Tire rubbing fixes?

[NomadOverland]

Ok,

So this might seem a little long winded. But here we go.

I got some wider wheels with a bigger offset to push the tires out for my Gen 5 4Runner. (In order to fix a rubbing issue with my after market upper control arms) and now my tires rub when turning hard over on the back of the wheel well.

So far I've heard of two basic "fixes" so far. One being to add a leveling block to the suspension. And the other being to hammer down the bottom corner of the wheel well to provide that extra room for the tire.

My primary concern with either of these "fixes" is that I might still run into issues on the trail when the suspension is in full flex and attempting to articulate the tires at the same time. Does anyone have any experience with this or know of a better way to fix the issue?

 

[4xFar Adventures]

You should check for rubbing throughout the wheel travel (up and down) while turning the steering wheel as well. You can try covering the inside of the tire well with something like blue painters tape and drive to see where the rub marks are. How much clearance do you need to make? You can trim it with a saw, bash it with a hammer or just let it be if it's not too bad. If your tires are low on tread, you'll need to make more room to accommodate a new tire.

The old skool method is to roll the fender with a baseball bat as the tire rotates. Instant fender flares!

 

[NomadOverland]

As far as I can tell the main rubbing is at the bottom rear corner of the wheel well and only when the wheels are hard over making a tight turn and more often in revers than moving forward. (I may need to post some pictures). But hammering the well may just be the answer.

 

[Justin Forrest]

Lift, tire size, rim offset?

 

[NomadOverland]

Lift, tire size, rim offset?

3" OME lift, 275-70-17 wrangler duratrac, the rims have a 9mm offset I believe.

 

[Justin Forrest]

What control arms are you running and what is your caster set at? You will have better results with a utility knife then a hammer. There is a lot of plastic in the wheel well before you get to steel.

 

[NomadOverland]

I'm running JBA control arms, I'm not sure of the specific caster setting by the shop said that the alignment could not be more perfect in all accounts to include caster (wondering if there might be some wiggle room in the caster) and as far as I know it's rubbing on the metal floorboard corner of the well, I don't think there's any plastic splash guard there.

 

[NomadOverland]

Here you can see the rubbing issue I had with the A arms before getting the 9mm offset wheels and now the space created by the new wheels.

 

[NomadOverland]

Hopefully these pictures better illustrate the rubbing issue that I'm having and my concern for when the suspension is fully flexed. It doesn't seem like I need a ton of space.

 

[NomadOverland]

Also I had the tire size wrong they are 285-70-17

 

[Justin Forrest]

That's your cab mount. You won't be fixing that with a hammer. It need to be trimmed back and have a plate welded back in. Pretty common for 285's and up.

 

[Justin Forrest]

Cut. Filled back in.

 

[NomadOverland]

Awesome! That is exactly the information that I have been needing. How about when you put the tire on a rock and it retracts into the wheel well? Any issues of it fitting?

 

[Justin Forrest]

Once you do the cab mount chop you may hit the well liners. If you can have the caster checked and set to at least 3 degrees or more.

 

[NomadOverland]

Perfect thanks Justin you just answered what I couldn't figure out in five or six months of independent internet research attempts.

 

[Justin Forrest]

Anytime.