Hey guys,

I'll start off by saying that I have successfully installed UMI a-arms, UMI tie rod adjusters, MOOG replacement IROC springs with new insolators (back up to stock height), and Ed Miller's LS1 brake swap (12" rotors, hubs, modified spindles, etc.) All those products are top notch and I am very happy with fit, finish and especially performance.

Now, the issue I'm having is this: My tires are rubbing on both sides... On my right side it rubs on the inner fender well, the sway bar, and on my headers... On the driver side it rubs on the inner fenderwell only but massively, it even scraped off one of the plastic screws that keep the plastic fenderwell lining attached...

I went to get an alignment last week... Car went straighter than after the did the front end work... BUT everything rubbed.. I didn't get any specs... THIS time I went to a goodyear professional shop (costed 90 bucks!) and i got a spec sheet! THe specs were WAY off before I went (I watched him do the alignment)... They got better but are still wierdly off after checking the recommended specs on this forum... AND the tire still rubs (but not as bad tho... still rubbing and making grinding noises and popping sounds..)

The specs I have on my car are this (in degrees):
FRONT LEFT CAMBER: 0.54
FRONT LEFT CASTER: 3.0
FRONT LEFT TOE: 0.12
FRONT LEFT SAI: 24.6
FRONT LEFT INCLUDED ANGLE: 25.0

FRONT RIGHT CAMBER: 1.0
FRONT RIGHT CASTER: 2.8
FRONT RIGHT TOE: 0.12
FRONT RIGHT SAI: 22.2
FRONT RIGHT INCLUDED ANGLE: 23.3

That's what I have... Any recommendations as to what I should change it to? The guy said he hit the limits on a few things on my car... I have replacement Tokico strut mounts I got on Ebay, maybe they are crap and that's why the alignment isn't good? He struggled really hard to bring the camber within a range of 0.5 and couldn't get it more than 0.46, which is still fine... But I obviously want negative camber to increase handling performance, but he couldn't go lower it seems...

Also my rear is way off it seems..

REAR LEFT CAMBER: -0.5
REAR LEFT TOE: 0.41

REAR RIGHT CAMBER: 0.0
REAR RIGHT TOE: -0.29

So from this information, I am thinking I need new strut mounts that are easier to adjust, such as J+M's, and an adjustable panhard rod (double or single?) and possibly adjustable lower control arms?...

I'm just stumped after all that money spent on the car and still there are so many problems...

Thanks in advance for any help it is greatly appreciated..

-marc

 

Assuming you had no rubbing problems before swapping on all those aftermarket parts...

I would not be. If it was fine before, I'd say one or more of the parts you put on is putting your tires in a different location than the factory did and could cause problems like you describe. Replacing struts isnt going to make any difference either.

You didnt say, but what rims and tires? Where is it rubbing more specifically? The outside of the plastic fender liner? Back? Front? When going straight or wheels turned?

 

I'm not a suspension expert, but I really don't think alignment
is going to solve that kind of tire rub. It sounds like the combination
of spindles, a-frames, & strut mounts just don't play together well.
Especially if the tires/rims weren't changed during the upgrade.
If the old parts are still available, I'd try to examine where different
dimensions might have been introduced.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

what wheels are you using?

the brake kit moves the wheels out about 5/16 of an inch.

The UMI adjusters bottomed out on my tie rods, i had to grind the end of the threaded part of the rod down a bit.

I have the A-arms as well, and the wheels stayed right where they were with the stock arms. I have no issue with the sway bar, where is it rubbing?

the rear is not adjustable stock, it seems that the rear of the car is off just a little, could be from an accident, but more likely just the way it was built. Adjustable control arms would fix that, and a panhard would help too

 

While prepping for the diff-swap, I noticed the original was not symettric
to the frame. So the new one will be be re-installed w/ adjustable UMI
components, and then aligned.

 

Wow... This is interesting...

I measured the wheel from the rotor and out and it was the same length as the passenger side... Must be from behind that... I think I forgot to mention that the wheel on the left side sticks out more than the wheel on the passenger side... I didn't notice this before the swap though... Maybe it was the spindles / a-arms??? What would have moved this stuff out? I payed alot of money to have this stuff installed...

It rubbed a bit before the swap but now it's WAY worse... It only rubs when i turn the wheel. It even rubs when i do only one full turn of the steering wheel... WHen i turn to lock the car stops by itself because it's rubbing so much! (I don't even have to brake so you can imagine how hard it is to get out of tight spaces...)

When i'm going straight it seems fine... Could the K-member be messed up???

Ah i don't know... I'm gonna get new strut mounts and the adjustable stuff in the rear and see if that works... 550$ right there... geez...

 

you have to take some pics of the front sides of you car, something is seriously wrong if its rubbing that bad. You dont happen to have the old parts do you? are they noticeable damaged or modified?

I cant visualize how the wheel would rub that bad with those springs, the car should sit pretty high, no?

 

EDIT: To reply to question above: I have stock 16" gold irocs with stock 245/50/16 tires.. Futura Sport tires. The wheels in the front are the front ones and same for the rear. I have not tried swapping wheels left and right in the front yet though.. Will try this soon.

Damn... Yeah I'll get those pics tomorrow... Yeah the thing is, I had the stock springs on before I just did all these changes... It sits higher than stock actually cuz i got new isolators that i think were for a 4th gen so they are thicker... Very small amount but yes my car sits WAY too high for my taste but i'm gonna see if it settles over this winter as it sits.

Before I changed the springs my old springs were sagging so much my front was maybe only a few inches off the floor, it was WAY too low but it handled great, although i slid all over the place when i would turn corners.. Now my tire looks like it sits more forward, as if the offset was changed? It rubs on the front inner plastic... I just took for a spin again and with windows rolled down it makes horrible crunching noises of metal grinding while turning.. It did this before I installed everything so it must be some underlying problem...

I will take pics of the front end and where the wheels are rubbing as soon as I can...

Again, thanks for the help so far... I hope we can figure this one out..

Lates,
-Marc

 

That has to be the funniest thing i've read today,

 

LOL re-reading that it does sound a bit contrdictory lolol..

What i meant was, the feeling that i had when turning or changing lanes was great, solid, precise, but if i would, say, turn a 90 degree corner harshly, my crappy tires wouldn't grip at the last minute and slide a bit (oversteer)..

Now there's more lean on the turns cuz it sits higher which sucks..

 

We did correct this issue awhile back... so he should be good in this area.

 

Oh, so the tie rod adjusters should be fine then? Now that you're here, I wanted to ask about the A-ARMS you guys sell... Are they the same length as the stock a-arms or are they shorter / longer? I'm going nuts trying to figure this out... Im going home in a bit and ill measure my stock a-arms (i still have them in a box in my garage). I wont have time to measure the UMI a-arms.. i would have to do it on the car and its dark out and i wont be able to get an accurate measurement... Do you know the measurements UMI?

Thanks for the help..
-Marc

 

Marc, Yes the A-Arms will mactch the factory A-Arms. We have tested them on many occasions with alignments and have never had a problem or heard of a problem with them.

 

Hmmm... Alright I'm glad you've cleared that up for us. I will still measure just for the sake of measuring. So that leaves the a-arms out of the picture, and the tie rods are fine... So that leaves on the items from the LS1 brake swap to be the culprit! Could one of those items cause all of these problems? I installed spindles, hubs, rotors, calipers, pads, lines, etc... Ed, if ur around would you like to chime in please?

Thanks,
-Marc

 

Just updated another thread with updated information related to this thread.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...ml#post4552450