Vehicle: EJ8 (96 EX coupe)
Suspension: Eibach sportline springs 1.8" Drop plus all 4 tension bars, stock struts
Tire Size: 205-50-15




I have a BAD fender rubbing problem with my EJ8. Everytime I take a wide turn or hit a dip my front tires GRAAAZE in my fenders ouuuch!!! They even made the paint chip off my fender edge!!! It is really bad! I can't take this these tires are killing the body of my car. As far as rear tires the sidewalls can tuck inside withouth rubbing but the sidewalls are just slightly scratching on the fender lip


I think these 205-50-15 tires are the problem. They look agressive, great handling, but the cost of damaging my fenders is not worth it!!!!


NOW THE QUESTION I HAVE: What tire size do you guys recommend for me, what's the smartest???? 195-50-15 I think looks gay it's too slim and makes my wheels look bald but may solve the problem.

 

i run 205/50/15's on the same chassis with NO rubbing...it's the offset of your wheels.

 

roll yer fenders, change to smaller tires, get neg camber kit, change rims to higher offset ones or lift yer car....u pick

 

By the pics, I'll take a wild guess that you are running around a 25-30mm offset In the fronts at least. I noticed you have different wheels in the from from the back.

I'm running 15x7 ET35 wheels with 195-50s and I only rub when at full turn, but then I have no wheel gap either.

 

change your wheels or change your tire size!!!! the offset on your wheels are to aggressive for that vehicle with that drop.......would of been ok with the pro kit drop

 

The tire size is fine. The offset of your wheels is causing the problem (as others have already noted, above).

 

I'm not sure the offset on my rims but they are pretty wide, In the picture i had 2 silver wheels on the rear becuse I didn't have the other pair of wheels ready. But both rims are pretty wide but the Gunmetal ones are the widest!

As far as rolling my fenders I don't like bending metal on the body of my car, i'd rather deal with the wheels.

 

Yes, the width of the wheels could also be a problem (although width and offset are related parts of the same problem; either one can position your tires too far to the outside of your wheel wells).

 

GO with a lower profile.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Newk &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">GO with a lower profile.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You know what, that was my first thought. I did try going with 195/50/15 and it did not rub, it looked like *** though. much like a senior losing hair. lol Seriously.

What do you guys think about 195/60r15?

 

Use the proper tire size for your car. 195/60-15 is too big. A lower profile is too small. Stick with 195/55-15 or 205/50-15.

You have the wrong wheels for your car. That's the problem. FIX THE PROBLEM. Don't just add a second problem to your troubles by getting the wrong size tires.

 

Nsxtasy what do you think if I go with 195/5515's? Or do you just recommend getting new wheels?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rayz_Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Nsxtasy what do you think if I go with 195/5515's? Or do you just recommend getting new wheels? </TD></TR></TABLE>

195/55-15 might help, but they might not. They are narrower than 205/50-15, but they are also larger in diameter, so they might also rub. (195/55-15 is actually the same diameter as your stock size; it's the 205/50 that's smaller.)

I would just get new wheels with the proper width and offset.

 

Thanks for your help nsxtacy as well as everybody else, what do you think about going with some SI wheels! I could go for those and they should be the correct offset.

 

that would be a perfect offset 45mm with a 15x6.5

 

What about 205-45-15 inch tires?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Scorchin Civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What about 205-45-15 inch tires?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's too small for an Integra or '97-00 Civic or certain '96 Civics (including the EX Coupe). Also, there are basically no tires made in that size (for example, the Tire Rack shows a total of exactly zero tires in that size).

 

Ya, don't know about 15 inch sizes. I have them on my 98 Integra with 16 inch rims.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtacy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It's too small for an Integra or '97-00 Civic or certain '96 Civics (including the EX Coupe)</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

your wheels are the problem... any reasonable tire will likely rub.

 

Damn most people are saying my wheels are the problem that sucks! cause I don't even have enough dough for a new set

I might just try using 195/55r15 tires if that doesn't solve the problem I should sell both sets of my wheels and buy one good fiiting set.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rayz_Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I might just try using 195/55r15 tires if that doesn't solve the problem</TD></TR></TABLE>

It WON'T solve the problem. Even though 195/55-15 is (obviously) slightly narrower than 205/50-15, it's also slightly larger in diameter, so it's just as likely to rub.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rayz_Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I should sell both sets of my wheels and buy one good fiiting set.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Do you have coilovers on your Civic? The reason I ask is because I had a 98 Civic with Azenis (205/50R 15) and coilovers, and I too had the same exact problem.

I know that you don't want to change your wheels so you have two options;

A. If you do indeed have coilovers, you can simply raise your car up a bit until the rubbing stops (for me I had to raise it way too much, to the point where it looked stock.... For me this was too much of a sacrifice so I went with plan B, which is......

B. "Rolling" the inner lip of the fenders. Some ppl will suggest doing the "ghetto-roll" which is done by using a baseball bat to smash the inner lip of the fender up against the sheet metal of the fender....BAD IDEA... I tried this method like an idiot and fucked up the paint a little. INSTEAD just take it to a tuner shop and have them cut that inner lip off completely. It cost me like 40 bucks for the back wheelwells, and as far as I know you cant do it on the front b'cuz the plastic honda-clips that hold the wheelwell liner will have no place to go into...But if I remeber correctly the BACK tires rubbing was the main problem on my Civic. Hope this helps.

 

Nevermind my previous comment(s)^^^ I studied your picture a little harder, def your front (and possibly rear) offset is fcked..... Do what he says and........<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
just get new wheels with the proper width and offset.</TD></TR></TABLE>


....anyways those wheels dont match foolio!! haha jp

If you're broke just go to the junkyard and get some 14" steelies. For a temporary fix at least. You wont have to listen to that wretched rubbing noise anymore! Its worse than nails on a chalkboard huh?

 

Yep you got it bro it is!!