Why is this rubbing?!

[Navi271]

Recently I put on Legacy GT rims with Goodyear ultra grip ice tires for winter. First time I've ever used them. (205/55/R16)
When I turn my wheel all the way to the right, like pulling into a parking space for example, I hear an AWFUL rubbing sound from the front left tire! This is what it looks like and where it's rubbing on the car. (Rubbed spot is circled)

http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr277/Navi271/IMG_0489.jpg

This makes no sense to me. These are snowflakes, come stock on gt models.. so it should fit just fine like everyone else! The right wheel/tire DOES NOT rub when the wheel is turned all the way the opposite direction. Only rubs on the left side. OH and the best part is I swear it doesn't do it all the time... Thankfully it only rubs when I'm moving slow and the steering wheel is turned all the way so it isn't damaging anything yet. I had 205/45/R17's on and they didn't rub btw.

This wheel is due for a new wheel bearing soon too. It's just starting to make that broken wheel bearing noise. I don't think this is affecting anything tho because when I jacked the car up there was hardly any play in the wheel. There are very slight vibrations in the steering wheel when going at interstate speeds, I think they're just from the wheel bearing since they're exactly the same vibration as with my 17" wheels on.

What do you guys think is wrong here? Take a hammer to it? Is there something else going horribly wrong here?

[Huffer]

Jack the front end of the car up. Turn the front wheels all the way to where it you think it's rubbing, how much clearance do you have?
It'll be easier to see from under the car.

[jey]

When's the last time you had an alignment?

[Navi271]

I had an alignment few months ago when I messed up my steering wheel putting on bushings. I'll be able to jack up the car tomorrow and I'll take pics.

[Navi271]

Got the car on jack stands so it I could turn the wheels freely.
Front right side with steering wheel turned all the way to the left. 1mm of clearance so no rubbing.

http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr277/Navi271/IMG_0492.jpg

Front left side with steering wheel turned all the way to the right. It's rubbing!

http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr277/Navi271/IMG_0493-1.jpg

Took a closer pic because it's only rubbing on the tread part of the tire. Not actually piercing the tire.

http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr277/Navi271/IMG_0494.jpg

Since I know it rubs I kinda figured out how far I can turn the wheel just by how much I'm turning, if that makes any sense.. I haven't heard it rub in the past week cause I've been careful. I do remember I did mess around with the steering rack bushings again because I heard something rattling and I wanted to make sure I tightened everything up right. (I think it's just power steering lines rattling when I moved them to get the bushings in) Would an alignment fix this? It would be really easy to cut away, or hammer away..

[Huffer]

That is really bizarre! I don't have any solutions but it does look like something isn't aligned right.

[StatGSR]

i have a solution. that metal is pretty thin, bend it in and away from the tire a bit. problem solved... kinda

[Navi271]

i have a solution. that metal is pretty thin, bend it in and away from the tire a bit. problem solved... kinda
I'm thinkin the same thing!

I'm really glad I'm not the only one who was confused on this.

[Huffer]

The problem is that bending the metal away only masks the issue - has the car ever been in an accident? There's no way you should be having these kinds of clearance issues on stock sized wheels and tires.

I'm worried the car was hit and the frame is tweaked.

[httrdd]

+1 and if you decide to bend that still make sure you take it to your mechanic and check that alignment/frame.

[rudgers73]

Is there an adjustable stop on the front end of these cars? I don't know much about the steering assembly, but I know some cars have a manually adjustable stop in each direction. That size tire should definitely not be scrubbing.

PS If you are gonna knock off the corner that it is hitting I would suggest pounding it in versus trimming it off. I wouldn't want a sharp corner next to my front tire. :smt023

[StatGSR]

trust me its not that hard to bend. had to do it after my car ate a cone at one of the ice races.....

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2009/11/motivator9031040-1.jpg

[Navi271]

only "accident" this car been in is when my dad swerved for a raccoon on the interstate and did a 360, into the ditch, through a barbed wire fence, and then back through the fence, all with cruise control on... and my brother hit a deer with it. Nothing serious tho and our family has been the only owners of it.

Will definitely bend it away if needed..

Still haven't rubbed it anymore, who knows maybe it went back to normal! :lol:... :smt017
I need an oil change soon, I'll take it in then and see what the dealer sees/says

[Huffer]

^^ going through a fence and hitting a deer could tweak a frame. So could torsional G-forces.

[Sarra]

Check your front sub-frame. Make sure it is aligned properly.

I'd also have it aligned, and ask the shop to check your SAI and do a caster sweep. If anything is bent, out of place, or moving around, they should be able to tell you about it easily. Also, if you have a massively bad alignment, a front sub-frame problem is probably to blame.

Other than that, if your old tires didn't wear all weird, I think it might be okay to just pound the shit out of it and be done with it, but that looks like a very nasty rub.

[rougeben83]

It could also just be your alignment, we'd all like to think each side of the car is perfectly symmetical to the other but that's why there's a thing called allowable tolerances in the real-world. Add to that if the guy had to dial in some more toe-in to that side to get your alignment straight, and most alignment places just put everything "within range" not necessarily everything to the exact spec on each side. Also, are those snow tires new? Because snow tires have a lot more tread depth than a regular tire - snow tires usually have 13/32nds, while all-seasons usually have 10-11/32nds. That's 1-2mm in different in clearance right there. All these things together is what maybe causing it.

You could take it to another place to have the alignment checked, but like I said, if everything is in the range specified by the computer, most places won't bother to do anything. You'd have to take it to a place that has experience doing alignments for autocrossers or people who track their cars, as those customers are particularly anal about their alignments.

Overall, I think it's a non-issue.

Bend that sob, or if it were me I'd just cut it with the diegrinder all together :lol:

[Navi271]

ok so I haven't done anything with it yet and I've only heard it rubbing once in the past week, I just usually don't turn my wheel all the way. I'm going to the dealer in about 2 weeks during holiday break from school.
BTW these snow tires ROCK! took some effort to make them loose grip. This snow storm is intense here in Iowa!!

I do remember after that raccoon+ditch+fence incident it cost like 8K to fix, maybe something did twist a bit? idk, i've never noticed anything tho..

[greenspeed]

no one said it per say but what if you have worn wheel bearings or ball joints. they could cause it to flex over it's axis and move inward like that

[impreza_GC8]

8K worth of damage could leave things not quite right. I'd say don't even pay for an alignment, take a hammer and beat that corner in. Problem solved.

[XBW]

maybe try putting spacers in, whats the smallest they make, like 3 or 5mm or something, and beat that sheet metal in

[Navi271]

So I took my car into a shop because I still had some vibrations in my steering wheel at high speeds even after fixing the front left wheel bearing. Turns out I have at least 2 maybe 3 bent rims. :smt012 The rest of the front suspension looked just fine. I got these rims on ebay for cheap and now I know why!

btw, I'm looking for some replacements. And when I get new ones I'll see if they start rubbing in the same place as these did.

[B's Legacy Wagon]

Ahh so it was bent rims? supprised the alighnment guys didnt really notice that. i ha problems like the on my toyota pick up running 36'x15" dick cepeks was only on sharp right turns and/or going into drive ways turning to the right and i think it had smething to do with getting a drop pitman arm to help the steering.
hope your problems are solved by the new rims.

[Navi271]

Sooo... wasn't the rims. Got new ones and they still rub! I'm thinking it could be alignment (which i'll find out when I put the struts on within the next few months), or just the beefy tires themselves. I'll update this slowly as I figure this out, because in the end, it shouldn't be doing this...

Also switching over to summer wheels soon so I'll see if I still get rubbing.

[Navi271]

Hey, here's an update for anyone who remembers this old thread...

I was just thinking maybe since the tread on the winter tires is SO beefy that is why it was rubbing. I now have all season Kumho Ecsta LX Tires 205/55/ZR16, same size as the winter tires. I was making a very sharp, very slow turn in a parking lot the other day and I hear that old familiar sound of the tire rubbing in the same place! I need a hammer...

My car is just unique I suppose, in more ways than I thought!

[Huffer]

Did you ever get it aligned?

[chuckthefuk]

What offset are your rims?

-Chuck

[Navi271]

They are snowflakes, so I think 55mm offset.

[chuckthefuk]

Stock snow flakes even with ubber tread should never come into contact with the frame.

You sir have frame damage :-( or
-bent lateral links
-bent trailing arm

If you know a body shop they can pull your frame back within 4 hours on the rack.

Good luck
-Chuck

[httrdd]

Yea man you are way too close for comfort. I wold take it to a GOOD shop to weight out the options.

[Huffer]

Did you ever get it aligned?


Did you ever get it aligned?


Did you ever get it aligned?

An alignment shop would be able to tell you if a component is bent, or if it's a frame issue.

Either way, the car isn't driving right until you get this sorted out.

[Navi271]

there's gotta be something bent, and I have just recently gotten this aligned after the sti springs install, but now that I think about it, tires plus did have some trouble with it. It was aligned well but seemed to still pull to the right ever so slightly. They just aligned it to work and go straight.

I have a neighbor, well my parents neighbor now, that owns a shop that does brakes, wheels, tires, suspension, basically everything under the car. He's pretty trustworthy and hasn't let me down. I'll try to get my car to him soon here.