Hi Guys,
Cheers from Costa Rica!
I have a 2003 350Z and a few days ago i installed a new set of wheels, 18x9.5 up front and 18x10.5 on the back, offset +22, tires 245/45/18 front and 275/40/18 on the back.

The issue im having is that the tire is rubbing the fender on the front and its pulling out like 10mm from the fender. Im looking for a way to get this corrected as in medium braking load it rubs or if i hit a bump... Need some opinions on the following ideas:

-Fender roll and pull... would this work?
-Milling the back of the rim hub to add some offset (5mm)
-Getting widebody fenders? Where can i get them?

Any ideas? I dont want to add camber because i hate the stanced/hellafail look, i prefer the performance look.








Hope you guys can help me,
Thanks,

 

i would just add some negative camber...i dont see how you are poking that far, i had 9.5+23 up front with a 255/40 and it wasnt that far out

 

Those wheels probably aren't the problem as those specs on the WHEELS should clear no problem.

The tires are your problem.... too tall. When you go up in width on the tires, you need to go down on the sidewall. 45% aspect is too tall - those are rear height tires.

That said, there's not a lot on the front fender to roll. Are you sure it's actually fender interference? Usually, interference on the front tires comes from the liner bolt up top. Especially true if it occurs more under braking load as you mention. Car dives, tire rubs. You may have to remove it and/or cut it down. If that doesn't do it then the only thing left is to get proper sized tires.... 245 or 255/40-18

FWIW, minusing camber is NEVER the right way to getting tire fitment. Sure, it works but you'll then have to live with the negative by product..... sluggish, reduced response steering. That's having to settle with a "worse of two evils" IMO.

Milling the wheel? Hmmmm... that might work, never thought of it - but I would NEVER do that. That just seems to be an extreme, unwarranted fix when the problem likely isn't offset related as much as improper tire size, a simple fix.

 

I think is the fender liner the one that is rubbing, i need to check that out. I picked up that tire because here in my country the roads are crap... but did not expect the rim to be so far out the fender.

 

take out the top middle fender liner screw, see if it resolves the issue.. if not then get a set of 255/40 tires and sell your current ones

 

I get that. But consider that going with a 40 series tire with that width makes the tires approximately close to the OEM size (in height) which is the key to proper fit (for clearance, steering response/handling).

OEM Size/Height 225/45-18 25.97"

Alternate 1: 245/40-18 25.72"
Alternate 2: 255/40-18 26.03"

The 255 is a better size for you since it's just a hair taller (versus the ~6mm shorter 245) for road clearance.

Since I had the spreadsheet out, here's comparison of stock to the 245/45 you have on now.

245/45-18 26.68" That's .71" (18mm!) taller than stock.

 

wow... about 3/4 inch taller.

 

I think i will roll my fenders and add like 1.5° of camber, hopefully that will help solve the issue.

 

the fronts are rolled from the factory, you would have to pull them

 

Ohh i didnt knew that... how is the pulling done? Any suggestions?

 

the same way you roll

 

Are you sure those wheel specs are right? I have 19x9.5 +0 and your wheels somehow appear to stick out farther than mine.

Regardless, I agree with the negative camber up front and smaller sidewall tires

 

Its all a tire related problem. You need a 245/40/18 or 255/40/18... Or 265/35/18 or 275/35/18...

Notice how 245/45/18 wasn't mentioned as an option. Hope you have a base model Z or like looking at the slip light.

 

You have 245/45/18 front and 275/40/18 on the back, right?

Regarding the front tires, the 245 is the tire's width where the treads meet the road. The 45 is the height of the sidewalls. The 18, of course, is the size of your rims.

First of all, your Zcar came with 16" rims, so you're adding an extra 2" to the height of the tire in the wheel well.

Secondly, a typical Zcar tire setup is to have the wider and higher tires in the back (as you do) and the narrower, lower profile tires in the front.

Therefore, your front tires should be, using your example, 245/40/18 or 245/30/18, both lower profile (height) tires than what you have now.

I've never customized my wheels and fenders on my 3 Zcars, but I know getting the correct tires should be your first step. Then you might be able to have the fenders rolled if clearance is still a problem.

Z

 

My 350z is a track edition, it came with 245/40/18 all arround from factory. The issue here i think is that the rims came with the wrong offset, according to Vardoven it is a +22 but im not sure about that... i used to have a 19x8.5 +35 rims up front and it cleared without issues.

Im thinking on pulling the fender a little bit and have the camber set up between 1.5° and 2° to see if it fits.

 

so you are going to permanently alter the fenders instead of just getting the proper tire?

 

im not to friendly with the idea of having different diameter tires front and back... I would have to change the 4 tires on the car that are brand new... Dont know... i would be doing this on 2 weeks so i have to meditate on what to do... =S

 

i ran 255/40 and 275/40 combo for years without any issues

 

Install 245/40-18 fronts and the problem will go away

 

Unless Zs were spec'd differently outside the U.S., the Track (and every other) version came with 225/45-18. Only Z33 (again, here in the states) that ever came with 245/40-18 stock is the Nismo front set.

Of course the +35 wheels cleared. More offset, wheel tucked in further from the fender lip.

If you think the wheels are not the offset advertised, measure them. Read this: https://my350z.com/forum/wheels-and-...t-novices.html

S'far as the offset remark, I'll repeat what I said at the beginning of this thread. Minusing camber (increasing negative) is NOT the way to proper tire fit unless you want to live with dartiness, slower steering response, etc.

As terrasmak and everyone else before him has said since the start of the thread, get the correct size front tires on there for the simplest fix without altering fenders, grinding wheels, throwing your alignment out of whack.

But, izz your car...