Hey..okay i got a 2000 LX Honda civic with ADR GTsport rims 17x7 with i believe a +40 offset and got them wrapped in Falken 205/40/17's. I got a pretty heavy drop on the car with no camber kits using KY and GC's because i wanted the car to look aggressive and low with the existing stock body kit but am currently getting some annoying tire rub from the front wheels when i hit cracks in the road.

Right now the two front tires are slightly into the wheel well and the car is already at about stock height so i don't really want to raise it anymore! I recently pounded and folded the inner seam welds in the well but i still hear the rubbing a bit. I just wanted to know if there is anything else i can do to get rid of the rubbing and if changing the tire size from a 205/40/17 to a 205/30/17 will do anything. Thanks.

 

I don't understand. First you say you have a heavy drop, and then you say the car is at stock ride height. Which is it?

They don't make 205/30-17 tires. 205/40-17 should work on your car without rubbing. If they are still rubbing when the car is at stock ride height, then something is wrong somewhere - maybe the wheels are the wrong offset, maybe you need an alignment, etc. Are both sides of the car rubbing (i.e. the tire on the driver side AND the tire on the passenger side)?

 

The 17's on right now actually have some of the tire within the wheelwell but the overal ride height (the space between the plastic side skirts and the ground) of the car looks similar to that of when i had the 14 or 15 inch steelies on the car without a drop. So if i raise the car more, it will look funny because that gap between the ground and the car is going to become bigger.

 

That should not be the case, if your 14 and 15 inch steelies had the proper tire size for your car. Maybe you weren't using the proper size tires?

Here are the calculated outer diameter of the tire sizes we're talking about:

185/65-14: 23.47"
195/55-15: 23.44"
205/40-17: 23.46"

As you can see, there shouldn't be any significant difference in ride height when switching tires among these sizes. Granted, there are slight differences in outer diameter from one actual make and model of tire to another, and tread depth can vary up to 1/4" due to the difference between tires that are new and ones that are worn down and ready for replacement, but not enough to explain the difference you're describing.

 

Hmm I see. Thankyou for those numbers as they were helpful in determining the actual ride height. Maybe I just told myself that it looked higher then stock. But is there anyway I can reduce the ride height anymore at this point if the tires are already slightly rubbing the fender? Thanks in advance.

 

If the tires are rubbing the fender, chances are the problem is something other than the tire size. The first thing I would look at is the offset of the wheel, which may be too low a number, positioning the wheel and tire too far outward from the car.