Rear Tire Rub

[JustinB]

Originally Posted by JMitch19

I know every car is different, but on my 68 with 5.5 bs on a 9" rim I only have about.25" from the inner edge of the tire to the inner wheel house. I'm sure I could get away with 5.25 bs. With the rolled fender lips I have 11.75" from my inner wheel house to the lip at 12 o'clock on the drivers side and 12" on the passenger side.

Jason, if I remember right, you have a narrowed rear end. That changes everything.

[bulldog19]

Rear end is stock width.
I'll have to check the backspacing when I get home.

[JMitch19]

Originally Posted by Justin@driverzinc

Jason, if I remember right, you have a narrowed rear end. That changes everything.

You are correct. I do have a narrowed rear, BUT until I sell my Budnik's and you help me spend some money I am running wheel adapters. My budnik's were spec'd for my stock rear. The adapters are the same width as the amount I narrowed the rear.

[speedshftr]

after taking mine out for a nice drive this weekend ill say my car is dangerous.car is to low and when you hit bumps at speed its scary.i cant afford air right now so im gonna just raise it up and go with it for now.my back tire hit so hard saturday it bent my wheelwell lip out .you should of seen the looks i was getting rolling it back into shape with a broom handle/lol
i can say its my own fault cause when i ordered my wheels i told them i dont care about rubbing i just want a low and slow cruiser.i have rushforth 18s and stock suspension.low profile nittos .im going to start a thread about it as to not steer away from the op

[bulldog19]

I measured backspacing last night and if I measured correctly they are 5-1/2".
Any suggestions on how to raise the rear up? Judging by the scars on the tires from rubbing if I can get 1/2" of clearance i'll be fine. The springs are mounted under the axle. I mount a 1/2" lowering block under the spring will this give me the clearance I need or do I need to get longer shackles made?

[bulldog19]

OK i need some suggestions on what to do next. I just pulled the rear wheels off and re-confirmed backspacing in 5.5". Current tires, 275/40 KDW2are rubbing on inner fenders and outer fenders are cutting the outside edge. Wheels are 9" width. Is my backspacing correct? are my tires too wide? I let the "expert" spec the rims, he told me what tires to order. Will going to a 255/40 tire solve my problem? The 255 is about 3/4" shorter than the 275.
I just want to resolve this so i can drive without fear of cutting a tire.
This wasn't a cheap investment and i went this route of letting someone tell me what order to avoid this issue and I'm no better after $3500 and 3-months of waiting.
John

[Vegas69]

If it's rubbing on the inside AND outside, your back spacing is fine. Your problem is a ride height that's to low or you have excess movement from side to side.

[bulldog19]

That's reassuring. Raising the car was my original thought and the only decent suggestion I had was longer spring shackles in the back. Is the ratio the same 1" longer shackle gives me a 1" in height? Hotchkis couldn't answer that for me. We all want to lower our cars not raise them up!
This why I was looking into a narrower tire. The 255 is .7" narrower and .7" shorter so I figured this would give me what I needed but was looking for confirmation.
Question for you Todd on how your wheels/tires are balanced do you have weights on the rims? I read something aboutn a bag of pellets that are put in the tire before mounting that are dispersed by the force where needed by the tire rotation.
Your car is killer by the way.
No substitute for Cubic Inches!!!

[Vegas69]

Hey John, I'm not even close to a leaf spring expert. However, if you increase your shackle lengthe by an inch, the angle will directly effect the ride height. 45 degrees should gain you approx. half an inch, etc.

If you are rubbing the inner wheel house above the frame and the quarter panel lip, you need to fix your side to side movement. If you are rubbing your inner wheelhouse on the quarter panel side, you are very low in ride height.

[JMitch19]

Post some pics of how low the car is. See if you can get a front and rear clearance pic also. My car sits pretty low and since I got rid of the energy suspension leaf pads I have not had any rubbing problems. I might have missed it, but are running rubber/poly leaf pads? If so they need to go.

Here is a pic of my car with 275's.