Rubbing my tire the wrong way

[dpmmsp]

When Grimace and Arkitek were in the car on Saturday, there was a loud rubbing noise from the driverside rear. :mad: ........ I thought I had heard the odd noise before, but the stereo kinda masked it. This was the first time I had driven much with passengers.

I took it to Avante and told the service guy I thought it was the plastic fender liner (there's one on the driver's side but not on the passenger side ... they couldn't really explain why). The service manager came over and said it wasn't the liner but that the tire was hitting the edge of the fender and that he'd seen it before on other Proteges. It had to do with the offset of the rear wheels. They say I have to get the inside of the wheels milled down to give the tire room.

anyone ever heard of that? .... does it weaken the rim?

He says its OK to drive as long as I don't "put 5 guys in an drive around in circles".

 

[slug420]

would i be correct to assume this problem would only be worsened with 18s?

discouraging........

 

[dpmmsp]

I think it would make 18s impossible.

 

[Newf]

what size winters do you have on?

 

[JasonH]

Sounds like your wheels might be the wrong offset. Do you know the width and offset of them? And what size snow tires?

 

[arkitek]

dpmmsp,

I do think it's your offset as I mentioned this past Saturday. That fender thing sort of threw me off as a red herring. Your tires do look to be "out" by quite a bit as we noticed. Stock offset is 55 mm on the MSP I believe.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/offset.htm

Call your tire/wheel place and ask them what's the offset is on your rims or look it up on the Net. It would be a good piece of information for us people looking for winter tires/rims.

 

[slug420]

aaaaaaaaaah, i forgot u had winters on, i was thinking it was with stock wheels! all is well.....

 

[Grimace]

Its most likely the tire place put rims with the wrong offset on the car, which will make the tires stick out a little further, and contact the fenders on the car over bumps/around corners that induce body lean. Although it really did sounds like rubber on plastic though. But I agree with Arkitek, the tires did seem to sit out a little more than usual.
Have you got any resoultion on this yet dpmmsp?

 

[dpmmsp]

I have to take the car to the tire place .... they will take my wheels and fit the car with "loaners" and it will take two days to mill down the wheels the few mm's they think it needs

 

[arkitek]

hey dpmmsp,

Did they tell you what your winter rims' offset is?!
Do you know the exact model of your rims as
I can perhaps look it up?
Need to know to be sure that the ones I'm getting are ok.
Thanks.

 

[dpmmsp]

I'm not sure of the offset 50 or 55 I think. I'll call the tire guys on Monday, I have to set up an appointment anyway.
The rims are Enkei CDR-9's, 16". The President and service manager of Dave (is it?) Howe Mazda in Newmarket were at the TOProtege dinner, and they thought the winter tires I got were "very tall". They're Yokohama AVS-V901's ....... does that make any sense? .... I didn't know there was a difference.

 

[Grimace]

From http://www.sccoa.com/faq/tirecalc.html :

Your winter tire are 205/55R16's if memory serves. That gives a height of 24.88 inches.
Stock summer tire is P215/45R17 (again, if memory serves). That gives a height of 24.62 inches.
So there should be about 1/4 inch height difference between them; not enough to cause a problem IMHO. But, to be on the safe side, is it possible for you to put the summer tire next to the winter tire and compare their heights. Maybe the tread block height of the winter is significantly higher? Those figures I stated above are only to the bottom of the tread block, and don't take into account different tread patterns, so if the winter tire is significantly "blockier" (read: taller) that might be the problem.
Otherwise, the offset is wrong, and the winter tire is sitting too far outboard. Look at the rear of the car at eyelevel with the fenders (crouch down). Does it look like if the suspension is compressed, the sidewall (or even worse, the tread) of the winter tire will contact the edge of the fender? It might help to have a couple of buddies bounce the car for you to get a better look.
Hope this helps!

 

[dpmmsp]

Thanks Grimace .... I'm pretty sure its the offset ..... who the hell remembers the numbers of tires like that???? You must have done well in school!!!

From the rear you can see the tire wouldn't have to travel up to far to touch the fender lip.

I'll take it to the wheel guy .... I just don't want to do it now or I'll have to drive around with crap loaner wheels over Christmas. It's no real problem as long as I'm alone in the car.

 

[arkitek]

dpmmsp,

Can't seem to find on the Net the offset info on your CDR-9's. How annoying! They might come with different offsets too although I could be very wrong on this.

When you bring your car in, plz do ask them what's the offset is on them CDR-9's. Thanks.

 

[Limited Edition]

what is the stock offset of the Racingharts?
define to me what offset exactly is please..
thanks!

 

[rowan]

The offset should be printed somewhere in the inside of the wheel. It will be in the +50 range..

Most current Enkei rims do not have a high enough offset to fit our cars just right, but even with just +42 you should be able to sqeak by on the sedan.

Read ARD MP5's thread about fitments and you will see what the proper size it.

before having the wheels machined, check with the manufacturer to make sure it will not compromise the structural integrity

If machining turns out not to be a viable option, then b**** at the wheel place you bought them from because they did not sell you the correct fitment of wheels.

 

[ARD MP5]

Listen to rowan. He has spoken some wise words.

 

[dpmmsp]

I've asked that question of the dealership sales manager, the service manager, both the president and service manager of Dave Wood Mazda, and the guys at the wheel place, and no one seems to thing it is a big deal ..... it was my big concern too.

 

[Grimace]

what is the stock offset of the Racingharts?
define to me what offset exactly is please..
thanks!

Don't know stock offset of Racing Hart wheels.

Definition of offset:
Offset is how far outboard or inboard the tire sits relative to the wheel hub.
You know those lowrider Jeeps with those low-profile tires sticking about 6" out from the sides of the vehicle, playing some heavy euro-beats from the 4 15" subs in the back? Those have a large offset.

 

[Newf]

MP3's Racing Harts are 55 offset. I'd imagine the MSP is the same.