lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

I finally got around to mounting my 17" Enkei RPF-01 wheels and the fitment is VERY AGGRESSIVE, so aggressive that my tires are getting eaten/cut into by my fenders every time I hit a road imperfection.

I swapped my 245/45/17 tires over from my type-s wheels onto the RPF-1s. The new wheel setup is 17x9 +22. I never had any rubbing/scraping issues with my type-s wheels, but with the RPF1s, it seems that the tire seems to be hitting some part of the fender any time there's a SLIGHT dip on the freeway or bump in the road.

The tires look monsterous on the car; kind of like a muscle car's wheel setup. I was thinking that the tire is simply too big to be coupled with such a wide wheel on the TL. Would I be able to solve this tire-chewing problem with a smaller sized tire? I was thinking of getting 235/40/17 Continental DW tires, but I don't want to drop $600 for new tires just to have them get chewed up by the fender again. Has anybody done this setup?

I know that badazzTL (something like that) had 235/40/18 Pirelli tires on his 18x9 +22 Advan RS wheels with no rubbing issues, which is why I think it should be fine. However, looking at my current setup, I have a good deal amount of "poke" and i'm not sure if the smaller tire will help. The wheel rim is already sticking out past the fender!

If it helps, I'm lowered 1.4" all around on H&R sport springs and I have my Koni Sport SP3s set 90 degrees from firm in the fronts. I also partially rolled my fenders.

Please let me know if there is a wheel size I can use that will solve this problem! I got these wheels for performance reasons and it's pointless to run a setup that can't even be driven on the road

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

So I looked up how 235/40/17 tires would compare to the stock sized tires, and 1010tires.com says it's a no-go because that size is 3.64% smaller than the stock tire size and anything greater than 3% difference from oem is dangerous.

I've looked into the following options:
245/40/17 --> 2.41% smaller diameter than oem
255/40/17 --> 1.15% smaller diameter than oem
and of course oem size 235/45/17

The problem is, my new wheels are WIDER than oem by 1" and stick out and MORE than oem due to the lower offset (+22 offset vs stock +45 offset)

I have no idea how tire stretching works. What would be my best option to having rub/scrape free driving? I would think that even though the 255/40 tire has a smaller diameter than the oem fitment, it will be WIDER and therefore still have the problem with coming into contact with my fenders.

I'm desparate guys. I feel that the car is too dangerous to drive the way that it is. If the fender keeps cutting into the tires, it could get deep enough to make the tires fail because it's cutting pretty close to the sidewall. It's still cutting the tread, but it's the outer edge of the treat where water is supposed to be expelled by the tread pattern (maybe 1/4" from the edge of the tread).

Toddy

iTrader: (5)

Are you running any camber? Post some pictures for reference

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

The only camber I have is natural camber. I will try to snap some pics right now but it's dark over here so I'll see what I can do! Thanks for helping though!

Toddy

iTrader: (5)

Even with stretched tires you are going to need to run more camber with a +22 offset on a 9 inch wide wheel. And yes you do need to switch to a narrower wheel. Also are your fenders rolled? pulled?

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

Here are some pics:

Side view; beefy tires


View from the rear; poking out


Notice how the front part of the wheel has the least amount of clearance


Front view: poke


Wheel gap


Here's a picture showing the damage to the tire. It's a little hard to see, but that "water channel" on the outer edge of the tread isn't supposed to be there. It was caused by my tires rubbing against the fender at 60mpg on the freeway whenever the road wasn't level


The cuts look much worse in person and I can peel 1"x1/8" strips of rubber from the tire

I would like to know if a 235/45/17 would stretch and clear without issues, but i'm also willing to go 225/45/17 if the 235/45 has a possibility of not clearing. I don't want to throw $600 away Haven't been able to find anyone on the forum who went aggressive with a 17" wheel besides scotterson

Yes my fenders are rolled and I believe they're slightly pulled (see pictures). I believe scotterson ran 17x9.5 +18 Enkei RPF1 wheels with 235/40/17 Falken Azenis st115 tires and had no rub. The problem is, he's using 235/40 on a 9.5 inch tire wich is a pretty decent stretch and he's using a 40-series profile tire which I would not want to do if I can get away with something closer to oem spec I'm not looking to keep the oem spec, but I don't want to deviate TOO far

From my pictures (and in person) it looks like it's the FAT tire causing the problem? Notice that even though the tires are poking out quite a bit, the rims are a bit hidden. The tires stick out a bit further than the wheels. Not a whole lot, but they do stick out past the wheels a tad bit.

scotterson

iTrader: (4)

I had 235/40/17 on 17x9.5 +18 and it was ok with natural camber. Run 235/40 or 225/40 and you SHOULD be safer. You might still rub though. If you want to keep the 45 sidewall id probably just stretch it as much as possible. 225/45 at least? Thats a really aggressive setup for a "performance" setup though.

scotterson

iTrader: (4)

May you could get away with 245/40? I'm not sure. Or you could get a camber kit to add more camber. Depends on what it's at right now though.

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

Dang, looks like I'm going to have to either stretch with a 225 tire or go with a smaller sidewall 40-aspect ratio, huh? I think ill try to roll as much as humanly possible first (it was hard enough the first time). Not too comfortable with running a 225 tire on a 9" rim at the track so the 40-series tires are looking like the better route right now. Thanks for the help, scott!

Anybody else have experience/knowledge with fitment on this size? Any advice/suggestion would help!

bforbrian

iTrader: (11)

Go 235/40-17.

Predatorbird

Those tires look like they have a lot of sidewall and they really don't look stretched at all. All tires run slightly different in size and those look like they're on the bigger side. A smaller tire in a different brand could really help out a lot.

Bearcat94

You're not changing the overall diameter enough. You're looking at going from ~25.6" (245/45-17) to ~25.3" (235/35-17).

Also you went from 17x8 +45 to 17x9 +22. That's 1 inch (25.4mm) wider or 1/2" on each side. So you've moved 12.7mm closer to the fender due to width.

PLUS an additional 23mm from offset (ET45 - ET22 = 23mm). 23mm + 12.7mm = a total of 35.7 mm closer to the fender lip; that's almost 1 1/2 inches.

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all the replies guys!

The tire size calculator i'm using says that the 235/40/17 tires would be 1" smaller in diameter compared to the 235/45/17 tires

245/45/17: 25.7" (current tires)
235/45/17: 25.4" (oem spec tires)
235/40/17: 24.4''
245/40/17: 24.7"
255/40/17: 25"

I was hoping I could get away with running a 245/40/17 tire; that would be the closest to oem spec tire diameter but nobody is suggesting it so i'm guessing it will have a high risk of coming into contact with the fender due to the wide section width. If i'm not mistaken, a 245 tire wouldn't stretch AT ALL on a 9" rim and the only additional clearance I would be getting would be due to the smaller diameter (1" smaller overall diameter than what I have now).

I'm really tempted to try a 245/40-17 tire to see if a 1" reduction in overall tire diameter could alleviate the cutting, but nobody is sure if it will be safe and I'm not sure if i'd be willing to risk throwing away a fresh set of tires

Again, 235/40/17 seems like the best bet right now but if I could get an alternative that didn't deviate 3.7% from the oem spec it would be great. Keep 'em coming, guys! I really appreciate all of your help

Another reason I don't want to go 235/40 is because Continental doesn't make the ExtremeContact DW in that size lol; I want those tires! I'd probably have to get Yoko S. Drives with that size

FCVadi

iTrader: (3)

hmm.. going to 245/40 or 255/40 might help.. also innacurate started a thread about doing 255/40 awhile ago.. there are folks with different specs and drops in there on their stock wheels

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-97/why-you-should-get-255-40-17-tires-your-oem-rims-595122/

you can also check out the XXR 227 threads.. they have folks running 18x8.75 and 17.8.75.. but they are doing stretched

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-97/fit-discussion-xxr-527-folks-going-agressive-might-fail-hard-814477/

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-photograph-gallery-96/concave-%3D-winning-xxr-527-picture-gallery-819556/

having a 1.5 drop isnt drastic.. I think its the 45 height that is doing it.. but you also mentioned partial roll.. you need a full roll on it I believe

CompTech2408

Ok lumyeinjun, Bearcat94 is talking about rim size and you my friend are talking about tire size.

Moving from the type-s 17x8 +45 to your current 17x9 +22 will give you a 1in. wider rim which means ~12.75mm closer to the fender. Then the 23mm offset difference put your tire 35.75mm or 1.4in. closer to the fender. Then you add 10mm width going from 235/45/17 tires to 245/45/17 which will add 5mm closer to the fender which puts us at 40.75mm or 1.6in. closer to the fender than the stock type-s rims. If the 40 profile will give you 1in. in diameter or 0.5in. in radius in your favor, you will still be 1.1in. closer than stock. If it was my car I would probably do a full roll on the fenders like FCVadi said and drop to a 40 profile or just to be safe maybe even a 35 profile tire.

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

I'd get the idea of 245's right out of your head!. I know some Bridgestones and Hankooks run narrow, but I wouldn't risk it. Besides, you like losing weight from rolling stock, right? Even though it's usually sidewall that has the most drastic effect on weight, a 235 will still be a little lighter than a 245 in the same brand/model/profile. And I don't think you're low enough to pull off the stretched look a 225 will give, so I'd look at a 235/40. Your speedo will be off quite a bit though, and your odometer will rack up miles more quickly. A relatively narrow 235/45 could maybe work with a more complete roll job.

And just to let you know, the Conti DW (not DWS) seems to run a bit wider than some other tires. I'm set on the 235/40-18 and it measures 8.7". They're light though; 21lbs!

murph145

I'd say 225/45/17 those tires u have on now are perfect for the rim if the offset wasn't as aggressive as they are..... My tires get cut up too in front , I trimmed the front tab but it still catches my tires on turns with dips

rep57

Murph is correct about that tab. That's whats shredding your tire. It's right where the fender meets the front bumper cover. I'm pretty low these days and I've rolled my fenders, shaved that tab almost completely off and I still rub when I'm turning in dips. After a lot of careful pulling, rolling and shaving I've gotten rid of most of the rubbing, but no matter what I do (with the exception of raising the coilovers) I still get it from time to time.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

yup...i know this all too well.

like others said, run a smaller series tire and shave off the tab where the fender meets the bumper.

FCVadi

iTrader: (3)

Shark, what drop you running? .. and nice wheels

wondering who got them

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

^thanks man. i'm on megan coils.

FCVadi

iTrader: (3)

do you know the size drop? I think Megans are 2" if I remember correctly

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

well they're adjustable coilovers...and i'm not sure how low i'm down on the threads, but i'm tucking about 1/2" tire all the way around. you can raise these higher than stock height or slam them almost to the concrete.

I hate cars

I would just get the right offset to begin with. I have no issues with 255/40/17s on mine and I'm lowered 1.5". I can put 5 people in the car and go off roading and never scrape. I've hit the bumpstops and no scraping.

A shorter sidewall is only a bandaid. You're still very limited in suspension travel and it's still going to rub, just not as often.

I thought I saw performance mentioned somewhere, going narrower, adding camber, and stretching the tires is going in the opposite direction of performance.

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the tip guys! I spent a good amount of my day yesterday grinding the crap out of that bumoer-fender tab with my grinder (don't have a dremel). I took it for a quick drive around town and so far no more tire cutting! will post pics eventually.

That's the good news. The bad: my tires still look like they're meant for off-roading and they still run against the rear of the front fender lining when at a full turn. I'm going to eventually go with a smaller diameter tire to get rid of the fender liner rub, but as long as my tires aren't getting chopped up I'm a happy man! I probably shouldn't speak too soon because I still have to take it on the crazy Californian freeway that caused the tire feast in the first place let's hope its fine.

Maybe 245/40 tires aren't so out of reach afterall!

And IHC, I know... I wish I could have got these with a higher offset but +22 is the minimum offset needed to clear the brembos :/ the design of these wheels make it tough, I barely clear the calipers with my setup! Definitely not looking to go with a tire with less than a 225 section width though.

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

Man that previous post didn't make much sense :/ darn autocorrect! No more android phones for me. iphone5 here I come!

I meant to say that my front tires still rub against the rear fender liner on a full-turn. The wheel barely comes into contact with the fender liner, but still, I don't believe the wheels should ever come into contact with anything besides the asphalt.

I should also mention that in addition to obliterating that fender-bumper tab, I also stiffened my front Koni Sport SP3 shocks to 90 degrees from firm (it was at 270 degrees from firm before). I'm sure that also played a role in preventing rub.

Here is the beast I used to grind the tab:



It was pretty fun. Sparks were flying and I got burned a little, but I'm happy that sucker is gone

And here is how the inside of the fender looked after the attack:


Yes, there is a little hole in my fender liner where that tab used to be. It's cool.

I know it looks bad, but I used touch-up paint to hide all of the exposed metal on the fender. Still need to go back and silicone the part of the metal fender tab that remains. The outside of the fender looks the same though, here's a picture of how it looks from the outside:



Told ya. My fenders are still safe! I'll keep you all posted

aznkikaz

iTrader: (2)

Uh oh... I just bought 245/40/18 tires on my 18x9.5 wheel dropped on coils with no gap currently.....

Now I am having second thoughts as to if its going to rub

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

yikes, welcome to my world! if you haven't cut that front fender-bumper tab already, I would do it before you put those beautiful tires on your car. I went for one 12 mile freeway ride and it chopped the shabeezy out of my tires it's like a little razor hanging from the fender man. Don't underestimate the damage it will do haha.

cokorote

iTrader: (1)

Im glad that you solve it, report back if you have issues. Now can we have more picture of your TL with the rpf1? I want moar!!!

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Randy, be sure to try out our Multi-Quote button. It's the middle icon in the lower right hand corner of each post.

This allows you to respond to more than one person in a single reply!

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

yup.

i remember when i first noticed it happening with mine. i had just mounted the new wheels, and was heading to a local acurazine meet about 45 mins away from home. so i start driving, and whenever i would turn the wheel to the right or take an exit ramp to the right, i would hear this faint "brush brush brush brush" sound from the front right tire. i kept thinking, what the hell is that?

anyways, when i got to the meet and parked the car, i got out and saw my tire all sliced up.

it was quite embarrassing to say the least. so i raised the car 1/4" up front and dremeled the tab like you. haven't had an issue since.

RU_JELLY

iTrader: (1)

ummm ya you mighta shoulda coulda wanted to do some research before you did that, not sure what the offset of your wheels are but chances are you are going to need to run hella camber or buy new tires. I am running stretched 225/40/18 tires on my 18x9.5 and am still having trouble with those, I am going to have to raise it up some I think this weekend

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

+1

Yeah, let's see some full car pics, Randy!

I wasn't feeling this wheel off the car, but from these limited pics, it looks good.

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

The car was actually fine with just me in it, even on pretty bad road imperfections. HOWEVER, after I added a passenger in the car, some of the rubbing began to come back. Since then I took the rotary grinder and went to work on that fender some more haha, I'll keep you all updated on the results!

But it's so difficult using a smartphone

Oh man that sucks! Good thing nobodywho has seen my car knows anything about cars haha that would be embarrassing!

Haha ACTUALLYYY... imo I think my type-s wheels looked much better on the car I've never been a fan of the RPF1s on the TL but with the weight savings I just couldn't resist haha. The RPF1s look a little too"tuner" for my car, and the mismatch is highlighted even more by the fact that my tire size makes my wheel setup look like it was for off-roading I'll admit, it is by no means an aesthetic improvement for the car but the car feels so good with these wheels, I wont give it up!

Don't get me wrong though, I don't hate the wheels and I do NOT want to give them up! I love them and what they do for the car! Once I get new tires with the proper size I'm sure I can give these wheels my full approval but for now, I still say they look funny haha

Nevertheless, I will eventually snap more photos of the car withthewheels. My car is dirty so once I get around to washing it I will post some photos up! Thanks for your interest in this thread, everyone!

Sorry if this post has a lot of typos/run-ons/wtf? moments. Its 3:20am in Cali and I'm on my smartphone haha

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

So i've been running my 17x9 +22 RPF1s with 245/45-17 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires on my car for a few weeks now, here's an update:

My fenders are currently rolled, slightly pulled, and have the front fender-bumper tabs removed. Front tires are still rubbing against something on full-turns, but i'm not sure what it is. Good news is that I don't believe the tires are getting cut up anymore; either that or the tire-cutting has been toned down so much that I don't notice any additional rubber hanging off of the tire.

The problem is that my tires are just too tall. The sidewall kind of bulges out past the section width and the rim (as opposed to the sidewall being in the same plane as the rim and tread). This is especially apparent in this photo:

My tires are inflated to 33 cold psi.

The tires also rub when I hit a large dip at highway speeds (on the freeway). Small dips are fine.

Tires rub much more often when I have passengers in the car. Turning the wheels all the way to the right (to make a right at a stop light) with a full cabin at 5 mph causes rubbing.

Taking a 360 degree banked on-ramp at 50mph causes the tire to rub against something inside the wheel-well.

____________________________________

I don't think that it's completely necessary to get a new set of tires. It's fine if you just drive your car like a normal person, however, it is a bit ghetto when you drive people around and your tires start to rub on turns. It's not so bad when i'm alone in my car on my morning commute, though.

BUTT I don't just drive my car. I carry passengers, I'm looking forward to a track day this summer, and I drive "quite spiritedly" on the road pretty often. My wheel/tire setup will not allow for me to do these things without the occasional rub. I need new tires.

The general consensus is for me to slap some 235/40-17 rubber on my 17x9 +22 wheels. It's a sure way to eliminate the rubbing. The only downside to going this route is that your outer tire diameter will be decreased over 3% compared to the factory specs. I don't mind the ODO being off, but i'm scared this may reduce the effectiveness of my ABS and LSD. For this reason, i'm looking at tire diameters a little closer to stock.

My two main tire choices are 245/40-17 and 235/45-17. Has anybody ran these sized tires on wheels with my specs?

I'm hoping to go to the tire shop this weekend to compare the specific tire sizes in the specific tire make/model that I want. Any prior experience from members who have gone this route would be greatly appreciated!

If I don't feel that my two alternatives will clear the fenders without rubbing, I will go with the 235/40-17 as a safe bet. Either that or try to trade my wheels for something with a higher offset that clears the brembos lol.

With the minimal rub i'm getting from the very tall and very wide 245/45-17 tires, do you think I will be able to run a 245/40-17 or a 235/45-17 without rubbing, even in extreme driving conditions (i.e. taking the car to the track)? My guess is that a shorter sidewall tire should do it, but my guess is just a guess, i'm no expert.

Feel free to chime in, please!

FCVadi

iTrader: (3)

I am on 255/40 and they still look beefy like yours.. running the same wheel and offset.. but I am not dropped yet.. if I had to do it again I mgiht get the 245/40.. want ot get get 245/35 if they make those tires but always worried about sidewall protection

FCVadi

iTrader: (3)

also turn the wheel all the way then have someone sit in it to see if it dips more.. wondering if the peak of the tire rubs with more wight in the car

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

Oh I had no idea you were running the same wheel size as I was! What wheels are you running? they're 17"s too, right? Just making sure haha, I don't know many guys on here that run aftermarket 17" wheels!

And being lowered 1.4" all around, I highly doubt I would be able to run a 255/40-17 tire with such an aggressive offset Wish I could though; it's what I intended to do lol, hence the 9" wide wheel

With a +22 offset on a 9" wheel, the rim sticks out past the fender WITHOUT tires on them haha 255/40 is a no-no if you're lowered.

Oh and don't get 245/35, that's way too low of a sidewall! The 245/40-17 is already smaller than the stock tire diameter, 245/35 would be way out of spec!

Just do yourself a favor and never get 245/45, even on stock wheels. I don't know why that's the most common replacement size on the 3G, it's a horrible size and it hurts performance with the higher sidewall. Yes, 245/45-17 is closer to the circumference of the stock specs than the 245/40-17, but it's in the wrong direction. We want a bit less sidewall than stock, not a bit more! Larger-that-stock diameter tires hurt acceleration AND handling!

By peak of the tire, do you mean the highest point in the tire? I highly doubt it's the top of the tire that rubs, rather, I believe it's the upper front edge that does. On the passenger's side front tire, it would be the part of the tire at the two o' clock position.

But I will try to find a really heavy person to sit in the car to try to demonstrate hitting a dip! Good idea, I didn't think of that. Off to the nearest KFC...

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

Darn 15min edit window. I just wanted to say that I regretted getting 245/45-17 tires as soon as I got them on, and I still regret it till this day. Bad tire size for our cars, even on stock wheels.

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

So...

I'm very indecisive. And I kind of did all three of the options that I had laid out earlier:

I posted my wheels for sale or for trade on the blackmarket.
AND
I bought new (used) tires lol

Earlier today I went to a used tire shop to purchase some new used tires. I went in planning to get 235/45R17 Michelin Pilot PS2 tires, but I came out with 245/40R17 Hankook ventus v12 evos instead

Got both tires for $80 out the door and they're barely even used And yes, I only got two. The front two. sticky UHP all seasons in the rear, stickier UHP summers in the front. Let's see some over-steer

BUTT, my original plan was to get 235/45 tires to play it safe. 245/40 tires only reduce one parameter in wheel sizing--sidewall height (and therefor overall circumference). 235/45 tires would have decreased both sidewall height AND section width. I guess this will be my $80 contribution to Acurazine. Somebody's gotta experiment, right?

I'm planning to mount them up tomorrow afternoon so I'll keep you all updated on how it goes. For now, pics:







In the last picture, you can see how much smaller the 245/40 Hankooks are compared to the 245/45 Pilot Sport A/S plus tires