Hello My Friends,

Well my never ending story. Camber was out of whack because previous owner lowered car. He also had changed the OEM tire size in the rear.

I had the K-MAC Camber Kit installed in the front which brought the camber within spec, but now that it is aligned, the tires rub against the wheel well when I turn. The alignment guy said a lower profile tire will help. I currently have 225X40X18 in the front (OEM Spec) and 275x35x18 in the rear. Here are my questions:

1) Can I lower the profile of the front tires without messing up the handling/breaking?

2) If so, what are the next 2 lower profiles I can use given the rear tire sizes?

Thanks,

Glenn

 

Both tires you mention are fine. The front OEM IS 225/40R18, and I believe you meant to say that the rear is 275/35R19.

You may want to try forcing the front fender well back a little bit. Either that or your camber is still screwed up; they shouldn't be rubbing.

If you want to consider other tires, you can stay with the same sizes, but look into some that have a more 'rounded' tread profile. Some, like the Conti's have a very 'squared' tread-to-sidewall, which is probably the exact point that is rubbing your fender well. You can tell a 'rounded' tread pattern tire by looking at the specs; it will show a tread width that is somewhat less than the section width.

If you chose to try a lower profile tire, I'd suggest dropping the aspect ratio on both front AND rear tires - just to maintain the relationship. Have a look at 245/35R18 up front and 275/30R19 in the back. This is a nice low-profile staggered combination. They are both shorter but a bit wider than OEM.

Good luck.

 

Thanks. The car was lowered with Eibach springs and it is pretty low. The rear wheels BTW are 18 inches. By forcing the wheel well out a bit, do I simply hammer it or is there a better method? I will also check into a more rounded bead on the new tires. Great advice!

Thanks again,

Glenn

 

How to 'adjust' the wheel well? Gosh, I don't know. I guess take the wheel/tire off and persuade it with a small maul. Pop the hood and see what's behind it first, but can't imagine there's anything that could be hurt.

Let 'er rip.