Heya guys,

I just got my Ingall's camber kit and Tein basic coilovers installed and had a question. Right now, I have about a one finger drop all the way around the car and I've been experiencing some scraping going over uneven areas on the road. Where I'm at right now is kind of notorious for having overly shitty roads and I think I'm going to have to get the ride raised a little. I was wondering if making it a 2 finger drop all the way around would make a big enough difference?

How how low can I go without having to worry about scraping all the time, everytime I hear that noise a little part of me dies....

 

What are the specs for the wheels and tires you have?

 

The tires are 235/40/18s

 

... and the wheels?

 

Oh, sorry, I thought you were indirectly asking for the size of the wheels, didn't think the brand was relevant. In any case, they are Koya Nova's in black with polished lip, size 18s of course.

 

I figured that they would be 18's but what offset are they? The offset and tire size are the main factors in figuring out your rubbing problem.

 

I apologize, I didn't specify the exact problem. The wheels aren't rubbing, rather, the underside of the car hits the road and makes a brief scraping sound. I don't think its the front lip scraping, but the casing that protects the underside of the car.

 

Are you sure that's the problem?

The stock suspension height has 6" of ground clearance. That's a lot of wheel travel needed to bottom out the car. I would think the wheels would surely rub before the car would hit the ground. I don't even know if it's possible.

I know people have bottomed out going over speed bumps and scraped their lips when going up or down steep driveway inclines, but I've never heard of anyone bottoming out on a road before.

 

Well, the scraping occurs over bumps in the road or a sharp dip (they are all over the place over here). The noise I hear SOUNDS like plastic scraping pavement, I am unsure on what tire rubbing would sound like. The wheels are a +42 offset and they are 18s, which I thought were well within spec?

 

+42 with a 235/40/18 tire is right at the limit of what should be used. There are members that use that setup without any issue, but if your roads are worse or you're lower than them, it's quite possible it's the tires rubbing the fender liner. You can look inside the wheel well to see if there is any abrasion. In any event, you have coilovers, so it wouldn't hurt to experiment with a higher ride height. You might also be able to camber in your wheels a little if you have a camber kit installed.

 

You could be scraping the plastic wind deflector that's in front of each of the front wheels. This could be the source of the sound. But if that's happening, then you're probably also scraping the metal fin that's right underneath the plastic engine bay cover.

 

Well I took a look at the car and it looks like the rear tires MIGHT BE rubbing. I took a look underneath the front of the car and I didn't really see any signs of scraping of the underside although the lip, right front, shows some scratches.

Here's how low the rear tires are right now, my car doesn't even seem that low...

 

Can you pin point where the scraping sound comes from? If it is from the rear, then your tire might be rubbing the fender lip. You should be able to see some wear marks on the outer shoulder of the tire and the lip. If this is the case, you can either roll the fenders (warning: paint around that area might chip if not done properly), add a little negative camber back, or raise the car.

If the noise is from the front, your tire might be rubbing against the top clip that attaches the fender liner to the fender. You can remove this clip and tuck the liner behind the metal tab that the clip was supposed to mount to.

 

Quick question...

I recently got the alignment done on the car and according to the digital read out, the rear wheel camber is now set to ~.93

What do you guys think? I think this may be causing the noises over bumps, adding more negative camber help in this situation? If so, what should I get it set to without worrying about abnormal tire wear?

 

^^^^^^

That's -.93

 

you're rubbing the fenders for sure, there's no way your car (from the pics you posted in your other thread) is bottoming out. when you bottom out you hear a clunk, when you rub its a bzzzzzzz sound, very different

You can check where you're rubbing pretty easily. If its the front, look/feel under the fender and see if the heads of the plastic clips are wearing away. And in the rear see if the tire show's any odd marks. IMO you're more likely to rub in the front than the back

 

Problem is, everything is really new, the car, the tires the wheels, etc. I'll have to wait a bit to see any markings anywhere, I'll keep an eye out. I'll definately try to watch my driving around bumps and things but sometimes, it's just inevitable.

Here's how low the front is, you are right, much higher chance of rubbing at the front than the rear.

 

Did you get oil change recently? I had similar problem and I put the car on the lift and they forgot to fasten/close the flap/door to oil filter all the way.. bastids!!! grrr!!!

anyways I recommand putting ur car on lift and checking everything underneath..

 

i have a very similar setup compared to yours.. tein basics, ingalls, and my wheels are 18 x 7.5 with a +43 offset... however I am running 225/40/18 instead of 235/40/18 and I have ZERO rubbing issues... id say raise your car up a lil until u have no scrapping.. and switch over to 225/40/18 when u are ready to buy new tires

good luck

 

Adjust the camber to more negative, and u may get around.
Ur wheels sizes are at limit, but since u got the camber kit, u are likely running close to 0 camber, i guess. U probably got the camber kit so u can run close to ideal camber settings and without wearing ur tires from negative camber, but i think u should have opted 48 et whels if u really wanted camber kit.

 

What are the recommended camber settings? I'll try adding negative camber while remaining in spec before raising the car.

 

i have 18X8 +45 with 235/40/18 on my wheels. with tein and ingall. i had a rubbing issue on the rear so i did - 1.8 on both left and right wheels. it eliminated the rubbing. i hope this helps. get alignment done. the tire ware is minimal even if it is .3 out of spec.(more negative)

 

i have 17x8 +42 wheels with 225/45/17 tyres, i get a bit of rubbing when i hit a large bump, more so if i hit a bump around a corner. I really doubt your car is bottoming out like you said. The culprit IMO is the 235 tyres. I'm going to get a eibach front camber kit and run -1.5 at the front and keep it about the same in the rear to hopefully solve the problem. I would also consider rolling the fenders but i don't trust any shops to do it for me without crackign my paint