Problem with my 17x9's HELP!

[240silvia]

Ok, I have a 91 RPS13. STOCK struts, TEIN S-Tech's. 17x9 +35 all the way around. 235/45/17's. They stick out about an 1/2" in the front. NOW, this is where it gets tricky.....

The front passenger side...... there is about a 1/2" in between the tire and the bottom of the strut. Doesn't rub.

The front driver side.... the bottom of the strut is sitting ON the top of the tire. NO Clearance.

NOW, SAME suspension... what is causing the strut to be a 1/2" lower on the driver side????? Only thing I can think of, is, in time, the bolt holes that bolt up to the control arm have worn down, and gotten larger allowing the strut to lower it self.

ANY IDEAS???? HELP!!!!

[TheSnail]

Do you have 5 lug. If so, do you have a spacer insert for the s13 spindle bolts, or have you drilled the shocks for s14 bolts? Or are you using just s13 bolts.

[240silvia]

S13 bolts, 4 lug, stock suspension besides the S-Tech's

[Gladman]

Are the top bolt holes on the bottom of the struts elongated for allow for camber adjustment?

[240silvia]

no, they are stock, i've heard of that, all you do is just grind out the holes a little, or so I've heard. But, even if I did that, I don't know if it would give it enough room.

How about this. If the bolt holes on the driver strut are worn down, allowing the strut to settle down 1/2" lower, if I bought some new struts, wouldn't it raise it back up to the stock height, and give me my 1/2 back??? What do you guys think?

[raen419]

i need pics to fully understand what you're talking about.

my stock shocks were crap when i swapped to coilovers.
this spring had almost rolled over the bottom perch...and that made one side sit 1/2" lower than the other.

[240silvia]

Weird thing is, car rides great on the stock alloys. So there aren't any signs of the struts being bad. I just don't know what to do, i hate not having them on my car, it sucks. any ideas?

[KiDyNomiTe]

By bottom of strut, are you talking about the perch that the springs sit on?

If thats what you mean then somehow your perches sit at different heights... The perch never moves, so it wouldnt be a ride height issue.

Get a better offseted wheel, or spacers regardless cuz those wouldnt clear coilovers.

[240silvia]

Well this is just my daily driver, I know that the perch doesn't move, the car has IFS, the springs take the bound and re-bound. The passenger side is ok, b/c it clears the tire by 1/2" but the driver side isn't at the same height. If I get new struts, I think it might raise it up. comments....

[TheSnail]

Is the wheel gap the same on both sides?

[240silvia]

yes, it appears to be.

[TheSnail]

Check the bushing on the LCA (where it connects to the Crossmember), check the difference between both sides.

[240silvia]

i'm going to check the ball joint tomorrow also. Car is a 91, 125xxx miles. I'm the 3rd driver, past 2 were women. No wrecks, and no signs of abuse. You think the strut might be blown, and the strut is bottomed(sp) out?

[TheSnail]

See if the top of your wheel/tire sticks out or in further then the other. If it sticks in (-camber) , then mesure the bottom of the strut to the top (spring or blown strut) and compare with the other side. If the top of the wheel sticks out more then the other side (+camber) Check the the LCA bushing.

PS: you do have the same brand tires on both sides right?

[240silvia]

yea I do, i'm going to check some stuff when I get off and see what happens. Any more suggestions?

[SpeedMonkeyInc]

Weight. You weigh more than the often-empty seat on the right side of the car, over time that will cause the springs and bushings to settle lower than the less-stressed side. Not only that but right hand turns are generally favored, because you can see better, and daily driving most people turn right more often than they do left.
So that is my best GUESS. I don't know this to be fact, just my best guess.

[projectRDM]

Are you certain both wheels are +35? If one was say +38 it would sit in farther, maybe just enough to rub. I bought a set of wheels brand new a few years ago and had that happen, three were +30 and one was +35, I needed a spacer on only one side until I figured it out and ordered a replacement.

[KiDyNomiTe]

i'm going to check the ball joint tomorrow also. Car is a 91, 125xxx miles. I'm the 3rd driver, past 2 were women. No wrecks, and no signs of abuse. You think the strut might be blown, and the strut is bottomed(sp) out?
Take a pic, cuz I think everyone is thinking different things here.

Back to what I said if the perch is sitting on the tire, then it has nothign to do with ball joints. The only thing that would make it sit lower would be if the holes on your strut that mount to the spindle are different hieghts. If the perches are different heights then the car would be uneven.

Only other thing is camber, check to see if they are even, or maybe your tires are just not identical sizes and one is a higher profile than the other.

[Ian]

is it not clearing VERTICALLY? as in the tread of the tire is rubbing on the bottom of where the spring sits?



if so, that's definately not good...because spring height wont affect the wheel clearing vertically. It'd most definately something being broken.

[240silvia]

any other suggestions?

[240silvia]

ok, I took off the struts, layed them on the ground, and I measured each strut. I measured from the bottom of the "perch" down to where the control arm bolts up to the strut, (the bottom bolt hole). NOW, check this out. The passenger strut, the one where I have the 1/2 clearance, the length is 10". NOW, the driver strut, the one that's sitting on the tire, the length is 9 1/2". SOOOOOOOO I found my 1/2" that i'm missing. So, I'm thinking, new struts. Anyone agree????

Did they have different strut specs from 89-94? Or do you guys just think it is wear?

[240silvia]

so you guys think the struts will fix my problem???? Come on guys. Someone say something.

[blaze1]

ok, I took off the struts, layed them on the ground, and I measured each strut. I measured from the bottom of the "perch" down to where the control arm bolts up to the strut, (the bottom bolt hole). NOW, check this out. The passenger strut, the one where I have the 1/2 clearance, the length is 10". NOW, the driver strut, the one that's sitting on the tire, the length is 9 1/2". SOOOOOOOO I found my 1/2" that i'm missing. So, I'm thinking, new struts. Anyone agree????

Did they have different strut specs from 89-94? Or do you guys just think it is wear?


Yea i think a fresh pair of struts should solve the problem.

[Var]

a sagging spring could cause this too right?

were the spring used when you bought them?

probably is the struts tho.

[240silvia]

I don't think that the spring has anything to do with it. The car has IFS. Even if I had no spring at all, it wouldn't change where the perch sits on the strut.

[upSLIDEdown]

Correct. Nothing moves below the lower spring perch. So if it's rubbing there, your holes must be 'wallowed' out. If they measure like you say they did, then that proves that as well. You need new struts homie ;)

Bryan

[Var]

are you talking upper or lower perch?

if the lower perch is off..then something is definitely wrong.

[240silvia]

I ment to say that the holes are a whole lot bigger than they should be.

Also, does anyone know if the struts has different specs throughout the years? Or is this just wear?

[Var]

if the holes are bigger, it means they are S14 struts. They are supposed to by 2mm bigger.

[240silvia]

the holes are bigger, but, the hole is really messed up. All ridgid and shit!

I just ordered some KYB G2 struts. We'll see what happens when they get here.

[240silvia]

OK, the KYB GR2's got here. I fixed 1 problem, but still have another. The tire clears the bottom of the strut perch, but, the rims is actually hitting the cylinder of the strut. So I ordered some 5mm spacers for the front to get it away from the strut. It's not hitting it bad, just enough to prevent me from driving it. What kind of spacer do you guys suggest for the rear so it can be flush, it's pretty close to being there now. 10mm? 15mm? Here are some pics...

This pic is a little odd. Car almost looks stock height, no idea why, fender is about a 1/2" over the tire
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/pd0ff4554a6876599c8e74d8712c65bf1/f3340a4e.jpg

Pretty Flush
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/p9a5e089c3a3691aba8b7da9a9cb78cfb/f3340a52.jpg

Here's where it hit the strut
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/p6db52c0644fdd930798070eb158ddfe8/f3340a59.jpg

Here's the clearance on the tires
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/p38b87814e878490f7bf646cd934fdbaf/f3340a54.jpg

Here's the TEIN's and the KYB's
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/pbf96687bf5d65b1397f1f44572df6993/f3340a56.jpg

[KiDyNomiTe]

You don't really need spacers in the back, but it all depends on your definition of flush. Just keep in mind you cant space them out too much without getting longer studs or bolt on spacers.

[kandyflip445]

Get a tape measure.

[240silvia]

Well the 5mm in the front will be ok. The lug nuts that I have grab a lot of the lug. Now for the back, I want to get bolt on spacers. I'll take a pic tomorrow when there's light and show you guys the "flushness" or lack there of. It doesn't look bad, I just know the front is going to be a little over the fender, and I want the rear to be close to it.

[KiDyNomiTe]

Well they are 17x9s so aim to go 17x9+15, but thats more of a coilover thing, and usually people have more camber, and rolled fenders. Aim for like 17x9 +20, so 10-15mm spacers, but measuring is your best bet to get it perfect.

[240silvia]

ok, 5mm spacer in the front and WOOO HOOOO! They are on, no problems, not rubbing..... here ya go....

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/pfdb37528dbb564f38f2b254d59bb6cf5/f31aa5c0.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/pbcbdcbced991f92eb017747a273a8216/f31aa5da.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/pa81b59aafc52720581f35c9559e33c16/f31aa5e1.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/p0727e4a7a6a7137486e546e561b397eb/f31aa5cd.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/pe9f8f2babf7ac48d18a8dfe64a5825c3/f31aa5c9.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/pde8da54fb8e72a9d6628ac34c258f3dc/f31aa5d4.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid178/pc0e8e42307eac43d585899f8d8984af0/f31aa5c2.jpg

[Enemy]

I had GR2's on my old S14. Nothing fancy. Stock replacement. A tad bit stiffer is all. Hope they solve your problem.

EDIT: My noob ass failed to notice there was a whole nother 2nd page before I posted :fawkd:

[Enemy]

How you like those sportmax wheels?