Tire Rubbing Help Needed Asap!!!

[KamalaMP5]

I'm in the middle of a road trip and need some help really quickly... I'll post the whole story later, but thanks to the low availability of tires in the stock size for the MP5, I had to get a new set of rims and tires to get on the road (Toyo FZ4 205/40ZR16 mounted on 17x7 Enkei Shogun rims). I'm rubbing going over bigger bumps... pretty nasty rubs too, from the best I can tell, it's only the rear tires and it appears that they are hitting the outer lip of the fender at least, but possibly also the top inside of the wheel well. What can I do for a fairly inexpensive fix that can be done in no more than an hour or two by a shop in St. Louis tomorrow morning? Any help or suggestions would be great.... I'll be available to PM for a bit also...

 

[BondoBob]

Well I hope that it's a typo that you put 16" tires on 17" rims.

Assuming that is true and without getting into a discussion of why you decided to put a quick set of rims and tires on just before a road trip, the quickest thing to do is to roll the wheel lips on the back. I've seen discussion here that the P5 doesn't have quite the clearance of the Protege sedan in the rear wheelwells. This is probably the reason for the rubbing. (Question: any idea on the offset of the rims?)

On this trip, are you carrying a lot in the back of the car? I've noticed that running my MP3 with 5 adults will rub the tires as the car is slammed at that point.

 

[KamalaMP5]

It's much worse than putting them on right before a road trip.... I'm in the middle of the road trip right now and this happened on the road. I'll post the whole terrible story when I get home in a a week... I do believe that was a typo on the tire size. We are carrying a good bit of weight, but we had no rubbing on the stock rims/tires. Anyway, the important question I have is what does it mean to roll the wheel lips? Is it something I can manage to do myself without jacking the car up? thanks for your help, BondoBob!

 

[DBR]

several options:

1. roll the rear fender lips yourself. i've heard it's done by jacking up the car, wedge a baseball bat into the wheel well, and slowly let the car down. as the car comes down and wedges the bat against the tire, slowly roll the bat back and forth to bend the fender lip up. repeat this several times, not all at once.

2. go to a body shop and ask them to roll the lip.

3. find rubber wedges to insert into the rear springs to reduce the travel. call a few alignment shops to see if they can tell you where to get the parts and service done. i've found truck alignment shops to be pretty knowledgable/resourceful.

i'd suggest #3, cause it can be a temporary fix if you want. i don't know if you can insert the rubber wedges without raising the car.

the problem with rolling the rear lip is that it can crack the paint, or even worse buckle the rear fender if it's done wrong. i'll probably get the lips rolled on my car someday, but only after doing some research who i trust to do it. i'll also do it when i'm planning to get the car painted anyway, just in case the paint cracks.

good luck. hope the vacation goes well despite the glitch.

 

[DBR]

PS...i meant truck suspension shop, not truck alignment shop.

is there anyone in St Louis who can make some calls/inquiries today, and post any leads?

 

[PR_5_PRYNCE]

buy camber bolts. i have 18s and it fixed my problems ...

 

[BondoBob]

Sorry, I typed that late at night (sort of like now) - - Rolling the fenders (on a nice car) should be done by someone who knows how to do it (think a GOOD body shop).

In the middle of your trip to Wally World in the Family Truckster5, I would go for the camber bolt solution or the spring rubbers.

 

[KamalaMP5]

Thanks for all the advice! I've done some research to educate myself on this a bit (as much as I can do on a road trip)... if I go with adjustable camber bolts, I understand how they would fix the problem with rubbing on the fender lip, but what if I'm wrong and the tires are rubbing on the top of the wheelwell? Will the camber bolts fix that? Also, if I go for spring rubbers, how hard can I expect the ride to get in my car? How long will it take and how much should I expect to pay for the camber bolts to be installed? I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate all the help...

 

[KamalaMP5]

It looks like I'm going to be driving gingerly back from Omaha to NY... any reccommendations for where to get this kind of work done in NY/Long Island/Westchester or the Boston areas?