Fitment Issues: 17x9+35 wheels with 245/40 tires
 

Hey! I've been searching through these forums for a while, but finally decided to post as I've run into some problems with my new wheel/tire setup.

I've got WedSport TC105N 17x9 +35 wheels with Continental ExtremeContact Sport 245/40/17 tires, and they are rubbing badly on my front struts. It's clear that they are in contact all the time, as there's a nice groove in each tire and there are rubber bits sprayed everywhere inside, as you can seen in the picture.

I have a stock suspension, and I thought I had researched this setup thoroughly. There are many threads (like this one and this one) which suggest it should be fine. People have pictures showing clearance and are talking about running fatter tires and less offset without rubbing issues.

So my question is what did I miss?

Things I have checked:
Wheels stamped with the right offset
Tires are the ones I ordered. (They measure tread at 9 1/2" and widest at 10 1/4")
Alignment report from the the previous owner has the front camber at 0-0.5 negative, though it's pretty dated


Also, I had been planning to use the OEM camber bolt solution to get a degree of negative camber up front, but this has thrown a wrench in those plans.

That top strut bolt is a camber bolt, I bet it has more then that -.5 that is says. With my 245's on 17X9 +38 57dr's they would almost touch with camber bolts.

Try to loosen the strut bolts and turn that upper one and see if it rocks the knuckle out.

I've had the same specs on stock suspension before with no issues. The issue is that you added negative camber with that camber bolt, which brings the top of the wheel/tire closer to the strut. If you switch it back to the stock bolt (and have zero camber), you should be fine.

Damn this is crazy because I just bought the exact same setup for wheel/tire, but I'm on TRD Springs, never been aligned.

Hope I don't run into the same issue. I've also read those threads and thought it'd be okay.
Mine aren't mounted yet.

@Nurnburger - is it just the fronts? Rears okay?

Everyone else - Would a 3 or 5mm spacer work? or do you think a 0 degree alignment would be okay? HOw much clearance should it be at 0 degrees? No issues on compression either?

Y'all are totally right!

It seems to be an SPC camber bolt set to full negative. My understanding is that those are basically the same as Whitelines? Per their manual, you're only supposed to set it full positive/negative (1.5 deg), not in between. I assume that's so the load only goes directly into the cam, instead of trying to turn it.

I had been looking for about 1 degree negative anyway. Any chance that would clear, or will I have to go basically zero camber to get this to clear?

An alignment shop could adjust the ones I have to that setting, but it would likely violate the instructions. Otherwise, I go with the OEM camber bolt, which I set myself and then have an alignment shop check?

Yes, the rears are fine.

Nurnburger: where does that manual says that one is supposed to use camberbolts only at extreme positions of their adjustment ranges? It's only that it has approximate range of + or - 1.5dg, and that tabbed washer & bolt should be initially put at one or another position for positive or negative adjustment, but then fine-tune by turning bolt itself for needed value. "NOTE: Cam bolt and washer must be fitted in the horizontal plane only" AND "7. Perform camber adjustment by rotating bolt to desired position."

Oh wow! I’m actually on the same boat as you are, well almost. Just bought a used set of rpf1 17x9+45 with 245/40r17 re71r. I know there would be clearance issues with the +45 and read that a 3mm would clear the spring seat. So I got a set of 3mm spacers and it rubs like yours, lol. Current set up is trd spring with oem camber bolt at -1.5 camber. I also just bought spc camber bolts hoping for -2.5 camber for the track ��. I was thingking of 10mm spacer would do the job, After seeing this, I guess it won’t. Only option for us is to get velox/ft86 camber plate so we can clear the wheels with less camber on the bolts and get desired camber from the camber plate OR coilovers wich is very expensive.

churchx: It was that NOTE that confused me. It makes sense that you should be able to adjust it to the desired setting, as that's kind of the point.

Try to put the camber bolt on the bottom and the oem bolt on the top?

Assuming the current setup is 1.5 degrees ish, dialing it back to my desired 1 deg probably won't give me the clearance that I need. I think I'm gonna get 3mm spacers, which should allow a little bit of wiggle room to get close to the desired setup.

Now I have to figure out whether or not that strut needs to be replaced first, as it seems to be covered in oil....

Are you positive those are +35 offset? Could they be +40s or +45s ?

I was running 17x9 +35 Form 1 RPF1's with 255/40R17 RS4s on the stock suspension and didn't rub anywhere.

Looks like they are +45.

I run 6UL's 17x9 +40 on stock suspension,,, it was really tight so I opted for a 3MM spacer.

Don't think the TC105 comes in any other offset but +35 at 17X9.

What's your front camber set at currently with the camber bolts?

The wheels say the offset is 35 on them, so I'm pretty sure.

I took them out and gave them away. I am on coils with adjustable tophats now.

That's what I'm thinking.


Pull one off and check the markings on the wheel itself. If it says +35, I would be tempted to grab a carpenter's level and measure them to verify.


Did you buy them brand new? If used, it is possible they were shaved down by the prior owner - some ppl do re-machine wheels.

I just can't understand the probs you are having -again- I had 255/40R17 RS4's on a 17x9 +35 rim without any rubbing at all with a 100% stock suspension. It was close - maybe 2-3mm of room when at 27/28 psi and cold (which gave me 34/36psi hot on track) but I didn't rub.

That's 10mm more rubber than you have, so something isn't adding up.

Camber bolts rock the knuckle in decreasing the amount of clearance.

Nice to meet a fellow FFR'r here. I'm building an FFR roadster!

^this. If you get a camber plate instead, it will move the whole strut inwards instead of the knuckle itself. The knuckle will stay in the same place. I'm pretty sure if you make the camber bolts positive, you'll gain clearance at expense of not having negative camber and looking weird.

I have 17x8 +40 wheels with 245/40 tires. They have no rubbing with zero camber. But the clearance is about 10mm.

You have (25.4/2 - 5) 7.7 mm less clearance than my setup plus negative camber. If you reset to zero camber you might be able to clear without hardware change but it will still be very close.

I had 17x8 +45's with 225/45/17's and -2.2* of camber added at the knuckle with no rubbing. 17x9 +35 with 245's should only be about 2mm closer to the spring seat.

[QUOTE=Turbo;3122488]Nice to meet a fellow FFR'r here. I'm building an FFR roadster![/QU


It's been on the back burner for a while,,, doing a swap on the FRS.

I finally got my car aligned today, which helped shed some light on the issues. It turns out that I had -2.5 deg camber in the front! That would definitely cause it to be much closer to the strut.

I had put 3mm spacers to get it to clear on the way to the shop, but I'm thinking I'll take those out now that I have a lot more clearance.

On a side note, it was mentioned to me by the shop that I shouldn't use OEM lug nuts with aftermarket wheels. Apparently "normal OEM" nuts are rounded, whereas aftermarket wheels have conical seats. My understanding is that the BRZ stock lug nuts are conical, so I should be good, but wanted to make sure.

The factory FRS/BRZ lug nuts are fine. They come with a 60 degree taper.

Not all factory lug nuts are tapered like the FRS/BRZ lugs, which is why the shop mentioned it.

It still might be worth getting aftermarket lug nuts since the OE lug nuts don't have a seat/ledge on which a socket can rest. Basically, you'll be resting the socket right on the wheel risk rubbing them if you're not careful.

put a stock upper strut bolt back in. I ran 245/40R17 on 17x9 +45 for 3.5yrs with no issues. the raised lettering would BARELY touch the spring perch when under load with BFG Sport Comp2's but cleared without issue on multiple sets of Michelin Pilot Super Sports.

Wanted to update y'all with pictures. This is the clearance with -1 deg camber and 3mm spacers in place. Thoughts on whether I can take those spacers out?

What's it look like on the outside,, poking??? I've run 3MM spacers for 30k+ miles with no issues. Allows for a little more camber if nothing else.