7's are a rubbing

[Dave Nordhoff]

I just moved my 7's to the front with 205/55/16 ES100's and the front left is rubbing on the bumper extension lip and about 6 inches above it.
I drove the front left up on a couple of 2x6s and checked for clearance and the bumper extension rubbed so I rolled it and the rest of the wheel arch appeared to have plenty of clearance. This morning on a 70 mph right hand sweeper with a bump, Wham, It did not sound good. Now, its hitting about 6" above the bumper extension. Most of the issues I read about are along the top of the arch. Is this a common problem area? I need to do some more rolling or cutting.

[Jeff Alton]

Never seen it rub there.......

Jeff

[hkspwrsche]

check the alignment.. caster might be too positive?

[ZCAT3]

Yep - from the picture it looks like the entire wheel is too far forward in the wheel well. You can loosen the shock nut and move it back (by pushing the shock top forward) but this will of course change your alignment.

[Dave Nordhoff]

Hmmm,
I will ckeck the caster and alignment before I do anymore rolling.
Thanks Guys,
Dave

[Bill Verburg]

Yes, that location is going to be close on most late cars.

I didn't have the issue with 7s and 205/55x16 but did w/ 8s and 235/45x17

A few minutes w/ a grinder did the trick.

I wouldn't change my alignment, especially if it was done right and recently.

[white87911]

My 7's with Michelin Piolet sports are no where near that close to the front of the wheel well.
How much clearence do you have on the other side?

[Dave Nordhoff]

Bill,
My car has not been aligned in the 7 years I have owned it. The tires wear evenly and it drives well. New bilsteen sports two years ago. Next year I plan on upgrading t-bars and suspension.
Dave

[Bill Verburg]

My 7's with Michelin Piolet sports are no where near that close to the front of the wheel well.

They're all a little bit different

the one universal seems to be drivers front is the worst

[bfegan]

It looks to me like your bumper has been pushed back. It should be a smooth seam where the bumper and chin spoiler mate with the fender. If it is pushed back, you can probably bend it forward so that the assembly aligns with the fender well.

That being said, I agree the tire appears to be too far forward... but that could be a function of a misaligned bumper.

[david914]

Don't know if it's any consolation, but my '86 has the same problem. I was able to roll the trim piece behind the bumper enough to just clear. No problem on the passenger side. One of the "joys" of owning a hand built car!

[Wil Ferch]

Check right side and left side wheel base.....hope you don't find any surprises..but do report back what you find.

Yes..the front bumper and panel behind the bellows seem moved back a bit. Check.

The odd thing is the visual of seeing the wheel not centered in the wheel well. I'd drive to find out what that's all about.

Wil

[Dave Nordhoff]

In the pictures the wheels are turned a little to the right.
I went out and got the wheels strait and the wheelbase measures
with in a 1/16". This is good? Measuring from the plate at front of
rockers to the rear of front tires is close to 3" on both sides. I
could not see a difference. The clearance where my finger is in pic is .75" on L and 1.25" on R. Hmmmmm, The bumper extension is back about 1/16" but so is the right. I had never noticed it before.
The left is hitting just above the bumper.

[JeremyD]

Sure your car hasn't been whacked?

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Dave Nordhoff
In the pictures the wheels are turned a little to the right.

It's hard to believe you had to tell these guys that. Of course you turned your wheels so we could see the closest point.

No one has mentioned right height. Looks kinda low. Fegan and Ferch have noticed the misallignment of the bumper ass'y. That seems to be the biggest part of the problem. Having rubbing issues of my own recently, I know the sound you are refering to and it's rather disconcerting, to say the least.

[Dave Nordhoff]

It is lowered. Ground to front fender lip is 25".
Dave

[Gunter]

Dave: I have 7's with 205/55-16's in front and 25" to ground without any problems at all. My camber is about 1/2 deg. It could be that the bumper was pushed back at one time or the left fender was worked on/replaced/repaired? Check the top of the strut where the 3 Allen screws are and see if there is room in the big hole to gain some clearance there. Compare the position of the left strut-top to the right one. Are they both equal?

[Dave Nordhoff]

I took the wheel off and the suspension looks fine and there is no evidence of damage. So, I moved the bumber extension foward to correct the alignment with the wheel arch and following the advice of Bill Verburg cut away the lip. I left about 3/16", filed it smooth and painted the edge. This morning I drove the same 70 mph right sweeper and no evil sounds. Rubbing is gone. Now I can enjoy the 7/9 upgrade The ES100's are impressive. Only a couple of hundred miles so far and I'm very happy with them.
Thanks to everyone for your input.
Dave

[bfegan]

Glad to hear that the problem is solved. I can recall some anxious moments when I did the same thing (only with 225s).

[Craig 930 RS]

Right on. Glad it is fixed.

I looked at it in person, and even with the wheels straight ahead it was as if the wheels were shifted forward -- or the structure built rearward.

Had me baffled!