WARNING: This post contains obvious information that will be common sense to many people. Unfortunately though, it's definitely completely foreign material to many. For those of you to whom this is obvious, I apologize...
A recurring question asked on car forums, like this one, goes something like this:
"What's the widest tire/tallest tire/most aggressive offset wheel I can run on xxxxx car? I'm not lowered/I'm dropped on xxx springs/slammed on xxx coilovers/etc...."
That really doesn't matter. Unless you're running a suspension setup that changes the suspension geometry (pretty sure you aren't, except for maybe a bit more static negative camber), or radically different length shocks that allow more travel than factory, your ride height is irrelevant if you've chosen a well thought out fitment. If someone is running an aggressive tire/wheel fitment that rubs on their MOAR LOWZ hellaflush ride, I'm going to rub with stock springs as well with that same fitment.
The car bottoms out in the same place with different length springs, the only difference is, the lowered cars are trading some of their "droop" for a lower static height and reduced overall travel. The end of that travel, however, is in the exact same location.
With stock springs, I BURY my wheels up into my fenderwells when I autocross. I've bottomed the suspension out from grip, and anyone else that aggressively autocrosses/tracks their car will do the same. When my suspension is bottomed out, it's stuffed just as far up into my fender as a car that's been dropped a couple inches..
Lowering your car may increase the FREQUENCY with which your tires rub on something, but it will NOT determine whether or not it happens at all. If you've picked a fitment that rubs, "but only at full lock/only over really big bumps/only with passengers/etc then you're kidding yourself. Parts touching that aren't supposed to touch = big $$$.
Wanna find out exactly how much tire you can fit? Set your alignment where you want it, remove your springs, bolt a wheel on, and run your wheel ALL the way through it's travel. Bottom it out. Turn the steering wheel back and forth at several points in the shock's travel, and measure how much space is left over when it starts to get tight.
I have absolutely ZERO problem with people trying to fit more rubber on their cars, Hell, my GTI had 255s on 9in wheels...I just want people to understand that lowered or not, your suspension runs through the exact same arc, and will make the exact same expensive collision between parts that shouldn't touch if you don't do your homework.
A recurring question asked on car forums, like this one, goes something like this:
"What's the widest tire/tallest tire/most aggressive offset wheel I can run on xxxxx car? I'm not lowered/I'm dropped on xxx springs/slammed on xxx coilovers/etc...."
That really doesn't matter. Unless you're running a suspension setup that changes the suspension geometry (pretty sure you aren't, except for maybe a bit more static negative camber), or radically different length shocks that allow more travel than factory, your ride height is irrelevant if you've chosen a well thought out fitment. If someone is running an aggressive tire/wheel fitment that rubs on their MOAR LOWZ hellaflush ride, I'm going to rub with stock springs as well with that same fitment.
The car bottoms out in the same place with different length springs, the only difference is, the lowered cars are trading some of their "droop" for a lower static height and reduced overall travel. The end of that travel, however, is in the exact same location.
With stock springs, I BURY my wheels up into my fenderwells when I autocross. I've bottomed the suspension out from grip, and anyone else that aggressively autocrosses/tracks their car will do the same. When my suspension is bottomed out, it's stuffed just as far up into my fender as a car that's been dropped a couple inches..
Lowering your car may increase the FREQUENCY with which your tires rub on something, but it will NOT determine whether or not it happens at all. If you've picked a fitment that rubs, "but only at full lock/only over really big bumps/only with passengers/etc then you're kidding yourself. Parts touching that aren't supposed to touch = big $$$.
Wanna find out exactly how much tire you can fit? Set your alignment where you want it, remove your springs, bolt a wheel on, and run your wheel ALL the way through it's travel. Bottom it out. Turn the steering wheel back and forth at several points in the shock's travel, and measure how much space is left over when it starts to get tight.
I have absolutely ZERO problem with people trying to fit more rubber on their cars, Hell, my GTI had 255s on 9in wheels...I just want people to understand that lowered or not, your suspension runs through the exact same arc, and will make the exact same expensive collision between parts that shouldn't touch if you don't do your homework.
