Will my wheels and tires fit after I fix my suspension?

[Kheimbach]

So I bought a 99 gs and the back tires have negative camber (leaning in at the top) and I just bought washers and bolts to fix this. What my dad just brought to my attention is my car is lowered 2" and is sitting on 18" fallen rims. So he said that if I straighten the tires out that the tires will hit the fender. Does anybody have any input or past experience with this?

 

[jpmxrider489]

You might have a problem with it. I guess you can try in out. If your tires are leaning in then your going to go through tread real quick. I tried trading wheels for 18s and they hit.

 

[snowborder714]

I have a set of 18" wheels for my car and have no rubbing issues. My car isn't lowered 2", but it is lowered (maybe 1-1.5"?). Obviously you don't want to bring the rear wheels to 0° camber, so you can control how much they tuck in the rear fender.

Toe is what will eat your tires though. As long as that is set properly, camber won't cause a lot of tire wear.

 

[jpmxrider489]

I like the way the tires look as far as wheel gap. Snowborder714, I like the 18s on your car. You dont really have that gap with your 18s. My car is lowered 2.5 and I have 17s and they fit perfect.

 

[Silver99OZ]

You can also roll the rear inner fender lips to allow for more tire clearence.

 

[jtmcinder]

This thread is worthless without tire size and wheel offset.

 

[wahl]

Agreed^, more info please. And if you think you'll hit start out small with one washer at a time and work your way up to as close as you want it without rubbing.

 

[Kheimbach]

Would you guys think it would just be better if I put stock springs back on? The roads where I live aren't the best pa guys know what I'm talking about. And where is the offset number located at?

 

[snowborder714]

Look on the inside of the hub section of the wheel for the offset, sizing, etc. info.

 

[4g63tc]

Or you could just try to put them on...And take a picture.

 

[Kheimbach]

This thread is worthless without tire size and wheel offset.

The offset is 35mm and I'll have to get back to u with the tire size, I'm not home right now

 

[jtmcinder]

245/35/18 if the wheels are at least 8" wide. Will require rolling of rear fender lips only, assuming that you fix the camber.

215/40/18 or 225/40/18 if they aren't. Won't require anything, even if you fix the camber.

ps. my actual suggestion is to sell the wheels and get some 17s, but I won't say that out loud because people are sick of me ragging on 18s when you don't have the brakes to require such

pps. damned unfreezing process

 

[Kheimbach]

245/35/18 if the wheels are at least 8" wide. Will require rolling of rear fender lips only, assuming that you fix the camber.

215/40/18 or 225/40/18 if they aren't. Won't require anything, even if you fix the camber.

ps. my actual suggestion is to sell the wheels and get some 17s, but I won't say that out loud because people are sick of me ragging on 18s when you don't have the brakes to require such

pps. damned unfreezing process

I'm pretty sure it's the 245/35/18. They came with the car that's why idk exact but I looked at them before and that sounds right and I can tell I need to roll te fender just by looking at it. I have never done this before so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Do I just hammer it up or is there a special process for this?

 

[jtmcinder]

It is best done with a special tool (made by, e.g., Eastwood), but can be done with a baseball bat, if you wish. Some places will rent you the tool, which is worth it. Spend some time googling to see what's involved and then decide if you're doing it yourself.

 

[TallestHERETIC]

So I bought a 99 gs and the back tires have negative camber (leaning in at the top) and I just bought washers and bolts to fix this. What my dad just brought to my attention is my car is lowered 2" and is sitting on 18" fallen rims. So he said that if I straighten the tires out that the tires will hit the fender. Does anybody have any input or past experience with this?

Man, with this setting and 2 inches lower than stock, you will have terrible handling and eat through tires quick! Not to mention if you hydroplane!

I have 17x8.5 wheels on mine with a 1 inch drop with an all around KYB suspension. It just barely touches the fender well.

Your dad is right on the money!

 

[jtmcinder]

Man, with this setting and 2 inches lower than stock, you will have terrible handling and eat through tires quick! Not to mention if you hydroplane!

sigh

With the right springrates and corrected camber, a car lowered this much - even if it's a bit much - will out-turn a stock car. Since tire-wear is caused mostly by toe, not camber, as long you get an alignment, your tires will be fine; for handling reasons, however, you want to reduce the rear camber (a lot) after lowering. Finally, you are less likely to hydroplane with lots of camber, since the angle of tread helps pump water out to the side.

All in all, this was a terrible post.

 

[jtmcinder]

I have 17x8.5 wheels on mine with a 1 inch drop with an all around KYB suspension.

You do realize that the OE shocks were also KYBs, yes?

 

[TallestHERETIC]

sigh

incorrect spring rates and incorrect camber is usually the case in alot of tuned suspensions. Ever been in a hack job tuner car which took a hard left? I have. Smashed into a curb, denting the rims and puncturing the tires.

Most people, including tuners, neglect to get an alignment until it's too late, resulting in absurd repair and labor costs. All that just to save a few pennies because its "too expensive" up front. Even worse is getting a BAD alignment.

Yes, i did know KYB is OE. Shot in the dark, but I guess you thought mine was NOT adjustable?

All in all, you made an terrible post.

Not tryna be a dick, just sayin.

 

[michael102691]

My buddy had a 2g lowered with 18's and the tires rubbed a lil bit especially if there was weight it the back. If you go with a lower profile tire say 40 series you should be golden.

 

[lilbp12369]

245/35/18 is the size you need if you want to keep the 18's. it is close to stock height so your speedo won't be off very much. but you will have to roll the fenders a good bit with the +35 rim and this size tire especially in the rear. once you have the fenders rolled you can fix some of the camber and shouldn't have much of an issue rubbing

 

[J-Boost]

225/40R18 would be the best route. I have 18's on mine and it's lowered about 1.5 inches or so. Like they were saying i wouldent set the camber to 0 though.

 

[Gostlrs]

ps. my actual suggestion is to sell the wheels and get some 17s, but I won't say that out loud because people are sick of me ragging on 18s when you don't have the brakes to require such

pps. damned unfreezing process

Completely disagree with you on this wheel size is only one part that you need to take in account when buying wheels. Making a general statement that 18s need the brakes upgraded is not correct. If you match your wheel size, center weight, width/offset, matched to the correct tires there is no additional problems. 17s can cause the same problems as 18s and so on...

Here is a good read that explains things to look for when buying rims & tires

Wheel Tech, Part I: Wheel Weight Slows You Down | Tuner University

 

[importracr317]

Interesting how you are all attempting to correct jtmcinder, who has extensive REAL WORLD racing knowledge. Everything the guy has said in this thread is correct. It's almost as ridiculous as some N/T nOOb trying to tell gixxerdrew what suspension settings he should use. This new crop of DSMers is shameless.

To the OP....with that significant of a drop, you make have rubbing issues when the suspension compresses. Have you considered sleeve-type, height adjustable coilover springs?

 

[Gostlrs]

Interesting how you are all attempting to correct jtmcinder, who has extensive REAL WORLD racing knowledge. Everything the guy has said in this thread is correct. It's almost as ridiculous as some N/T nOOb trying to tell gixxerdrew what suspension settings he should use. This new crop of DSMers is shameless.

A general statement that you need brake upgrades just because you have 18in rims absolutely incorrect.

You can buy 17s & occur the same exact issues with additional stress to you cars suspension & brakes.

I am in no way a DSM noob. There are many things to take into account when dealing with wheels.

 

[TrystanGST]

Completely disagree with you on this wheel size is only one part that you need to take in account when buying wheels. Making a general statement that 18s need the brakes upgraded is not correct. If you match your wheel size, center weight, width/offset, matched to the correct tires there is no additional problems. 17s can cause the same problems as 18s and so on...

He wasn't saying you need bigger brakes to run 18s. He was saying he wouldn't run 18s unless you had brakes that wouldn't fit in anything smaller...