlackLion]

What rims do you have on the car?

American Racing Estrella 16x7 (Were already on the car when I bought it)
No problems at all like this...I've had the car since Feb 05

The rubbing is occuring on the outside of the wheel...we had to bend back the wheel well around the outter lip. Forgot to mention exact location of the rubbing.

 

[mountjonas]

i'd get tokico blues. also your wheels may be the wrong offset.

 

[BlackLion]

offset on the AR site says 35

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Yea thats pretty low. I wouldn't go anything lower than +45's or +42's with small tires.

 

[BlackLion]

Yea thats pretty low. I wouldn't go anything lower than +45's or +42's with small tires.

Is there a way to change the offset or do I need to start looking for new rims?

 

[mountjonas]

you "could" have the rim machined to a higher offset, but i don't know how safe that would be. the best bet would be to get some new wheels in the correct offset.

 

[Black_Protege_5]

The only problem i could see with machining the rim is that the spoke will get close to the caliper and could hit or rub.

 

[BlackLion]

That sucks, I just spent $500 on these tires, I was planning on getting 17s in another 18 months or so (waiting to get outta school). Thanks for the help, I guess I'll start looking for some decent 16 inch rims.

 

[Black_Protege_5]

if its not a bad rub then just wait till you get 17's

 

[BlackLion]

I've been looking online trying to find some wheels on other Protege's so I know I'm getting a set that work. Know any place that has good deals on wheel/tire packages? 16s or 17s...

 

[hudnik]

discountedwheelwarehouse.com

search google

i got a set of gunmetal 17's with z-rated tires (cheap, but z-rated still) and lug nuts for 800 shipped , mounted, balanced

 

[BlackLion]

I found some Motegi FF7 with a +42 offset on both the 16s & 17s. I am planning on getting some Eibach springs in the near future...would this wheel be able to handle the drop? Would glossy black or gunmetal look better?

I would kinda like to stick with 16s because of the tires I have now...I live in the midwest so I need M+S tires for the winter, until I can get enough money to get a winter set wheels and tires. What advantage other than looks does 17s give me over 16s.

 

[FunkyBuddha]

so you were rubbing even without being lowered? I would get new struts for sure. and 42 is still too low. Go at least +45mm.