Howdy Folks!

I'm at a point where I need to do something moving forward, but I wanted to make sure I had considered everything.

Currently running this wheel setup:

SSR Comps, metallic grey/machined lips

18x8 +48 Front
18x9 +55 Rear

Tires are Pirelli P-Zeros:

225/40-18 Front
255/35-18 Rear

My car is an '07, running OEM shocks with ASD Espelir springs, so it's dropped, I'd say 1.5-1.7" or so. I *love* the SSRs, the style, they're very light (5-8lbs less than the 17" OEM). I've considered going to coilovers in the future, but I would stay at about the same drop.

My problem is the rear tires hit the fender lip at extreme compression.

I recently had a really good alignment dialed in, and used the UK specs. While the caster/toe was totally goofed up, the rear negative camber was actually +more+ than the UK specs! Hell, I was thinking the UK spec would improve my situation - on the upside, the alignment has dramatically improved the overall handling. I'm definitely not going to run more camber than the -1/-2 I currently have set.

The tires are getting very close to needing to be replaced too.

So as I see it, my options are:

Roll the fenders
This is top on my list, but I kind of hate to do anything permanent to the body that's not easily reversible. Too bad these cars don't have modular rear fender panels (like the front). I don't know that I would need the lip to be rolled completely flat, just 45-75 degrees up[?] There are some folks in my area that apparently have it down to a science and I guess if it's done right, it's not like it even looks like they've been modified.

Sell the wheels
I've considered this too, and just shop something else in a better fitment. I've seen some 18x9-9.5 with a +60 - +65 rear offset which I figure would clear just fine. I really like my wheels and would rather not spend another $1000 just to avoid option #1 (though it does avoid permanent mods)

Use a narrower tire
There's kind of two flavors to this: 1) a smaller spec, like a 215/245, but part of the reason I upgrade was to run a slightly wider than OEM tire, plus I'm not a fan of any kind of "stretched" look. 2) a 225/255 setup that's just a little narrower, since the width from different manufacturers isn't consistent, maybe the Pirelli I have are on the wide side?

Raise the ride height
Obviously this would require swapping about my current setup to either a spring setup with less drop, or a coilover system where I could set the ride height. The thing is, my drop doesn't even seem all that low (but I guess the more radical drops are usually combined with stretched tires, rolled fenders and/or insane camber).


Thoughts? Other options?

 

Here's how the car sits right now:

 

Roll the fenders. Like you mentioned, you don't need a full roll or anything major. The bumper tab might be where you are rubbing, possibly try trimming just a little off with a dremel. If there is someone skilled in your area at rolling fenders, definitely hit them up. You won't even be able to tell anything has been done if it is done right.

 

I wonder if it's possible the tire is just hitting the fender tab? That's a super simple fix (just did a little research).

I guess I could always try that first, since I'd probably do it in conjunction with a full on roll.

 

You could also add camber, I think 1 degree more and you wouldn't be rubbing....

 

I'm pretty much happy with my current alignment settings (at -2 in the rear already), so I'm likely going to leave that option alone.

I was too busy over the last week to fool around with this, but I got an idea to possibly help isolate where the contact is being made (like the main fender lip vs. the bumper tab, etc.) without having to do anything very time time intensive.

I'm going to line the area with some racers/duct tape, go out to this service road where I can toss the rear end around (forcing contact, which I've done a few times) and see where the tape is scrubbed. Definitely going to give this a shot today since it won't take any time (and I don't have to remove the wheels or anything).

I'll report back later today

 

I ran 18x9 +55 w/ 255/35/18 tires on the rear and had zero issues (although I did have 2.5 degrees camber)

Also, I did have Tein Flex's on a pretty stiff setting so that could've helped too

Good luck!

 

I really appreciate the extra info!

You know, I taped up the drivers side fender lip and went over to this small service road and managed to hit one time. Didn't see any damage to the tape so I did the passenger fender too and then couldn't get them to hit again. It requires really turning hard at a little speed and I didn't want to get too crazy out on the street.

The last time it was with a passenger and some stuff in the trunk. It must be a pretty extreme compression combined with some extra weight.

I took a really close look from underneath, and it _seems_ like the tire should tuck in and miss. That's why I'm thinking it might be just barely clipping the fender tab. I wish I would have checked this when I had the suspension apart, I could have jacked up the wheel and got a good look at the clearance.

I'm going to trim down the tab and go from there I think!

 

i got 17" 55 offset with a 255/40 in the rear as well i had the same issue i just went ahead and rolled the fenders found a guy to do it for 80 all around delivered problem solved ..you should just get them rolled plus you might be able to run more aggresive tires if you wanted..

 

relocate the rear bumper screw an inch back and grind off the extra material.. no need for a roll at that height!