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View Full Version : Holy lowering springs Batman!



bkeith65
09-01-2008, 09:27 PM
OK..I just finished putting a Hotchkis TVS kit in my 68 Camaro with DSE upper and lower control arms....put my stock 205/70/14 back on and put it on the floor to measure for ride height to figure out what wheels and tires to order...YIKES! It is low!! Front wheel lip is 25.5 inches off the floor and the rear right at 26 inches...front subframe crossmember is 3.5 inches off the floor....is it too low? I was planning on 17x8 front with 235/45/17 and 17x9.5 with 255/45/17 on the rear....This seems to put the top of tire even with the lips front and rear....I measured for backspace and clearance with wheelrite....

Comments?

bkeith65
09-02-2008, 06:55 AM
actually forgot to put in my main question...what are people doing to clear the inner wheelhouse? i read where some people are taking them out, but is that the only option..what about hammering the section above the top of the wheel to clearance it??

Rhino
09-02-2008, 07:01 AM
actually forgot to put in my main question...what are people doing to clear the inner wheelhouse? i read where some people are taking them out, but is that the only option..what about hammering the section above the top of the wheel to clearance it??

Are you referring to the front or rear wheelhouse? I'm assuming you're talking about the front.
If you're running a stock sub frame I would imagine you would run into interference with the frame at the same time, or before, the inner fender. Are you sure you're rubbing on the inner fender?

bkeith65
09-02-2008, 07:25 AM
yes fronts...just inside the wheel lip..I am wondering about the top of the wheel hitting the inner fender as it travels up into the wheel well during compression. I am measuring for wheels and tires and as my car sits now, the top of a 25.5 inch tire is going to be tucked under the lip about 1/2 inch....as per subframe...with 4 3/4 bs i only rub the frame on full hard lock and even then, just barely! another question i suppose might clear things up is..does the top of the tire travel inward during compression or does it go straight up? sorry to be naive..doing all of this myself...

thanks,

Brian

GBodyGMachine
09-02-2008, 07:43 AM
You can never be too low

Rhino
09-02-2008, 10:06 AM
yes fronts...just inside the wheel lip..I am wondering about the top of the wheel hitting the inner fender as it travels up into the wheel well during compression. I am measuring for wheels and tires and as my car sits now, the top of a 25.5 inch tire is going to be tucked under the lip about 1/2 inch....as per subframe...with 4 3/4 bs i only rub the frame on full hard lock and even then, just barely! another question i suppose might clear things up is..does the top of the tire travel inward during compression or does it go straight up? sorry to be naive..doing all of this myself...

thanks,

Brian

Ok, I understand what you're saying a little better now. I thought you were rubbing on the inside, not the outside.

All geometry being stock, In relation to the bottom of the tire, the top will have a slight outward movement toward the top of it's travel arc. Other than that I'm afraid I'll be of little assistance as I haven't yet touched my suspension. I'm working on restoring the body shell currently.
If it's only the fender lip rubbing, have you thought about rolling the fender?

gordonquixote
09-02-2008, 10:51 AM
Even if you had 14" wheels stock, you can still probably go up to a 20" wheel and keep the same outside tire diameter - wheel size isn't an issue....backspacing is.

Personally, I like the tucked look and prefer a bit of the tire to be above the fender lip.

6'9"Witha69
09-02-2008, 11:21 AM
The 14s are a smaller dia than the 17s. They will never rub the wheel wells in bup unless you had no bumpstops and LCAs designed to not hit the frame.