Tire / Fender Rubbing

BBN-Boys · Joined: 04 Jul 2008 Posts: 261

Still a newb here.

Question about Tire / Fender rubbing:

I was just looking at my xB fender well and was doing some measurements to see the effects of different offsets and wheel/tire sizes and stuff. I also noticed the there is that plastic liner on the interior of the fender well.

I know it really depends on the wheel/tire setup and every xB may be a little different, but for the most part….
When you guys experience the Tire / Fender rubbing, what part of the tire (ie top of sidewall, sidewall bulge, or tread) is actually rubbing the fender. On the fender, do most experience the rubbing only on the plastic liner part. If it's only the plastic liner part that’s rubbing, how do you roll the plastic? I read somewhere about heating the plastic up to reform it. Heating the plastic sounds a little scary to me. I would think I would need something a lot stronger than a hair blow dryer.

For background info…. I plan to have the following wheel/ tire sets:

Set #1:
Wheels 19x8.5 +35
Tires 235/35
on all corners

Set #2 (staggered):
Wheels 19x8.5 +38 front and 19x9.5 +40 rear
Tires 235/35 front and 245/35 rear

Spring drop will be Tanabe NF210 (1.0" Front, 1.7" rear)

Thanks

CIONIDE · Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Posts: 2400 Location: Napa, CA

The common rubbing point on +35 offset wheels is at the top outer edges of the front tires, where they roll over from the sidewall to the tread. Depending on how sharp this transition is (some tires are more squared off here, while others are a little more rounded off) may determine whether a tire rubs or not. Over bumps in the road, this edge of the tire can rub up against the plastic fender liner just inside the fender lip.

If you decide not to go staggered, so that you can rotate, why not use the 19x8.5 +38 wheels from the Set #2 fronts at all 4 corners. That 3mm of offset difference will reduce the possibility of any rubbing.

What wheels are you looking at for each of your two choices?

c_dub · Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Posts: 46

I have not checked exactly what is rubbing on my front tires... But it's safe to say it's the plastic lining... I'll take a closer look when I get home. I have not heard about heating the plastic lining and re-forming it...but rolling the fender can solve the issue. My plan is if it's the plastic lining that's rubing, I'll leave it alone. I'll roll the fender if it's the fender that's rubbing...

c_dub · Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Posts: 46

Well... I jacked my car up and look under the front fender well... I can't find where it's rubbing... whatever it is rubbing on, it may be very minor... I will keep checking periodically and see if I can figure it out... for now, I'll leave it alone and stay away from dips...

BBN-Boys · Joined: 04 Jul 2008 Posts: 261

CIONIDE wrote: What wheels are you looking at for each of your two choices?
I'm actually going to have those 2 sets of wheels/tires on hand for my xB:

Set #1:
MRR HR2
19"x8.5 +35 offset
Falken FK-452 235/35

Set #2 (Staggered):
Ace Trend
19"x8.5 +38 offset (fronts) Falken FK-452 235/35
19"x9.5 +40 offset (rears) Falken FK-452 245/35

I was extremely fortunate to have found those Ace Trend wheels at a very good price. (No, they are not stolen) As I understand, the wheels where never mounted on a car and only used for tire/wheel promotions only.

As you can tell... I favor the 5 spoke style wheels...... easy to clean and maintain.

I'm just trying to anticipate any rubbing issues that I may encounter and how I can fix the problem if it occurs. It will be a couple more weeks before I get the sets togther.... can't wait!

~Thanks

BBN-Boys · Joined: 04 Jul 2008 Posts: 261

c_dub wrote: Well... I jacked my car up and look under the front fender well... I can't find where it's rubbing... whatever it is rubbing on, it may be very minor... I will keep checking periodically and see if I can figure it out... for now, I'll leave it alone and stay away from dips...

Thank you for checking.
It sounds like the rubbing issue is very minor.

c_dub · Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Posts: 46

get the MRR HR2 but staggered set up. Here is why:

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=179241

I love that "concave look"

BBN-Boys · Joined: 04 Jul 2008 Posts: 261

c_dub wrote: get the MRR HR2 but staggered set up. Here is why:

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=179241

I love that "concave look"

That thread really turned me on about those MRR HR2 wheel set. Although I luv that concave look also, I'd rather have the fat lip look in a staggered fitment. That's why I went with a straight set with the HR2's.

c_dub · Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Posts: 46

BBN-Boys wrote: c_dub wrote: get the MRR HR2 but staggered set up. Here is why:

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=179241

I love that "concave look"

That thread really turned me on about those MRR HR2 wheel set. Although I luv that concave look also, I'd rather have the fat lip look in a staggered fitment. That's why I went with a straight set with the HR2's.

I originally wanted the concave look. But then I came across the wheels I got for a great price... So I went with the fat lip look. Both looks are great and it's going to be up to your personal preference.

BBN-Boys · Joined: 04 Jul 2008 Posts: 261

c_dub wrote: BBN-Boys wrote: c_dub wrote: get the MRR HR2 but staggered set up. Here is why:

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=179241

I love that "concave look"

That thread really turned me on about those MRR HR2 wheel set. Although I luv that concave look also, I'd rather have the fat lip look in a staggered fitment. That's why I went with a straight set with the HR2's.

I originally wanted the concave look. But then I came across the wheels I got for a great price... So I went with the fat lip look. Both looks are great and it's going to be up to your personal preference.

I couldn't decide also so I got both setups. Concave and fat lip. :) Concave for the weekdays and Fat Lip for the weekends...... :P

CIONIDE · Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Posts: 2400 Location: Napa, CA

The HHR MR2 thread that c_dub put up the link for is one of the places that references 19x8.5 +35 front wheels with 235/35-19 tires and thefoth wrote: NO RUBBING!!! :)
These were put on an xB at Scion of Bellevue, in Washington State. It is on a TRD drop, which is the same 1" as NF210's. I am inclined to believe that a Scion dealership would not sell a vehicle with rubbing issues, so hopefully you will be OK with these same wheels and tire size BBN-Boys.

c_dub · Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Posts: 46

BBN-Boys wrote: c_dub wrote: BBN-Boys wrote: c_dub wrote: get the MRR HR2 but staggered set up. Here is why:

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=179241

I love that "concave look"

That thread really turned me on about those MRR HR2 wheel set. Although I luv that concave look also, I'd rather have the fat lip look in a staggered fitment. That's why I went with a straight set with the HR2's.

I originally wanted the concave look. But then I came across the wheels I got for a great price... So I went with the fat lip look. Both looks are great and it's going to be up to your personal preference.

I couldn't decide also so I got both setups. Concave and fat lip. :) Concave for the weekdays and Fat Lip for the weekends...... :P

Having both set of wheels would be nice... I wish I had the money to do that.

BBN-Boys · Joined: 04 Jul 2008 Posts: 261

CIONIDE wrote: The HHR MR2 thread that c_dub put up the link for is one of the places that references 19x8.5 +35 front wheels with 235/35-19 tires and thefoth wrote: NO RUBBING!!! :)
These were put on an xB at Scion of Bellevue, in Washington State. It is on a TRD drop, which is the same 1" as NF210's. I am inclined to believe that a Scion dealership would not sell a vehicle with rubbing issues, so hopefully you will be OK with these same wheels and tire size BBN-Boys.

In theory it sounds OK..... I really hope that we're right and no rubbing occurs. :pray:
If not, bring out the BIG Hammer. Just kidding.... :P

CIONIDE · Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Posts: 2400 Location: Napa, CA

Actually another really easy solution is to run 225/35 tires on the MR2 wheels. They'd be a little stretched, but who cares if it prevents rubbing.

BBN-Boys · Joined: 04 Jul 2008 Posts: 261

CIONIDE wrote: Actually another really easy solution is to run 225/35 tires on the MR2 wheels. They'd be a little stretched, but who cares if it prevents rubbing.

The 19" MRR HR2 set will be in my hands tomorrow with the 235/35 FK452 tires.
I haven't installed the Tanabe NF210 springs yet so I will not know if I'll have any rubbing issues yet. O'yeah... I still need to transfer the TPMS sensors on these new wheels too.

CIONIDE · Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Posts: 2400 Location: Napa, CA

The worst case scenario is that they rub slightly once in while when hitting dips or bumps too fast. If it happens and it bothers you, you can always step down to the 225/35's when you're ready for your next set of tires.

BBN-Boys · Joined: 04 Jul 2008 Posts: 261

If does rub, my other thought is that I could transfer the 235/35 to the staggered wheel set which are +38 at the fronts.

CIONIDE · Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Posts: 2400 Location: Napa, CA

Certainly, if you haven't already purchased tires for them yet, or want to have a bunch of extras.