Can I do it? 18x9.5 + 38, 1" Springs
 

Hi folks,

I currently have 18x9.5 +38 ambit Re02's. I never had a rubbing issue but my tires are pretty close to the front strut?

This upcoming winter break, I will be purchasing Swift Spec R lowering springs. This will drop my car 1.1" in the front and 1" in the back. I will also be purchasing OEM crashbolt and go as negative as I can, so probably about -1.5.

Im not too sure how camber works but I am imagining that the onlything that is tilting is the wheel, towards the shocks.

Anyways, the question is, will I experience rub with the spring perch/strut or should I buy a 3-5mm spacer. Or, are the OEM crashbolts even worth it and -1.5 camber won't do/look much.

Thanks!

Plans for the car?

The OEM crash bolts usually max out at about -1.3 or -1.4. I don't remember anyone getting to -1.5.

At that amount of drop you will gain rear camber because of how the suspension works. I think you'll end up at around -1.8 in the rear IIRC.

I'll be surprised if that doesn't rub in front with the crash bolts maxed out. I have 18x8.5 +48 with the crash bolts and just barely clear the spring perch.

You wont rub but what is your tire size?

@jvincent I was able to get -1.5 up front on stock height and SPC camber bolts.

Oh thought I posted it but my tire size is 245/35/R18 MPSS

How're you so sure it won't rub?

"about" i was just chucking out a number I knew was relatively close

I stand corrected.

I just had 245x35x18 tires fitted to 18" RE02's today. I have a 1" drop, and SPC camber bolts in the front. The rears will be just fine -- but the fronts will rub with ANY additional negative camber (outside of what you get naturally with a 1" drop). I was running -2.2 camber in front with just the SPC bolts (maxed out), but the wheel itself hit the spring perch and the camber had to be reduced in the front to -1 to get the wheel and tire to fit without rubbing. I've got about 2mm of clearance to the spring perch (a ruler barely fits between the spring perch and tire).

I can tell you with certainty that you will rub with anything more than -1 degree of camber if you are on stock struts and 1" drop with RE02 and 245x35x18. If you have more than a 1" drop then you will not be able to add any additional camber with the bolts, and you may start to rub just with the additional negative camber that a larger drop provides. AKA: If you drop 1.1" in the front then you may end up with -1.3 camber instead of -1. Depending on the true size of the tire you have chosen (even in a 245x35x18, different manufacturers measure tire size differently) you may rub and may be forced to install a spacer.

With that being said, I don't recommend installing a spacer, unless you like a lot of poke.

Prior to the wheel install:

Front: -2.3 camber
Rear: -2.2 camber

After wheel install:

Front: -1 camber (with no room to add additional camber via SPC bolts due to rubbing risk)
Rear: -2.2 camber

Thanks a lot! Lot of useful information haha. So I shouldn't pick up the crash bolts correct? What're you dropped on, lowering springs or coil overs?

The crash bolts are very cheap -- It can't hurt to pick a few up, and it gives you the option to run a small amount of positive camber temporarily if you run into rubbing issues during install.

I'm dropped 1" on Hotchkiss springs. If i were on coilovers then I would not have any issues with clearance and could run -2 camber without trouble.

Can anything be done to the spring perch in terms of minor cutting to increase clearance in a safe manner? Or is it something frowned upon?

You can probably grind it down a couple mm. But it is a band-aid fix. When the suspension compresses the wheel gains camber, so the problem still exists. You don't want to find out deep in a turn that it rubs... A better fix would be a small spacer.

You can take a grinder or dremel to the perch to gain a few mm's. Have to be honest -- On driver side I can fit my pinky, and passenger I can fit 2 credit cards. I've done some hard cornering and have yet to rub on either side. If you can fit a credit card you'll be OK for anything short of the track.

Save for coilovers.... I don't like the front poke at all, even with the natural camber from 1" drop.

I ran H&R sport springs with the same size wheel and same tire and tire size with stock bolts, and no additional negative camber and even though it was close, I didn't get any rub. I wanted to add negative camber, but there for sure is not enough room to do so.