Tire clearance question

[pathology knight]

right now, i'm running stock 235/55/16 at all 4.

visually, the gaps from the tops of my tires to the fenders are 1.5" in the front and 2.5" in the rear.

i'm looking at upgrading my wheels and tires and would like to know what is a good gap to allow for clearance?

i was guessing at least an inch, but i've found some nice combos that only allow for 1/2-3/4" gap clearance. that seems a little close to me....even though it looks hella cool!

i'm running stock springs and stuff, so i'm not really sure how much things will bounce around. it's a pretty smooth ride, but i don't want to hit a bump or something and smack the tops of my tires all the time!

any help would be great, thanks!

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: Tire clearance question

What exactly are you thinking about? Wider or taller? You want your wheels to be as close to stock diameter as possible to avoid speedometer calibration problems. Some have gone as wide as 275s with the right size tire on all fours without any rubbing problems. At worst, you may need to roll the fenders a bit.

[pathology knight]

Re: Tire clearance question

nah, i'm just worried about height. i don't want to go any wider than a 245 tire. i'm just concerned about the profile height in relation to the fender.

my front isn't to bad gap=1.5" but the rear is 2.5". i'm wanting to go a little bigger but don't know exactly how much room to leave. i was thinking at least (minimum) 1" but i'm not sure.....hence the question.

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: Tire clearance question

You cure fender gap with lowering springs, not with bigger tires.

A bigger tire that would equate to about 1 inch less fender gap would put your speedometer about 5 mph off at 60mph. So your car says your going 60 but really it's closer to 65. It's also worth mentioning that your car would sit that same inch higher off the ground..

If you want to cut fender gap in the back a bit, do the heater hose mod. Search it, it will lower the rear of your car about 1/2 to 3/4 in.