Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

Topic: Front Tires Rubbing on Struts (Read 1730 times) previous topic - next topic

Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

June 11, 2018, 12:08:30 PM

All,
This weekend I installed my 16" snowflakes on my new '86 GS. They look great, but.... I already had 225/55R16's mounted on the wheels (front), and the inner sidewalls are rubbing the struts slightly. The wheel will still spin, but you can hear the rubbing sound. What is the minimum clearance I should have between the sidewall and the strut? I don't want to add any more than necessary. Are there spacers made for this purpose that will fit our cars? I know the most logical fix would be to go down in tire size. I can't buy tires right now, and I may not be able to buy spacers either if they're too cost prohibitive. Also, does anybody know if I will have full left to right steering clearance in the fenderwells with these wheels/tires? And will a spacer have a negative effect on that clearance? Thanks for your help.

Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

Reply #1 – June 11, 2018, 02:16:53 PM

I see no issue with running a 1/4in spacer. That should be all ya need. Just check that your lugs still have several threads to engage. Regarding, turning left/right, that'll depend on how low you are. At stock height or even a little lower, you shouldn't have issues. Besides, you likely probably only use full lock in parking lots.

Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

Reply #2 – June 11, 2018, 02:42:36 PM

kylesburrell,
Thanks a bunch. Just noticed your Location. It's been about 12 years ago, but I used to live in Marshall, IL, which is just over the river from Terre Haute.

Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

Reply #3 – June 12, 2018, 01:40:19 PM

So the snowflakes have a deeper offset than the stock ten holes. I believe it is +25mm vs. +33mm but one would think that they would still fit without rubbing on the strut. My first thought was if the 10" rotor has a shorter hat height than the 11" rotor then that might be the issue but its been years since I have messed with four lug brakes and have since pitched all of that stuff when I converted to SN95 brakes. 1/4" spacers have been used on these cars over the years quite often so I would not hesitate to use them in your case. No more though as the lugs are not long enough for proper thread engagement on a spacer any thicker.

Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

Reply #4 – June 12, 2018, 04:23:08 PM

Just make sure you buy hub-centric spacers in the correct size for your application. Else you run the risk of shearing your wheel lugs off. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I see no reason any hub-centric application designed for fox-body mustangs wouldn't work.

Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

Reply #5 – June 12, 2018, 04:53:19 PM

sarjxxx,
Just making sure I understand your suggestion. Aren't all the Fox-body wheels a lug-centric design? Are you saying that the spacer itself needs to fit the hub snugly to prevent shearing the lugs off? Let me ask another dumb question. Would 4 high-grade washers per wheel serve as an acceptable spacer instead of a one-piece spacer per wheel? I have access to washers where I work. Just wondering if there's a fundamental no-no about that idea. Thanks.

Aerocoupe,
My car actually came with the 14-inchers with wire covers. I guess that style suits some people, but I'm definitely not one of them. I like aluminum wheels and wide low-profile tires. I do try to match overall height/diameter to the stock size, and I like to use factory wheels that could have been installed on the car if Ford had wanted to. I've always loved the TC snowflakes. I even have the Cougar-specific center caps for them instead of the T-bird caps.

Thanks again to everybody on their advice. I think I've successfully built my public picture album, so please check it out and tell me what you think. The pics in the album do not yet show the snowflakes installed. I'll update soon.

Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

Reply #6 – June 12, 2018, 04:54:40 PM

87-88 Cars usually have no problem with snowflakes, but they have revised, slightly longer, front control arms. Other people here with 83-86 cars have run snowflakes with 10" brakes and I don't recall them needing a wheel spacer.

Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

Reply #7 – June 12, 2018, 05:10:30 PM

I may be wrong about them rubbing. I know when I spun the wheels while they were in the air I heard a rubbing sound. Could have just been the sound of the rotors, I guess. I did my best to get my head up in there to check the clearance and it sure looked like there was contact. It's something I'd hate to discover the hard way when I'd burnt the inner sidewalls out. I'll try to check again, maybe from a different angle. Thanks.

Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

Reply #8 – June 13, 2018, 02:47:16 PM

Quote from: fordman3;466079

Aren't all the Fox-body wheels a lug-centric design?

This is possible, I don't know as much about fox wheels as I do about S197 which is what I have been working with lately, and that's not a whole lot lol. I'll see if I can dig up some info on it if no one else responds before I get to it

Quote from: fordman3;466079

Are you saying that the spacer itself needs to fit the hub snugly to prevent shearing the lugs off?

Exactly. It's not considered "necessary" by some, and if you are only spacing 1/4 inch it certainly stands less of a chance of being a problem than some of the more extreme 1"-1.5" spacers, but I have heard of it happening with 1/4" spacers

Quote from: fordman3;466079

Would 4 high-grade washers per wheel serve as an acceptable spacer instead of a one-piece spacer per wheel?

....And it's for that reason that I would definitely not recommend this

Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

Reply #9 – June 14, 2018, 04:10:27 PM

The 11" brake spindle moves the mounting location of the strut vs the 10" spindle. This is probably why the offset is different.

I ran 235/65's on some 10 holes and 10" brakes. I had less then a fingers width clearance on the strut.

Front Tires Rubbing on Struts

Reply #10 – June 16, 2018, 11:57:37 AM

Here's an easy way to see if the tire is rubbing, pull said wheel off and look at the strut. You will see if it's rubbing or not.