I finally got around to getting new rims and tires for my GD 08 fit.

I based my setup on another user's setup, as I liked the look. I have had Swift Springs installed for some time, without issue.

I just swapped out the stock rims and tires to 16x7 rota rspec with a +45mm offset.

I have 205/50/16 tires on it.

First question, should I have any rubbing on this setup? I know there is no issue with the GE with the exact setup, as noted by a few users.

I am getting rubbing when i hit small to medium bumps. There is the possibility that I am rubbing on the fender liner?

There are issues with the front bumper. It gets somewhat dislodged form the side clamps on both sides if I ever scrape the road (from steep curbs). Also, the fender liner on the left is pretty torn up, and has some wear, and could be hitting.

Should I try removing the fender liner, and see if that is where the rubbing is occurring?

Chris

 

You need to bend the metal tabs along the wheel well opening the hold the fender liner in place and pull the fender well out some... No tools are needed, you can do it with your hands...Doing this may not completely cure the problem but it will help a lot.. You may need to have some one roll the fenders...

 

What was posted above is what I did. I put on 15 x 6.5 rims with a +40 and 205/50 tires. I took the clip out of the top, bent the tab up with my fingers then tucked the fender liner over the top of the tab to hold it up. I have only had it rub once when I was going over a speed bump with my wheels turned a bit.

If I remember correctly by sizing this should fix your problem. I have the same width tires but my offset puts my wheel 5mm wider than your with no problems.

 

The main issue is that you'd be running taller 205/50R16 tires (Outer diameter is ~24 inches) instead of the recommended 205/45R16s (OD is ~23.2 inches).

Wheel offset, does have an affect to the tire rub with any tire size BUT the general rule of thumb for the GD is that to run 205s you must have an offset of +42mm or higher to run them stock height OR +45mm or higher lowered at the correct aspect ratio. In our case, for 15s we'd need 205/50s, 16s we'd need 205/45s, and for 17s 205/40s are needed.

To check where on the tire/car the rubbing is occurring get some white shoe polish or tire shine and put it all on the tires' sidewalls as well as the tires outermost tread on top of the tire. Drive the car in conditions where you KNOW it will rub, let the tires rub, then check the tire and body for the rub locations.

 

Yeah, i would definitely say that the problem is your tyre size.
Take a look at the tyre calculator link below... I would personally go for a 205/40/16, this would help acceleration slightly and keep your speedo reading almost spot on.

Tire size calculator

What sort of camber are you running up front? The Stock GD1 Jazz has 0 degrees camber up front(+/-1 degree). Installing a set of camber bolts could correct your problems.
I'm running 195/50/15's on 7x15" +30 offset wheels. They now clear the arches fine since setting the front to -1.75 degrees camber.

Steve.

 

^^ That would be true for the speedometer of UK GDs since they come with a 185/55R15 as a standard tire size. However, the US and Canada models come with slightly taller 195/55R15s.

Good info nevertheless.

 

One thing that no one else I know of has done that will allow more clearance for tires is to raise the car higher...I know it isn't a popular thing to do but you can drive without worrying about damaging your tires or undercarriage every time you drive your car.

 

more and more people have my setup...


fold the front tabs as said, and cut the rear tabs...

 

The 205/50x16 tires are larger in diameter than the original 195/55x15 tires, originally 23.44" compared to 24.07" for the 205/50x16; when you lowered with the soprt springs another inch and a half you pretty well insured rubbing even though offset was 45 mm because the extra width pretty much rubs the fender edge.
You have 3 choices:
1. replace the tires with 195/50x16's or 205/45x16's should work but not guarnteed due to springs which you can test with foam pieces taped to the sidewall corners.
2. remove the dropped springs. That should work.
3. put spacres between coils. Again not guaranteed but low cost and easy to test. Ride will be rougher then.
good luck.

 

your 205/50/16 tires are too big. I have mugen 16x7 +43 offset with 205/45/16 tires. lowered on skunk2 springs (about 1.6inch drop) no rubbing at all. The lower the offset number the more the wheel will extend out.

 

Okay, I am looking at 15x7 with +38 offset, whats the biggest sidewall I can run relatively issue free after I put on lowering springs (deciding between Tein S-Tech and Skunk 2) and after I have rolled the fenders?

 

I did fairly well with 195/45/15"x7" with 38 offset and 1.5" drop in front and .75" drop in the rear on Swift springs... Bad bumps and turns with washboard type surface would cause the tires to make contact... I had pulled the fenders out and bent the the tabs but didn't cut them off as has been suggested by apexanimal... Sometime I will get around to doing that and getting the fenders rolled also. I have 205/50/16 x6" 1/5" w/45mm offset on my car now, have it raised about an inch over stock height and there are still times when a tire will lightly rub on a fender....

 

I totally missed you saying you have 16" rim. 50 series with 16's is too big like everyone has said. Easiest way to fix your problem is go to the right size tires. If you bought these from a shop, they really shouldn't have sold them to you in that size unless you specifically said you want that for whatever purpose... but I don't know what that would be.

 

Thanks. I will do just that.

 

Acutally what I ended up doing is removing the sport springs, and the wheels stop rubbing. My big mistake was obviously not doing enough research on the differences between the 08 and 09 body and tires.

Thanks everyone for your advice, and experiences. I am learning a lot fast!

 

Want to sell those Swift springs? Since a +40 wheel seems to be easier to find than a +45, has anybody considered getting +40 and then machining 5mm off of the back of the wheel face, just curious...

 

I am going to sell the springs, just as soon as I have enough posts to post on the used parts site.

I will be selling the springs, a 2007 service manual and stock rims for the 08 fit.

Chris

 

That would be the thing to do if it was affordable... There is a lot of un sprung weight and leverage on the suspension on cars that have the wheel rims sitting far away from the hubs...