GSD3's Rubbing
 

I have 275/40/17 Goodyear GSD3's on my car and the fronts are rubbing. I think on the inner fender. What are my options for fixing this? I mean, is there anyway without getting new tires or cutting the inner fender? Or is cutting not a big deal? Has anyone else had this problem?

unless you have aftermarket wheels with a relly high offset i dont see how its happening i mean im assuming you have the stock rims on tho so ive nevere heard of it

is it one or both if both...i dont know what to tell you....if its one wheel, chekc your alignment and such

I don't know if it is both wheels, but I know for certain that the front driver is rubbing. I will check the front passenger ASAP.

If it is just one side, would an alignment fix it? I have had it aligned, but just to what ever is stock, or whatever is normal. What is a good alignment to have done (I mean, what should I tell them I want done)? I know I have read it before, but could someone post it up? And if you don't mind, explain to me what they mean, so I don't sound like an idiot when the dealer asks me why I want it done that way? Thanks!

tell them to align it...they will fix it...you definatly should not have rubbing issues...those tires are slightly wider than stock (gs-d3's run a little wide i believe) but people run larger tires up there without problems...somethings wrong

It's rubbing because?
 

Hi there, I think you have a problem with your front end to have it rub like that. Those goodyears shouldn't be any bigger or wider that the stock 275/40/17s. I'm running 285/40/17 Kumho Ecsta MXs on all 4s and also my car is slammed with Eibach Sportlines and no rubbing issues whatsoever. Go to a good alignment shop or maybe just the dealer and tell them what your problem is, they'll be able to help you out. Hope this helps, Kevin from Las Vegas. :confused: :) :drive:

I told the dealer to check it out while it was in having the driver window fixed, and they just basically said "yep its rubbing". The guy I talked to wasn't the one who actually worked on it, but he said he saw one side rubbing bad, and he "figured" the other was too. He said to fix it I need smaller tires or to cut holes in the inner fenders. I guess if it was only the one side, maybe an alignment would fix it.

Can someone please post up the numbers for both a stock alignment as well as a general performance alignment?

And if someone is really in the mood, I would like to know what it all means. But at least post up the numbers, because I want to make sure they set it up correctly. And I don't think they should be rubbing either. Very weird. Thanks so far!

Something has got to be bent or wrong offset on the rims. There should be no reason for the car to rub. Does it set level? And a alignment probably WONT fix the problem. But it is a good idea to have the front suspension checked for worn of loose parts. And then if nothing car be seen and alignment is next that will tell what is going on, as far as bent parts or something. As far as the alignment angles go I have had ZERO tires issues for about four years with +.2 degrees camber, 4 degrees caster and +.10 degrees toe. I am an alignment a brake technician and I have checked the alignment 6 times in four year and adjusted it 2x. Note the settinging I use are for a stock height, 245/50/16 camaro. For a 275 equipped or larger I would use 0 degrees camber , same toe and caster. note the tenths on the angles it is NOT 2 degrees camber and 10 degrees toe. Hope this helps. :)

Has your car been in an accident? Maybe the front subframe is shifted slightly or is bent. Another possibility is the front bumper cover being pushed back slightly. Something must be wrong to have the front rubbing like that. Some people install 315's in the front. I've personally been up to 295/30R18 up front with no issues. If the dealer can't fix it, I suggest taking it to a body shop that has a frame rack and have them measure the unibody for misalignments.

As far as a performance alignment goes, this is very effective (I got it from Global West)
Camber -0.75 to -1.00 degrees
Caster +4.25 to +4.50 degrees
Toe +0.05 degrees

Not only did my lap times improve, but my tires stopped wearing on the outside shoulder (common on F-bodies) and now wear evenly across. This is more for a dual purpose street/some track car. Track cars are usually set up to whatever track they happen to run at the time.

Camber is the inward or outward tilt of the top of the tire as measured from perfect vertical as you look at the tire from the front of the car. Negative Camber is when the top of the tire leans toward the car. Positive is the opposite.

Caster is the tilt of the steering axis as measured from perfect vertical as you look from the side of the car. In the F-bodies' case, it is an imaginary straight line drawn from the ground and going through the lower and upper ball joints. If the top of this line leans toward the rear of the car, Caster is positive. If it leans toward the front of the car, Caster is negative. Caster is positive on F-bodies.

Toe is which way the tires point when the steering wheel is straight. Toe is measured from the vehicle's thrust line. As you look down from the top of the car, if the front of the tires are turned out away from the car, this is negative Toe. If they are turned in towards the car, this is positive Toe.

I can dig up some illustrations, if you want. Pictures explain the angles much easier than words.

Thanks guys, that helps a ton! :hail:

So after reading both responses, if I understand right, it would be the camber affecting the tire rubbing if it is the alignment. Since the first poster said with 275's he uses 0 instead of a positive camber, and the second poster uses a negative camber, I think that could possibly be the issue. Maybe for some reason they aligned my car to a camber which was too high (too positive). Who knows though. I'll be sure to check it out. Thanks again guys.

Arent 275 40's stock on the ss?

Im running the exact same tire and Im not having a rubing problem...whats the wheel offset ....

Yup . . . .

One thing I noticed when I got my GS-D3's is they are almost 2 inches wider than the stock F1's. I compared them side by side. With them on I don't rub but it's damn close. I'd say a minor alignment issue could cause 1 side to rub.

Ok, so I finally got it to an alignment shop and they said there was nothing that they could do about it. They said to take it to a body shop and/or maybe the inner fender wells were installed incorrectly. I know that might be a possibility, but I don't think that's the problem. I bought the car with 12,000 miles on it and I'm sure it hasn't been wrecked or anything. The guy at the shop wouldn't believe me when I told him that although they are 275's like stock, they are physically wider than the stock tires. He said "275s are 275s". So what do you guys think? I mean, should I have another alignment shop check it out? Should I take it to a body shop? This is frustrating.

Can you hammer out where it's rubbing maybe?

As for the guy not believing you. Tires vary quite a bit even if they say they are the same size. I measured the stock F1's right next to the new D3's and the D3's were almost 2 inches wider.

The inner plastic fender can be adjusted slightly, I'm also running D3's and have noticed that they are noticeably wider. "275's are 275's" not really. that's like saying that "300 treadwear is 300 treadwear" (maybe not to THAT extent...but)it varies between manufacturers. Where is it rubbing? is it on the inside? is it on the top? Is the car dropped? Are the rims stock? if not what are the offsets??

I'm not sure exactly where its rubbing, I just know the inner fender on the side when I turn REALLY sharp. I am checking it out this weekend. The car is not lowered, and the rims are stock. I'll mess with the inner fender if need be. Thanks!

I didnt need to touch the inner fender BTW, I was just throwing that out there.

Yeah I understood. Thanks though.

Not to play "internet mechanic" or anything, but something doesnt sound right at all... you shouldnt have to mess with the inner fender...is the turning radius noticeably smaller in one direction than the other?