I have a 2005 TSX. I purchased the vehicle used from a dealer. It had 18 TSW Volcano rims with 2354018 tires. I recently had a set of Koni sport shocks and HR springs installed. I replaced the tires with Hancook 2254518s. Several sources (including the Tire Rack) thought this combination of modifications would work well. Unfortunately, there is notable wheel rub from the rear of the car with minimal cornering speeds. Does anyone know of a better rim soulution (less offset) to allow more clearance. I would like to occasionally autocross this vehicle in the near future. I do not want to return the car to original height unless absolutely necessary. Thank you.

 

Any idea what the offset of the TSW's are? Do you have rear camber adjust ability?

 

you should be running 225/40/18 not 225/45/18
also what offset are your rims?

 

Actually, the correct +1 sizes are 235/40x18 or 215/45x18 (either will maintain the same diameter as the OE 215/50x17 size give or take a tenth)(and is what was evidently on the car to begin with). I had a similar problem when I was running 235/45x17 tires on 17"x8" wheels (et45)(+0 tires which are the same diameter as OE on OE TL wheels). I too have the Koni yellow shocks, but under OE springs. I was rubbing a little in back, so I had to replace the set. I could have added more camber (I have the Ingalls kit installed), and this is common way to deal with the problem, but I don't like the way it looks, so..... I changed out the tires and wheels. You might be able to cure it if as I mentioned, you add some camber (if you have added that capability; it's not adjustable from the factory), or you could possibly go to a smaller tire (those 225/45 x18's really are too big and aren't helping any). And you don't mention the offset of the wheels, so that could be the problem right there (the OE wheel offset is et55). If you're running say an et45 offset wheel (the OE TL wheels for example), you're actually decreasing offset from OE. So if that's what you're running now, you want to add offset to move the wheel in a little, closer to the OE spec of et55. So depending on your wheel width and the offset, your wheels could be sticking out quite a bit more than the OE ones did. Couple that with lowering the car, and you've created a rub situation.

Oh, and though it doesn't apply to you since you're using 18" wheels, I settled on 225/50x17's (a little taller and wider than OE, as I too feel that the car is undertired as equipped from the factory, on 17"x7.5" et50 wheels. This combination fills the wheels wells better, and the slight decrease in offset along with the added 1/2" of width provides I think a great look. I have raised my final drive ratio slightly (with the taller tire), but since I do mainly all highway driving, this actually helps.

 

if your too neg cambered your wheel will rub on corners, but its gotta be alot like -4 or -5 degrees. im fairly low and i have -3.5 degrees of camber and i dont rub in the rear, the front is a different story. have you tried getting an alignment?

 

225/50-17 vs 225/45-18 have the exact same width and differ in diameter by 0.1". To put this in perspective, tires change in diameter by about 0.5" over their useful tread life.

With this info, it looks like we're closer to narrowing it down to the offset.

If you are set on keeping these wheels, you could either compensate with negative camber (if you have or are willing to install a camber kit) or roll your fenders.

Otherwise just get wheels that fit.

 

IIt's true that the tire diameter is similar, but there are a couple of unknown variables here that would make a difference. We still don't know the offset of his wheels, and they may actually be 8" wide (like they should be for a 235/40x18 tire which is what was originally installed).