Front tires and lowering

[Bwood]

Hello,

I just put 17/18 wheels and tires on my '91.
Looks great except for the 4x4 look!

I just bought the eibach springs to lower it.

I have 235's in front and 265's in rear. Right now, the front tires are fine- they only rub when I lock the steering - "parking lot" turns.

Will I have issues trying to get the 235 to clear the fender once I lower it?

I should have gone with 215's in the front.. but since the 235's are brand new, it will pain me to replace them.

Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks

 

[docjohn]

Depends on the wheel.Please post the wheel make and model and the size and offset.Also if you have any spacer already in place.

 

[RSO 34]

I have just switched to the RA1s on dedicated Prodrives GC-06H with tire sizes being 235-40ZR17 front and 275-35ZR18 rear. Here is a photo of the "result" of the rubbing issue on a slightly lowered car after two days on the track. Check out under the right front for the reason that I got the meatball flag at the Glen yesterday.....

 

[Yellow NSX]

Yes, you will have issues.

I'm running front 215/40/17s with Eibach springs, Bilstein shocks and a .47 offset, and it's tight. The tires rub the inner wheel wells on full turns (but only when my NSX is on a forward, downhill slope).

If you're rubbing now on 235s, lowering your NSX is going to result in increased rubbing issues.

 

[stuntman]

Remove your inner fender covers. Problem solved.

I've driven a few cars with 235s up front with the fender covers in place and it wasn't a problem for track use, even on lowered cars (but those cars had stiffer dampers and not just lowering springs...

 

[White92]

I have just switched to the RA1s on dedicated Prodrives GC-06H with tire sizes being 235-40ZR17 front and 275-35ZR18 rear. Here is a photo of the "result" of the rubbing issue on a slightly lowered car after two days on the track. Check out under the right front for the reason that I got the meatball flag at the Glen yesterday.....

What is that?

 

[Bwood]

Depends on the wheel.Please post the wheel make and model and the size and offset.Also if you have any spacer already in place.

I got the Wheel Emotion XC-8's (17/18) from SOS. I was not told the offset (Chris?) and no spacer was used.

I think we will attempt the lowering with the 235's on. If any issues, I'll have to buy some 215's and swap them in. (What am I going to do with a pair of 235's with <100 miles on them? What a waste of $)


RSO34 - Damn... everything ok? Looks like you have the 4x4 look also.

 

[RSO 34]

What is that?

Fender liner. I used photoshop to lighten the piece under the car so it would be more visible in the photo since it is a black piece.

- Damn... everything ok? Looks like you have the 4x4 look also.

I was relieved that it was just the liner. I pulled into the hot pits and tore it off. I thought it was something more serious when I got flagged since I had a CEL earlier and it was read as an O2 sensor but I was afraid when flagged the next session that perhaps I was trailing fluids. I never heard it scraping on the track and was surprised to see it when I pulled into the hot pits.

 

[Bwood]

Fender liner. I used photoshop to lighten the piece under the car so it would be more visible in the photo since it is a black piece.



I was relieved that it was just the liner. I pulled into the hot pits and tore it off. I thought it was something more serious when I got flagged since I had a CEL earlier and it was read as an O2 sensor but I was afraid when flagged the next session that perhaps I was trailing fluids. I never heard it scraping on the track and was surprised to see it when I pulled into the hot pits.

Glad it wasn't major!
When you say "slightly lowered"- what did you use?
How much is slightly?

 

[RSO 34]

Glad it wasn't major!
When you say "slightly lowered"- what did you use?
How much is slightly?

Zanardi suspension/Koni Yellows - lower by about 3/4 inch. Couldn't go further than that because of my driveway.

 

[RSO 34]

After looking at some other photos taken by the track photographer, I noticed the same thing starting to happen with the driver's front fender liner as well.

 

[docjohn]

Time for new shocks Bob,or a different suspension all together

 

[RSO 34]

Time for new shocks Bob,or a different suspension all together

That's the problem with trying to go faster. New wheels, R compounds and aggressive alignment helped me shave 4 seconds off my lap times but of course at the price of continued tweaking of the suspension.

Any suggestions where to go from my current setup:

Zanardi springs, Koni yellow shocks, Comptech swaybars, non-compliant rear beam and toe links

 

[White92]

Do you have to have fender liners on at the track? Maybe just rip them off?

 

[stuntman]

That's the problem with trying to go faster. New wheels, R compounds and aggressive alignment helped me shave 4 seconds off my lap times but of course at the price of continued tweaking of the suspension.

Any suggestions where to go from my current setup:

Zanardi springs, Koni yellow shocks, Comptech swaybars, non-compliant rear beam and toe links

What are your swaybars set at?

That should be a pretty fun setup you have and I would continue having fun with it, but if you're looking for an upgrade later on, KW's Variant 3s should be out soon and will probably be the best option for the NSX without costing as much as JRZ/Moton/Penske (while being as good as them if not better).

You might want to take off your inner fender wells. Tires make the biggest difference in terms of lap time. Far more than suspension, brakes, or weight savings alone.

 

[docjohn]

Only problem with removing those plastic liners is the constant barage of small stones/debris kicked up by your tires esp r compound,after your first reverse ding that pops up You'll be crying...ask me how I know:frown: So Bob As you are aware Our senior members' comptech pro is quite streetable as is my second generation R oem susp.There are many fully adjustable coilover systems running from 1000-8000 $.You may simply need new konis and keep your Z springs.Have Peter or another experienced nsxer like Larry drive your car on the street,should'nt take too long to figure out if your shocks are weak.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

That's the problem with trying to go faster. New wheels, R compounds and aggressive alignment helped me shave 4 seconds off my lap times but of course at the price of continued tweaking of the suspension.

Any suggestions where to go from my current setup:

Zanardi springs, Koni yellow shocks, Comptech swaybars, non-compliant rear beam and toe links

Since you have Koni yellow, either revalving them or get some Koni 2812. Wait, CLcaptain had a comptech pro setup for sale and it's cheap IMO. You are welcome to take a lap or 2 in my car and draw the conclusion for yourself.

I was having problem with my fender liner too, so I just have to keep replacing those push-in plastic pins. people kept saying removing the fender liner will dent the fender: Truth or Myth???

next suggestion will be a Big Wing.... Welcome to the dark side of aerodynamic!!

 

[stuntman]

Only problem with removing those plastic liners is the constant barage of small stones/debris kicked up by your tires esp r compound,after your first reverse ding that pops up You'll be crying...ask me how I know:frown:

-sorry, i don't quite follow...

Since you have Koni yellow, either revalving them or get some Koni 2812. Wait, CLcaptain had a comptech pro setup for sale and it's cheap IMO. You are welcome to take a lap or 2 in my car and draw the conclusion for yourself.

I was having problem with my fender liner too, so I just have to keep replacing those push-in plastic pins. people kept saying removing the fender liner will dent the fender: Truth or Myth???

next suggestion will be a Big Wing.... Welcome to the dark side of aerodynamic!!

If you go with 2812s you would need a threaded perch and buy springs for the coilover as you cannot use the stock/Zanardi springs.

At that point you are in the Koni/Comptech Pro, Moton/JRZ, Penske, KW ballpark.

KW should be releasing their V3s for the NSX around October. You can't go wrong with any of the setups listed above, but the KW shouldn't cost near the Moton/JRZ/Penske while being as good if not better.

 

[docjohn]

Billy picture debris stuck to your tire and flung upward as the tire spins going down the road ,a pebble large enough will ding the underside of the aluminum panel that makes up the fender popping up a reverse ding.

 

[RSO 34]

Thanks for all the advice. I will have Larry check it over when we get back from NSXPO. I am not sure what setting he used on my swaybars but I will have him look it all over in light of the recent track issues with the liners.

 

[stuntman]

Billy picture debris stuck to your tire and flung upward as the tire spins going down the road ,a pebble large enough will ding the underside of the aluminum panel that makes up the fender popping up a reverse ding.

Aah, makes sense now.

The Silver Factor-X Modified-class car (The Seamless car) never ran the inner fender liners, had 20+ drag races, 20,000+ street miles, over 5 time attacks, and many more test days with many offs (some of which by me, maybe 1 or 2 :wink with R-compounds the entire time and never had a rock or pebble stick to the tire and create a reverse ding.

Maybe we were lucky, but I wouldn't be to concerned about it.


0.02

 

[NSXDreamer2]

Aah, makes sense now.

The Silver Factor-X Modified-class car (The Seamless car) never ran the inner fender liners, had 20+ drag races, 20,000+ street miles, over 5 time attacks, and many more test days with many offs (some of which by me, maybe 1 or 2 :wink with R-compounds the entire time and never had a rock or pebble stick to the tire and create a reverse ding.

Maybe we were lucky, but I wouldn't be to concerned about it.


0.02

I thought the factor X car had the FRP or CF fenders, No?

I have been looking into this for long time, everytime I had my wheels off, I would have 2 things that I "Wonder" if I should do, 1. take off the liners 2. clean the coil overs... So far I haven't done any... :tongue:

BTW, Billy, do you know which car FactorX is going to bring up to nsxpo? You will be there on the track days right??

 

[stuntman]

I thought the factor X car had the FRP or CF fenders, No?

I have been looking into this for long time, everytime I had my wheels off, I would have 2 things that I "Wonder" if I should do, 1. take off the liners 2. clean the coil overs... So far I haven't done any... :tongue:

BTW, Billy, do you know which car FactorX is going to bring up to nsxpo? You will be there on the track days right??

The Silver Modified "Seamless Gentlemen's club"-sponsored car had stock fenders front and rear with no fender liners.

The Factor X Unlimited (Black, now Cricket Wireless Green, black, and white) has custom fiberglass fenders.

I have not heard anything about them going to NSXPO this year...