H&R springs, tires rubbing on fender liners

Bought a car, told it has H&R springs, but they rub over bumps and anything other than gentle turns.

Cannot get a finger between tire and fender.

I know they supposedly have a 1.5" drop but am I the only one who has a rubbing issue with these springs?

Local shop thinks that they may have been cut to drop further? I can't even get a racing Harbor Freight jack under the car to jack it up - had to make some mini ramps.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

what size tires wheels etc.. would help? Stock wheels and tires? Cause 1.5 drop really aint much and will not cause rubbing with stock wheels and tires. Aftermarket that might be a diff story.

Not a mind reader, eh? ) A bad example of me shooting first and being asked questions later....

On the car now: fronts are 215/40/17. rears are 265/35/18. Photos below of the fitment. On my other NSX (99 BB), no issues at all with Intraxx springs, FWIW)

The 16/17s were 205/50/16 (previous owner, should be 205/45/16 I think) and 255/40/17.

off set of the wheels? 17x? 18x?

Ugh. That I am not sure of. And the definitely were fine on my 99 - ran them for a year or more. However, isn't the fact that the edges of the tires are well hidden by the fender good info? What am I missing? Educate me!!! Please.....

From the picture looks like your fender liner is damage or not in place. that's why its rubbing.

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Remove the liners. I did. Most guys here did too I believe. To run aggressive set up wheels you will have to remove fender liners. Something got to give. And it look lower than 1.5 drop. That's pretty low buddy. Maybe previous owner did cut the springs. That's probably why you liner is damage and rubbing.

Caroline-NSX said:

From the picture looks like your fender liner is damage or not in place. that's why its rubbing.

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Remove the liners. I did. Most guys here did too I believe. To run aggressive set up wheels you will have to remove fender liners. Something got to give. And it look lower than 1.5 drop. That's pretty low buddy. Maybe previous owner did cut the springs. That's probably why you liner is damage and rubbing.

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Please do not listen to this advice. Some remove front liners but the reverse rock chip dings and new fenders may make you rethink. One of my friends listened to someone saying remove his fenders and is now out thousands for paintwork and fenders.

Some also have downforce fiberglass fenders and widebody fenders that do not allow for the stock fender liner . Those people should also mention their mods when giving such advice.

The fender liners not in place. Once clipped up see if it's rubbing, also find out exactly where it's rubbing since it'll tell us a little more.

Took mines off 3 years ago and still today havent run into any problem. :tongue::smile:

Do you also have bilstein shocks on the car? If so, raise them to the upper perch.

Caroline-NSX said:

Took mines off 3 years ago and still today havent run into any problem. :tongue::smile:

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You have downforce fiberglass fenders right?

Yes sir!

Caroline-NSX said:

Yes sir!

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I'll get them eventually too and run larger front tires and probably remove the linings.

But my whole point is alumium reverse dents easier than fiberglass. Fiberglass if anything just spider cracks and you wouldn't know unless you look underneath.

I'm not saying it's bad for aftermarket fenders, but for oem alumium it's been documented and a friend/member here had damage very shortly after he took his fender liners out. "Maybe less than a week of street driving".

You're missing the fenderliner tabs (aka "Rivet Retainer Clips") that hold it in place. Get more.

Search eBay for "91545-SE0-0030​-W1" or "63848-01G00"
They run about $7 for 25 of them.

100 for 13.99:

http://m.ebay.com/itm/111433718181?nav=SEARCH

Soon it will rubs again as time go by it will hang again. From what it look like too low or wrong off set. Probably just to low from the look of the picture.

You are super low, especially for being on only springs and stock shocks (I assume). Looks to me like you may have worn out shocks all around since you purchased it like that. Stock shocks are not meant to go that low, you would need coil overs for that.

As for liners, you can modify them to work with that ride height. I personally still run liners and my car sits just a bit lower than yours.

Thanks for the feedback. I put the 16/17s back on and slightly better. Ordered BC coilovers as expecting to keep the car for a bit. I had already put a bunch of new clips in the fender liners but I think one must have popped out. Fixed now but didn't really change anything. Thanks for the link to the clips. I bought some from autobodyclips.com that were more expensive but still way cheaper than the dealer.

Can worn out shocks affect the ride height that badly? I thought that was more of a function of the springs themselves?

I spoke to Shawn about this, he thinks the springs may have either been cut or heated to induce the drop. Either way I'll find out early next week when we install the BCs.

boca rat said:

I put the 16/17s back on and slightly better.

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Huh? Your 255/40-17 rear size actually slightly lowers the car (by 0.13") compared with 265/35-18, and even if you still have the oversized 205/50-16 front tires, they only raise the car slightly (by 0.15"). Maybe those tires have more tread depth on them; due to differences in tread depth, a new tire has about 0.25" more tread, and thus more ride height, than one that is worn down to the treadwear indicator bars. In any case, all of these differences are pretty darn small. I wouldn't be surprised if Shawn is right, that the springs have been cut.

nsxtasy said:

Huh? Your 255/40-17 rear size actually slightly lowers the car (by 0.13") compared with 265/35-18, and even if you still have the oversized 205/50-16 front tires, they only raise the car slightly (by 0.15"). Maybe those tires have more tread depth on them; due to differences in tread depth, a new tire has about 0.25" more tread, and thus more ride height, than one that is worn down to the treadwear indicator bars. In any case, all of these differences are pretty darn small. I wouldn't be surprised if Shawn is right, that the springs have been cut.

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There you go. I was wondering when you gona chime in. You seems to be the master when it comes to wheels and tires fitment, offset etc..Hehe

I guess a 205 width on the front vs. 215 makes a difference when the car is this low. The rears don;t seem to rub so much and it mostly when turning.

What are the size (include wheel width) of the wheels and the offsets?

Car is at dealer for AC work so can't measure right now. 16/17s are stock 94-01 rims though, so I guess that gives the offset. I have BCs on the car now, but will get the struts/springs back and see if they look like they have been cut at all.

Thx!

I looked at the old struts and the springs are marked 11/97 - is that a typical date stamp? If so, I suppose that it is possible that they have sagged considerably?

Turns out the shocks were shot as well, so I think mystery solved. I found a decent deal on non-torn fender liners so will put this on next once more clips arrive. Thanks to all who chimed in!