For people running 225/50/16 front tires on an s13: do you have rubbing issues?

[dwadia]

I'm having a bad rubbing issue, not with the fender but with the black plastic that surrounds the wheel well underneath, and it's much worse on the driver's side. I'm currently running 225/55/16 on 16x8, +46 with 20mm spacers in front and 8.5* of castor. These wheels and tires are just for the winter. In summer i ran 225/45/16 on 16x8, +50 (same castor) with no rubbing at all even when the suspension compresses. However that size is really too harsh a ride for me. My car is lowered 1.5" in front on Tanabe GF210 springs.

What i want to know from ppl with experience or actual knowledge (not guesses) before i buy new tires is this: do you run 225/50/16's on your s13 without rubbing issues?

If you do, i'd also like to know as much of the following as possible: how much is your car lowered, and what are the springs/coilovers you use? what's your wheel offset/width (and any spacers)? what is your castor, if you know it? and what model tire are you running?

i'm pretty sure i can go with 215/50 to be safe and i doubt that would rub... but i want as much sidewall as possible without rubbing (even when suspension is compressed). I appreciate everyone's feedback.

[dwadia]

Also i wanted to add to this, if anyone is running 215/50/16 i'd be interested to know your experiences as well.

[jimmytango00]

there is a thread dedicated to wheel and tire fitment..... search.

[dwadia]

yesterday i spent more than 1 1/2 hours searching and reading what everyone had to say about wheel and tire fitment on this forum, and another good while on NicoClub. just to humor you i also did a quick search right now for "tire fitment" and came up with nothing relevant. Now i'm not going to go so far as to say it's impossible that i missed it... but PLEASE let me see a link for something relevant to the specific question i posted if you're going to say that.

Edit: You're correct, i did find the thread you're probably referring to... it's 93 pages, and if my question is answered in there, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack when i'm not even sure the needle's there. A specific thread seems a whole lot simpler if i'm looking for specific info.

[undesiredshoe]

I put some 225/50 16's on some 16x6 eagle talon wheels and it barely cleared. Had at most 2mm of clearance.

[Rittmeister]

I run that size on R32 GTR wheels - 16x8 +30 - and yes, they occasionally rub the fender liner. Only when the wheel is turned to near-full-lock, and I hit a bump that compresses the suspension.

I have the fender liners still installed, I don't know if it would be an issue without them. There is NO problem with suspension or brakes. I'm on strut/spring, haven't looked into running these wheels with coilovers and whether spacers would be necessary.

Hope that helps.

[dwadia]

Thanks to both of you, and Rittmeister yes that's very helpful... very similar to what i'm running. I thought the clearance would be borderline, as both you guys confirmed. Rittmeister, when it does rub (turning and compressed), does it rub hard (mine makes a nasty "crunch" sound) or is it just a light touch? Do you have any experience with almost full compression like you might get from a very tight curve at speed? I'm guessing stock castor right? Is your car lowered?

[zaquanh]

i never rubbed on mine

[Rittmeister]

Yes, the car is lowered.
Yes, caster is set near stock.
In the fender liners you can see where it rubs - the area is about half the size of a playing card, in front of the wheel - but the noise isn't a crunching sound, it's sort of a loud brushing sound if that makes sense.

I'm not sure how much you need to worry about this if yours rub at near-full-lock like mine. You'll never manage to have the suspension at full compression at speed, AND have your wheels turned that far; you have to slow down for "very tight curves" like you mentioned above.

If you're a drifter, all bets are off, and everyone will tell you your tires are too small/too narrow anyway, and that you need wide fenders, 10.5 inch wide wheels (in the front, rear must be wider of course) with -100mm offset, six-inch-long wheel studs, coilovers with 15kg/mm springs, -6 degrees of camber, etc. Oh, and the car has to be low enough that the frame rails will kill ants as you drive by.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Take the fucking plastic trim off, you dont need that crap anyways. If you go any lower than the way you are now, then relocate the chassis harness.

Done, and DONE...

PS: 225/55/16 is taller than stock...225/50/16s are stock wheel diameter.

[dwadia]

HAHAHA no doubt... what was i thinking... my problem is the high offset combined with narrow 16x8's n mushy suspension... i should probably just stretch a 185/50 on there, get another 20mm spacer n call it a day :rolleyes:

I don't know that i get full compression in curves, but i think i get at least 60-70% commpression on the front left corner in a tight right curve n vice versa. I run my suspension on the soft side (i know, i've committed another sin, maybe i should look into 2 x 4's hehe).

Your situation doesn't sound bad. My only concern is that i run about 1.5* more castor than you and idk if i might have to put that back near stock to avoid harder rubbing. Right now i'm trying to decide between 225/50 and 215/50... if i can get away with it i'd like the extra sidewall of a 225. I wonder how noticable that small difference would be. I know on paper it's ~half the difference of going from 225/45 to 225/50, but i've never driven on 215/50's. I'll see...

[dwadia]

fliprayzin, sorry i didn't see your post before. I know that's one option and i actually had it off on a previous s13 (because of laziness, not rubbing)... but i like it better on so that'll be a last resort. and no i'm not going any lower.