Folks, I just installed new wheels and tires to my 2005 Mini Cooper S. 215/40 18" were installed and it look greats....but now I have an issue. I was transporting my family and I hit a bump on the road. I heard a weird noise from my rear suspension. My new wheels are hitting my wheel well ONLY when I hit a decent size bump. Overall on a road No issues. Is there any suspension out there to assist me with my issues to stop the wheels from hitting my wheel well.... Please Help a brother out!!: :mad2:
What brand are the wheels? Any idea of the offset? You can see where it touches the car. Is it on the inside of the fender well or on the arch? If on the arch it really is not a big issue. A little of the plastic on the inside of the arch will get worn down by the tire and the noise will go away. Nothing is really harmed here but I'll not discount the fact that some people will find this unacceptable. It could also be solved with alignment settings. Depending on current settings a little bit more rear camber may fix this issue and make the car more responsive. Then again, maybe the current setting is wrong on that side causing this issue. I'd look into these items before installing a new set of springs. Unless that is the actual desired goal here.
My suspension is factory...I will look into this issue but you guys are the mini guru's of the MINI world...Thanks for the quick response back. How do I fix the camber issues if there is an issue? The tires are falkin 215/40....my tire height is what I needed around these roads of UK. What is a bent in link?
The rub is probably due to the offset of the wheels (they are probably more to the outside of the car than the original wheels). I have 215/40-18 tires with 37mm offset (stock 52mm offset wheels with 15mm spacers). I have the JCW suspension so lowered about 5/8" from stock S. I get rubbing on the rear plastic wheel well liner and plastic wheel arch near the outside when I load the suspension. It makes a noise but does not do any real damage. It wears on the outside edge of the tire a little and grinds away the plastic wheel well liner and wheel arch. I finally cut away the plastic in the areas where it rubbed. Just make sure you are only rubbing a little and just on plastic otherwise you should resolve the rubbing right away so you do not damage a tire.
The rubbing noise can be solved with a jack and Dremmel. Just trim (Shave) the inside edges of the of the rear arches where the tire has been rubbing. You will see the rub marks when you jack up the car and look with a light.
Not really adding anything, more like just consolidating....... That size tire is generally considered not optimal, but you can make it work. It is rubbing on the outside edge/corner of the tire right at the top. If you feel it you can tell that the plastic wheel well liner is not as smooth as it used to be, or rather in other places. Problems: 1.Height: 215/40-18 is a larger diameter size, OEM is about 24.3in, and this size is about 24.8in. So, this taller tire moves the corner of the tire up and closer to the plastic liner. 2. Width: 215/40-18 is wider than OEM and so move that tire corner further out and closer to the plastic liner. 3. Wheel offset: OEM is in the ~45-48mm range. You did not specify details of your new wheels, but this could also be a factor. If your new wheels have a lower offset number than OEM this pushes that corner of the tire out and closer to the wheel liner. Possible solutions while keeping this wheel/tire/suspension combo: 1. Get an alignment and request more negative camber in the rear. This angles the wheel in at the top and out at the bottom, moving that corner of the tire away from rubbing. Opinions vary here, but I would not go more than -1.5deg for a street driven car due to tire wear issues. 2. Some just let it rub until it has ground away anything in the way, as you are only rubbing rubber on plastic and that felt pressed materail for a 2nd gen. 3. Some will go in and cut the liner out where it rubs on the tire. Some cut it in place, some remove the liner first. Suspension change solutions: 1. Lowering the car might actually help as it will automatically give more negative camber and likely provide a more firm spring rate so this limits suspension travel. However, it also moves the corner of the tire closer to the rub area. 2. To allow any rear camber adjustment possible you could replace the OEM rear lower control arms with after market versions that have a greater range of length adjustment. For this situation, these are used to dial-in extreme negative camber for extreme rubbing issues, or to dial-out extreme negative camber after excessive lowering springs. There are several brands out there and cost ~$250 or more, you will likely not need to get these to remedy your situation. Good Luck
Just to be a wet blanket here... this is a perfect example of why going for a look is the backwards way to go. So you go for a look, end up with an issue, then change the alignement or whatever to make it all fit. Anyway, now that the tires and wheels are selected and on the car, the only options you do have are to a) let them wear into place. b) trim the plastic to remove the interference. c) allign the rear to gain clearence. I'd go with a) or b). c) will increase the rear camber and that will increase rear inner tire wear and that will end up costing more in the long run. It will also change the front/rear grip ratio in turns, changing the understeer/oversteer behaviour. I'm guessing it will increase the understeer a bit by getting more bite in the rear in agressive cornering situations. Anyway, good luck with it, and let us all know how you solve it. Matt
....in your opinion. I personally see no issue changing things such as alignment to achieve a desired stance. Different strokes...neither are backwards or forwards. Rear camber won't eat your tires as much as rear toe would. Sure on paper and in the threads where people who have never tried it express their fears, you'll hear that your tires will only last a few months at best. I run -5 out back and -2 up front, tires are totally fine. Obviously not as ideal as if it were stock, but I get no rubbing at the desired width, stance, and height that I enjoy. A minor sacrifice to achieve a desired look. It doesn't sound like he's rubbing THAT much and his setup isn't THAT aggressive. At most, he would have to dial in maybe half a degree more of negative camber on his car to clearance it. Unless the car sees 2-3 track days a week, that change will have zero noticeable effect on handling and I doubt you'd be able to distinguish the change in tire wear. They're 215's and he only hits on major bumps...any camber change necessary would be minimal and really won't effect anything that's noticeable.
I 100 % agree and it is really a minor sacrifice to achieve one persons desired look. One size does not always fit all and thats my we MOD. :cornut::idea: Again your "little" rubbing noise (every so often, under heavy load, on a larger bumps) can be solved with a jack and Dremmel. Just trim (Shave) the inside edges of the of the rear arches where the tire has been rubbing. You will see the rub marks when you jack up the car and look with a light. If you are good with razor blades you can trim it back with just a razor.
Of course... it's my opinion! This is the internet, after all.... But then, keep in mind that the rear has significant camber gain, and the front doesn't. As the car leans, it just gets more negative on the outside. hay, whatever floats your boat is fine by me! It's your car, do what you want. Matt