Wheels rubbing after fitting new coilovers.

[Marticus]

Hi guys I'm kinda disappointed atm, and in need of some advise.

Last weekend I fitted H&R coilovers and everything was great untill I put the summer wheels on and now any kind of hard cornering or hitting bumps while cornering is resulting in the tyres scrubbing, more on the drivers side I assume because my fat ass is in the car on that side.

The wheels are 18 x 8 et 45, so while more aggressive than the stock wheels I'm still running a 225 tyre and I don't think theyre 'extreme'?

Right now I have got the coilovers at max height on the front and that has almost eliminated the problem outside of really hard cornering. But hard cornering is what I bought the car for so I need this fully resolved.

What's more because these are the 'cheap' offering from H&R there is no separate adjustment between ride height and spring preload, so with the ride height at max, the springs compressed a lot which I would want to try and avoid.

I still need to get an alignment done, which might help depending on how much camber is there, but I don't have camber plates and aren't interested in doing the extreme camber thing anyway, max - 2 I guess..

So next step would be fender mods? , I was reading about the fender screw mod. Has anyone done this? If so how much space did it buy you?

Is there anything else I should consider?

Thanks in advance..

[Clarkj93]

I'm on b14 coilovers and they're running about half an inch from the lowest possible setting on the front so it's pretty low along with TT arms which make the front track wider so ours are probably similar width.

I had to cut away about 10mm of the inside of arch liner and folder the inner lip of the wing and all clearance issues were gone. I just used a Stanley to trim the liner and use a jack handle with a heat gun to folder the lip inwards and touched up any paint blemishes with a standard touch up pen afterwards. I'm running just over 2 degrees negative camber also.

[ROH ECHT]

Mine are the same; 225/40-18 w/18x8-et45 wheels.

Mine doesn't rub...even when cornering extremely hard. But I pushed the upper-center screw & tab, for the front wheel arch liner, upwards and I have both front and rear ARB's to greatly reduce roll during cornering. Yes, leave the screw in its tab, and push them upwards together.

I would suggest you first; push the front upper-fender-liner's screw & tab upwards.

Then check the side to side alignment of the rear subframe. Mine was off by nearly 1/8 inch (3mm) from being centered (don't know why...as I owned it from new). One side of mine measured nearly 1/4 inch more than the other. The FTG (Fender(highest point)-To-Ground) measurement on mine is 23-7/8" (F) and 24" (R).







With the rear sway bar (ARB), set stiff, it doesn't take much to lift the rear tire.

[Marticus]

I'm on b14 coilovers and they're running about half an inch from the lowest possible setting on the front so it's pretty low along with TT arms which make the front track wider so ours are probably similar width.

I had to cut away about 10mm of the inside of arch liner and folder the inner lip of the wing and all clearance issues were gone. I just used a Stanley to trim the liner and use a jack handle with a heat gun to folder the lip inwards and touched up any paint blemishes with a standard touch up pen afterwards. I'm running just over 2 degrees negative camber also.

Thanks for the help, from your pics it looks like you may even be a bit wider than me and definitely lower now I'm at max height.

That looks like a lot of work you've done, I was hoping not to have to go into fender rolling, but I guess if that's what it takes then I'll have to go there. Glad it worked out for you.

I'll try the scre mod first and get the alignment checked and see what the outcome of that it. I would like to get down at least 10mm from where I'm at if possible.

[Marticus]

Mine are the same; 225/40-18 w/18x8-et45 wheels.

Mine doesn't rub...even when cornering extremely hard. But I pushed the upper-center screw & tab, for the front wheel arch liner, upwards and I have both front and rear ARB's to greatly reduce roll during cornering. Yes, leave the screw in its tab, and push them upwards together.

I would suggest you first; push the front upper-fender-liner's screw & tab upwards.

Then check the side to side alignment of the rear subframe. Mine was off by nearly 1/8 inch (3mm) from being centered (don't know why...as I owned it from new). One side of mine measured nearly 1/4 inch more than the other. The FTG (Fender(highest point)-To-Ground) measurement on mine is 23-7/8" (F) and 24" (R).

With the rear sway bar (ARB), set stiff, it doesn't take much to lift the rear tire.

Thanks for the help!

Man this is what's confusing me you are much lower than me and Clarkj93, I guess the uprated ARBs make a lot of difference! Do you know what camber you're running?

I'm going in for the fender screw mod and maybe the alignment will pick up some weirdness like you had. And I'll go from there then.

Thanks!

[Clarkj93]

Application makes a difference too. I'm on uprated ARB's also but mines on sticky tyres and gets used on track so you will naturally have a lot more compression which means more chance of rubbing. My solution is more drastic but is a guaranteed fix, I'm not so worried about cutting and roughing bits up on mine though so it was fine for me. Il end up going wider again at some point and probably have to cut the wheel arches by an inch and get some extensions attached to the wings.

[Marticus]

Application makes a difference too. I'm on uprated ARB's also but mines on sticky tyres and gets used on track so you will naturally have a lot more compression which means more chance of rubbing. My solution is more drastic but is a guaranteed fix, I'm not so worried about cutting and roughing bits up on mine though so it was fine for me. Il end up going wider again at some point and probably have to cut the wheel arches by an inch and get some extensions attached to the wings.

Yep absolutely makes sense, I guess is always going to be a matter of finding a balance between different components.

I think I was just surprised because my coilovers are maxed height so have another 80mm of downwards adjustment, and I was wondering wtf the point of all the extra adjustment is if I can't even have them at max height without rubbing  :grin:32  combined with seeing a lot of very low golf's left me wondering if I was going wrong somewhere or I was missing something.

You guys have put my mind at ease at least, and I know where to start now.

Thanks again!

[breeze]

Factory wheels have a 51mm offset. So 45mm means the wheel would be 6mm further out if the same width. In addition, you have half an inch of extra width, which is 12.7mm. So in total the wheel rim is 18.7mm further out. I am assuming your are not running spacers. Tyre is wider than the wheel, but obviously the above means that the tyre will be further out too, even if the same width.

One of the things you can try is loosening the three top mount bolts and pushing the top of the strut inwards. That will reduce camber and have the effect of tucking the top of the wheel further in. Nowhere near as good as adjustable top mounts but it is free and something you can try immediately. You might be able to do that by bending the rain tray but I removed the wiper arms when I did it.

[breeze]

On ride height, just remember that the wheel does move in an arc. That means lower cars automatically increase their static camber.

So when you compare to a car running lower ride height than you their cars will generally be tucked into the arch a little better.

[ROH ECHT]

Thanks for the help!

Man this is what's confusing me you are much lower than me and Clarkj93, I guess the uprated ARBs make a lot of difference! Do you know what camber you're running?

I'm going in for the fender screw mod and maybe the alignment will pick up some weirdness like you had. And I'll go from there then.

Thanks!

Mine when aligned is always just put to spec. Nothing is done to increase camber. Yes, the ARBs do help. I first only added the rear ARB after I lowered it, along with pushing those screws and their tabs upward. Plus the centering of the rear subframe; for mine weirdly being off-center. I later added the front ARB; just because it felt off, like a struggle going on between the front and rear, when cornering. Although I never heard any rubbing after all of this, I did replace the wheel arch liners 2 or 3 years ago. And the tires did nearly wear through a small portion of the outer edge of the rear felt liners (upper-center area), but there was no contact marks made on any metal.

[ROH ECHT]

Factory wheels have a 51mm offset. So 45mm means the wheel would be 6mm further out if the same width. In addition, you have half an inch of extra width, which is 12.7mm. So in total the wheel rim is 18.7mm further out.

Just wanted to point out the tiny error in the math...if I am correct.
Please correct me if wrong.

For the 225/40 tire w/tread width of 7" to 7.5":
This is in assuming the same size rubber is used and not focusing on the wheel.
The tire's tread width itself is only going 6mm more outward for the change in wheel offset.
The angle of the sides to the tread are what make up the additional width of the wheel. The tread width itself doesn't stretch.



But for the wheel:
Yes; 6 mm for the offset.
*correction to the error* - the additional wheel width of 12.7 mm is split in half sending 6.35 mm of the wheel inward and the same outward from the center of the wheel.
Total additional 'wheel' going outward is: 6 mm (change in offset) + 12.7 mm(0.5) = 12.35 mm.

[Clarkj93]

Factory wheels have a 51mm offset. So 45mm means the wheel would be 6mm further out if the same width. In addition, you have half an inch of extra width, which is 12.7mm. So in total the wheel rim is 18.7mm further out. I am assuming your are not running spacers. Tyre is wider than the wheel, but obviously the above means that the tyre will be further out too, even if the same width.

One of the things you can try is loosening the three top mount bolts and pushing the top of the strut inwards. That will reduce camber and have the effect of tucking the top of the wheel further in. Nowhere near as good as adjustable top mounts but it is free and something you can try immediately. You might be able to do that by bending the rain tray but I removed the wiper arms when I did it.

Cannot see how that is possible? The strut tower has no play in terms of where the strut is mounted?

[breeze]

Factory wheels have a 51mm offset. So 45mm means the wheel would be 6mm further out if the same width. In addition, you have half an inch of extra width, which is 12.7mm. So in total the wheel rim is 18.7mm further out. I am assuming your are not running spacers. Tyre is wider than the wheel, but obviously the above means that the tyre will be further out too, even if the same width.

One of the things you can try is loosening the three top mount bolts and pushing the top of the strut inwards. That will reduce camber and have the effect of tucking the top of the wheel further in. Nowhere near as good as adjustable top mounts but it is free and something you can try immediately. You might be able to do that by bending the rain tray but I removed the wiper arms when I did it.

Cannot see how that is possible? The strut tower has no play in terms of where the strut is mounted?

There is a small amount of movement in the bolt holes. You loosen the three bolts, push in and tighten. You will not get much, and it will depend on how it was fitted originally. Given it is free and easy I’d say worth doing.

[breeze]

Factory wheels have a 51mm offset. So 45mm means the wheel would be 6mm further out if the same width. In addition, you have half an inch of extra width, which is 12.7mm. So in total the wheel rim is 18.7mm further out.

Just wanted to point out the tiny error in the math...if I am correct.
Please correct me if wrong.

For the 225/40 tire w/tread width of 7" to 7.5":
This is in assuming the same size rubber is used and not focusing on the wheel.
The tire's tread width itself is only going 6mm more outward for the change in wheel offset.
The angle of the sides to the tread are what make up the additional width of the wheel. The tread width itself doesn't stretch.



But for the wheel:
Yes; 6 mm for the offset.
*correction to the error* - the additional wheel width of 12.7 mm is split in half sending 6.35 mm of the wheel inward and the same outward from the vertical center of the wheel.
Total additional 'wheel' going outward is: 6 mm (change in offset) + 12.7 mm(0.5) = 12.35 mm.

Good point on the tyre size not changing. I was thinking of the rim but that normally isn’t the point that makes contact with the arch unless you are super low and probably running without a liner. And on airbags or something…

I think you are right on the split of 12.7mm too.

So brilliant advice from me. OP you are safe to ignore. 

[ROH ECHT]

Factory wheels have a 51mm offset. So 45mm means the wheel would be 6mm further out if the same width. In addition, you have half an inch of extra width, which is 12.7mm. So in total the wheel rim is 18.7mm further out.

Just wanted to point out the tiny error in the math...if I am correct.
Please correct me if wrong.

For the 225/40 tire w/tread width of 7" to 7.5":
This is in assuming the same size rubber is used and not focusing on the wheel.
The tire's tread width itself is only going 6mm more outward for the change in wheel offset.
The angle of the sides to the tread are what make up the additional width of the wheel. The tread width itself doesn't stretch.



But for the wheel:
Yes; 6 mm for the offset.
*correction to the error* - the additional wheel width of 12.7 mm is split in half sending 6.35 mm of the wheel inward and the same outward from the vertical center of the wheel.
Total additional 'wheel' going outward is: 6 mm (change in offset) + 12.7 mm(0.5) = 12.35 mm.

Good point on the tyre size not changing. I was thinking of the rim but that normally isn’t the point that makes contact with the arch unless you are super low and probably running without a liner. And on airbags or something…

I think you are right on the split of 12.7mm too.

So brilliant advice from me. OP you are safe to ignore. 

Alright...cool, thanks. Speaking of a tiny bit of bolt play; there's also a tiny bit of play with the three bolts for the ball joint on the front lower control arm. Of course it is minimal, but there's some. If more neg. camber is sought, one could add a pair of SuperPro or VWR; Roll Center Ball Joints.