Tire Rubbing

$ gest24 $ · #1 12-09-2005, 02:27 PM

Today I got my new SVX up on a lift to rotate the tires and check underneath the car. Everything looks good on the underside. NO rust some oil put wiped it up. But with my tire rotation I ran into something. My drivers side front tire has the tire shoulder worn down to the thread in one spot. Also the passanger side front is worn < (illistration on wear) lol I know thats more than likely due to improper alignment but what would cause the tire to rub the suspension on the drivers side. Also the tires are 225 width. I'm a little bummed I have to swap out 2 tires but thats the only problem with the car.

SilverSpear · #2 12-09-2005, 03:00 PM

Did you check your front struts? maybe they are shot causing the wheels to touch the fenders and rub.

$ gest24 $ · #3 12-09-2005, 03:01 PM

Would they cause the tires to rub the inside of the wheel well? Thats where the damage is.

SilverSpear · #4 12-09-2005, 03:07 PM

Of course, maybe you have bad coils or struts, or even both... check them out

$ gest24 $ · #5 12-09-2005, 03:21 PM

Once she's back up I'll put her on a lift again and check everything out. For now it's back to driving the VW. Any other reasons I'd have rubbing like that?

nordique14 · #6 12-09-2005, 03:29 PM

Are you using stock SVX rims?

Also, to wear out the inside shoulder that much, you would have to have excessive camber (greater than -2* will definately cause inside wear). I don't think the stock setup can get much more -ve camber than that without modification (new bolts, camber plates, etc). The must be a problem with the struts/springs.

SilverSpear · #7 12-09-2005, 03:41 PM

Either he has an aftermarket wide wheels lips with 225 tyre width, or his struts are shot.

Maybe it is a long shot... but can it be that those tyres were fitted on another car which was rubbing them? you said you recently bought that SVX, right?

$ gest24 $ · #8 12-09-2005, 04:01 PM

Everything is stock on the car. I've only had it for a week and today was the first time I could get it on base and on a lift to look under it and rotate the tires. Another thing I noticed after I swapped the tires was that the car stopped pulling to the left and the high speed shimmy went away...

Earthworm · #9 12-09-2005, 05:25 PM

Do you actually see where the tire was rubbing? It's possible the rim or part of the suspention is bent.

Definitely replace the tires and get an alignment done. They will tell you if anything is bent preventing an alignment.

$ gest24 $ · #10 12-09-2005, 07:47 PM

I didn't happen to notice. The only place that made sense was the spring cup on the strut. The rubbing isn't around the whole tire its just on a couple intermittent spots on there.

1992SVX · #11 12-09-2005, 09:42 PM

then it is most likely a worn suspension part

$ gest24 $ · #12 12-09-2005, 11:23 PM

I did not want to hear that... lol But I did notice that the front sway bar seemed loose. Could this be part of the issue? I really didn't delve deep into the problem I was just swapping around my tires. But tom I'm gonna try and get back to base and put her back on a lift and take the front wheels off and take some pics. Any tell tale signs I should be looking for?

SilverSpear · #13 12-10-2005, 09:59 AM

The sway bars can cause that. but most likely you should check your struts are ok. if they are decompressed, or the springs are shot, they will cause the car's front end to bounce and hit the fenders from underneath. if the balancers in front are loose as you say, your flanges could be bend causing the tyres to rub....... anything is possible. get us those accurate pics so we can help out.

$ gest24 $ · #14 12-10-2005, 10:40 AM

I'm leaving to get back on base here in a couple min. Camera in hand. BTW.. tyres, liking the euro spelling. lol.

$ gest24 $ · #15 12-10-2005, 12:32 PM

Here are some pics. One of the cut on the tyre and one of the suspension. There are more on my homepage link...