Petah78

I posted this in the suspension forum as well but i am not sure if it's a tire or suspension issue so i will post it here as well. I recently installed a set of Tein Flex coilovers on my car. The shocks were set to the specs recommended by Tein which should lower the car by approximately 1 inch. A quick comparison against my friend's S2K at stock ride height confirmed the 1 inch drop on all 4 corners just like Tein have indicated. Here are the spec to my wheels and tires:

Front: 17x7.5 +48. Hankook RS3, 225-45-17
Rear: 17x8.5 +58. Hankook RS3, 255-40-17
Alignment: Not sure. It was a stock 00 AP1 before it was lowered. Will align once i set my final ride height.

The front shocks are set to +11 while the rear are set to +9 (+16 being full stiff). I am experiencing a very minor rubbing in the front. When i hit a big dip, i will rub very slightly in the front. On both sides, i am rubbing on a couple of the fender liner clips. But again, farily minor as only 1/2 the clip is being "rubbed". My questions are:

1. Is this normal? The fitment to my wheels and tires are by no means aggressive and i am not slammed. I have a 1 finger gap on all 4 corners.

2. By adding around 1.7 camber in the front (my planned camber setting in the front), will it eliminate the rubbing?

I would love to keep the current ride height if i can but if it means some serious rubbing during track usage (the car will be under heavy loads), i would raise the car.

Thanks.

Mar48

I ran 18x9+55 in front before which is a tiny bit more aggressive in the front, I had zero rubbing when at stock height, but when I lowered it like you I had to trim the fender liner, takes 10 minutes with a dremel per side (I did about 2 inches. I ran 1.5 degrees in front with that setup and was fine afterwards. You'll have to experiment with it a little on your own.

Petah78

Thanks for the reply. I do not intent to trim any of the liner so if this is normal, i guess i will suck it up and raise the ride height by another 1/2 inch or so. I just thought with a mild drop and offset, i wouldn't have any work in order to avoid rubbing.

id003

Wow, I have the same setup, wheels and tire sizes on megan tracks. I'm at about 30-40% stiffness and a 1.5 to 1.75" drop. I dont rub for anything, even on very hard turns.
Im on UK spec align so like 1.0 F and 2.0 R camber. Thats strange, must just be the sitffness of the coil.

Mar48

id003 what tires/sizes are your running?

Petah I just looked at the tires you are running and have heard that Hankook RS3's run a little wide, so now I'm thinking it may be the tire setup. Pics may help determine that? I know the sticky recommends 215s

Petah78

I will take a pic and post it later. However, i have noticed these were "bulgier" than the 615 that i had in the front previously so it very well could be a tire issue.

id003

225F 255R Sumitomo HTR ZIII's

Petah78

Sorry it took so long but i took come crappy iPhone pics today, take a look. Let me know what you guys think.

Mar48

yea I think those run a little wide, they bulge out a bit more than other 225s on 7.5 I have seen (they look closer to 245 to me)

camber might fix the issue though and then you could keep those wide tires

Squirtle

You're too low without having rolled the fenders.

And yes, the rs3 run wider than any other street tire.