bship

I recently put a set of 16x8 fuchs on the rear and 16x7 fuchs on the front of a 1983 911 SC Targa. The driver side tire rubs every once in a while while spirited driving. I am tracking the car in 2 weeks at VIR with PCA and need to have this fixed. I have heard people post about rolling fenders but I really cant picture what exactly they are doing or what it will look like. The tires are 205 55 16 Kumho's on the front and 225 50 16 on the rear. My adjustments should be minor, shouldn't they????

Thanks

Bill Gregory

Scott,

Normally, I would say you shouldn't have any problem with those size tires, which is stock, and that wheel combination - I ran that on my SC for awhile at the track with no problems. However, sometimes there is some rubbing on some bodies, and typically on the inside wheel well and not on the fender lip edges. Is your rubbing on the inside wheel well or on the fender?

If it's rubbing on the inside of the wheel well, you could try a thin spacer to move the wheel away from the wheel well, but then, if you're not hitting the fender edge, you may increase that risk. If interior wheel well rubbing is the problem, borrow an 1/16" or 1/8" spacer and see what that does. Anything bigger and you'd want to get longer lugs so the lug nuts had enough threads. Or don't worry about it unless it's putting your tire at risk.

If fender, then rolling the fender lip (which pushes the fender lip edge up against the fender panel) will give you some more space, or you can just cut the fender lip off too. I didn't have to do that until I went with 225's on 8" Fuchs, though. If it's rubbing on the fender lip, one thing you can do is to set your negative camber around -1 to -1.5 degrees camber in front (which you ought to have especially for track). You can do that safely without putting too much wear on the inside edge of the tires. That will cause the tire to deflect away from the fender lip.

Jim Michaels

Scott: Assuming you have the correct wheel offsets for your car, the rubbing should be minor and rolling the fender lip that turns under and sticks toward the tire, or cutting it back, should make it ok. It's usually the driver's side front that has a clearance problem. First check where its rubbing. You should see some small grove cut on the edge of your tire (that will show you how much you need to move the lip back), and some rub marks on the fender lip turn-under near the top most part of the fender arch. That part of the fender lip, and a few inches on each side of it, needs to be moved back away from the tire in one of two ways. You can roll it back by gently and gradually bending it away from the tire, or you can have a body shop cut or grind it back. I've had it done both ways, and prefer the latter way because it's less risky and makes for a neater result. Alternatively, you can just let the fender lip cut a groove in the tire until you don't hear rubbing anymore.

Rolling the fender lip back usually involves holding something like a baseball bat flush between the tire and the fender lip while someone rolls the car slowly foward and backward until the fender lip has been bent back enough. It should be done very gradually and the lip usually does not need to be moved all the way back into contact with the inside fender metal. Try to do this too quickly, or all on one roll, and you can easily crinkle the paint on the outside of the fender (you know, where it shows everyone that you screwed up). If you decide instead to have a body shop grind it back (my preference), ask them to leave at least 1/16" of the lip, and to go slowly so as not to heat the paint too much. If you have a metal grinder, you can do it yourself.

Ed Bighi

Don't worry about your offsets. Those are the correct wheels for that car. I run the same in the front but with a fuchs 9 in the rear. I would not cut the lip. It does not have to be cut. Besides cutting can actually weaken the fender lips. I prefer rolling. A baseball bat usually does the trick. And if rolling the lip, do it with care and patience. It does not have to go all around the lip. Only in places where there can be rub which is usually just around the top area. By this I mean at 11 to 1 o'clock when looking at the fender. Also, the lip does not have to be completely folded on itself. Use a Louisville Slugger since it is made of wood and will punish the paint less. If the paint cracks, don't worry. Mine did from carelessness but it can't really be seen.

addictionms

be sure to use heat, lots of heat, get the fender hot to the touch, like it would be on a hot and very sunny day, so hot it hurts to keep your hand on it.

Jim

catuck

Scott,

I would suggest following Bill's advice and give yourself a little more negative camber. It may cause more tire wear but will give you better handling and preserve your fender lips!

If you do roll the fenders, definitely follow Jim's advice and heat 'em up with a heat gun (not enough to hurt the paint!). I didn't and it chipped my paint. I didn't really care as I'm planning on repainting soon anyway. And don't use your son's favorite Louisville Slugger, it will ruin the bat. You can also use a 1 1 2" wood dowel at Home Depot.

scottb

Scott:

I had the same problem with my 84 -- my new 7s rubbed when I did some "spirited" driving. I didn't want to roll the fenders and risk harming the factory original paint, so I had my mechanic adjust the camber. My view is that even with a bit more tire wear, I'd rather replace tires somewhat sooner than risk messing up the paint. So far, so good.

Good luck with your decision.

KLehmann

If you grind the lip, i'd recommend a carbide bit in a die grinder (air powered). I don't know if a drill spins fast enough for the carbide bit.

I first used a grinding stone in the die grinder. The progress was really slow. The carbide is actually too fast at times. If you're not careful, you can take off too much metal too quickly BTDT. The grinding stone and/or a file is best suited for smoothing and finishing.

J richard

Rolling the fenders can give you some additional clearance, but be careful of rubbing up under the fender and burning your paint, a common sight on over lowered and fat tire'd cars.

I came across this page which looked interesting, somewhat more controlled than the baseball bat (although I've used the louisville slugger mandrel - it worked fine, but go slow and you MUST use the heat gun, the paint only goes so far if it is cool.

Try: <a href="http://www.robsaudiworld.com/fender.htm" target="_blank">http://www.robsaudiworld.com/fender.htm</a>

regards,