new tyres

I have 17" wheels with 225 45 17 tyres on my SVX.

I have recently changed my rear tyres to Dunlop SP9000s (instead of Marangoni Linears). The Dunlops rub on the wheel arches when I accelerate out of corners.

Has anybody else experienced this and how was it resolved?

[UberRoo]

I gather from what you are saying is that the old rear tires did not rub. Yes? This means to me that the new rear tires are different from the old ones, which indicates that they do not match the front ones. (The other possibility is that the new tires match the front, and the old ones did not.) In either case, mismatched tires are likely to cause abnormal wear to your transfer clutch. It is possible, and even likely, that it will wear out the clutch and you will no longer have AWD. If the tires are exactly the same size, this will not be a problem, but it sounds like they are different.

As for resolving the problem, it's frequently possible to massage the lip of the wheel arches with a rubber mallet. Sometimes a strong arm is enough. Possibly the rear struts are due for replacement.

[svxistentialist]

Without doing the maths on it, I think that going from 16" to 17", you needed to drop back to 215s using 45 profile to maintain the same rolling radius. I could be wrong on this, but if you went to 40 profile, 225s would be OK.

As Uberoo says, having different size wheels on the back vs the front is bad news. It will not burn out the transfer clutch, UK models do not have anything as cheap as that installed, but will probably damage the differentials.

You can measure the rolling radius by measuring from the centre of the hubcap to the road, on level ground, with the car empty and tyre pressures correct. Check your owner's manual, but from memory differences of 2% or so are OK. Over 4% will cause problems.

Joe

[svxistentialist]

And is it possible the 17" rims you fitted do not have the same offset as the original 16s?

This will also cause rubbing if not correct.

Joe

Thanks Guys,

I'm going to put the standard wheels back on for now - then I'm going to save up for new springs and shocks.

Anybody know a good supplier?

Peter

[Earthworm]

If you can wait for them get Koni struts when they're available.