Whats happened to this tire?

[Rebar]

I just received my 1977 narrow body 911s and trying to figure out what happen to this tire. Car was shipped to me so not sure if something happened in shipping to cause it or if it was something else like rubbing fender.

They are 7x15 205/50/15 on fuchs and problem is on rear driver side. I was going to order 205/55/15 to fill out the fender more and the tires are older, but now not sure if I should go to 55 if there was rubbing with 50. Like to figure it out before I buy new ones.

The problem is the grove on outter edge goes around about 1/2 the tire circumfrance and the rest of tread in that area seems deformed near the grove, and there is a fist size bald patch on the tire a little bit before the grove starts. Also the fender edge seems to be folded as you can see in the pic, same as other side but no grove or problem with that tire.

Any ideas?

[Reifle]

Some serious rubbing from your fender - I run a 225/50 16 Conti and had just a bit of rubbing. Folded the inner fender lip in and all was OK. Was there any history of an accident to the rear end and maybe the alignment of the rear wheels is out. How true is the body etc...

[Rebar]

I see no evidence of rear end damage accident and was told no history of accident. Both the fenders have been folded. Maybe the alignment is out on that side from something during shipping. Strange only groved part of the circumferance though.

[tctnd]

If the groove only runs part way round that suggests that the tire is not running true. Could be a bent rim or bulged tire. If it has been rubbing the fender you will be able to easily see evidence on the body. Old sloppy trailing arm bushings can allow unwanted contact too, as well as scary handling. These cars are also not necessarily perfectly symmetrical, so tires that will fit one car are not certain to fit another.

regards,
Phil

[Plays with cars]

How much history do you have on the car? Could it have been damaged on another car or in some other way, then put on this car as rollers?

The wear is really unusual. It is very deep like there was significant contact, but it is only part way around which indicates either a severe event like a BIG bump so there was only brief but significant contact. Or, that the car was moving slowly and not far but with that corner heavily loaded. Always hard to guess what might have happened.

205 series tires should fit fine on the car. I've been running 205 50's on my long hood w/ no problem at all (ie lots of clearance) but its on 6" wheels which will give more clearance.

[HawgRyder]

I would jack the car up at the rear...and try spinning the wheel slowly.
It will be evident if the tire or rim are bent or perhaps the cords in the tire shifted (sometimes happens when radial tires are rotated to the other side of the car after they have been run for a while on the first side).
Bob

[Driven97]

My theory: The car was ratcheted down super tight on the transporter, enough to compress the wheel into the fender. The wiggles and shakes from the bumps on the way caused the wear.

Does the fender / tire wear look "fresh"? If so, my theory holds some water and you'll likely not see that kind of load in normal driving to cause contact there again.

May be worthwhile to have the car aligned, maybe add a touch more rear camber to gain clearance in that area.

[Rebar]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. As far as I know the wheels have been on the car for quite sometime. It was on a very long train ride so it being ratcheted down too tight and contstant bumps rubbing could make sense.

I will jack it up and see if anything is loose on that side. Any ideas on how or where to check for free play?

[Cooper911SC]

Are you running 7" W/205 all the way around?
Was that wheel/tire used on the front at some point?
Maybe rotated to the rear later?

If that's the case then the partial groove makes a lot more sense... Very common for the front tires to contact wheel lip under hard cornering, ESP. with even light braking applied.

Super common auto cross "injury"

The bald spot maybe from either locking up the brakes or a bad shock or out of balance wheel causing funky harmonics while driving along.

Just my thoughts...

Cooper

[Rebar]

Yes, 7s all around. Interesting could be the cause as well. Will have a closer look at the current front inner walls.

I think I might try swapping the tire with the other side to see if it recreates any rubbing on the clean tire. They will all be replaced anyway. That could confirm a alignment problem also.

[theiceman]

classic fender rubbing. a sc wouldn't do this with the wider flares but a 77 for sure. one side but not the other is not unusual.
i hope they wouldn't strap the body down but rather pull down from underneath,but you never know

[Rebar]

Well, looks like it was just a case of due for new tires. I took it for a spin the other day and no rubbing. After that I took the wheels off to check things out and I was able to get a better look at the tire, down to the belt, only on that area of the tire which happened to be on the ground so didnt see it. Lucky I didnt blow it on my spin on the highway!

After jacking the car up to take off the wheel, it seems to be sitting a little higher now (which is good it was sitting to low), not sure if it was just the bushings being able to adjust after being ratcheted down for shipment or what.

I will replace the shocks as well, are these KYB painted green? If i go bilstein HD will it sit a little higher? Also, anyone know who made these repro fuchs?

[Joe Bob]

Fakes....

[Rebar]

Yah,I know they are fake. I was wondering if anyone knew the manufacturer.