Ride height and tire rub

[Mr Monster]

While waiting in line at the DMV I got to talk to some other Cobra owners. These guys had Cobras (not Superformance) that were roughly 3 - 6 months old and were complaining how their Cobras sat too low and the tire would occasionally rub on the body and had actually created small cracks and fissures in the body/paint as a result of their low ride. They didn't seem to be too upset about it, but I know I'd be pretty ticked if it happened to me. They informed me to check the ride height because Superformance rides low too.

So, has this happened to any of you and did you have to adjust the ride a little higher.

Thanks in advance

[RedBarchetta]

Originally Posted by Mr Monster

They informed me to check the ride height because Superformance rides low too.

I love it when people hand out advice, especially if (by chance) they never owned or worked on a Superformance to begin with.

I have my ride height set at between 25 7/8" and 26", top of wheel lip to ground, front and back. That's about the lowest you can go without running into constant problems. I am running the upgraded (newer cars) Bilstein shocks and NEVER have a rub problem. I have also modified the rear wheel hubs so that the rear Trigo adapter spacer has been eliminated, thus moving the wheels another 1/2" inward. Send me an e-mail and I'll give you more details on how to do this, as you have to have the inner hubs machined 1/4" to clear the Wilwood calipers.

Crawl under your car and you will notice a good 2-3" of inside space still available, even while running 295/50-15's. I'm in the process of having the rear rims widened one inch and going with MT 325/50-15 drag radials, and I still should have at least 1" of clearance inboard without losing anything to the outside.

My gallery has mostly older images, but here is a really recent one....not the best angle but the car does sit lower than the other images in the gallery. (And for what it's worth, that little white speck on the front fender is on the print and not on the car...thank goodness!)




Good luck!

-Dean #747

[D-CEL]

Dean said it, you shouldnt have a problem. Heres mine with 275/50/15 fronts and 325/50/15 rears. No rubbing issues.

Jason

[1985 CCX]

Isn't it great getting advise in a line at the DMV? Like that experience is not enough pleasure by itself alone. Sounds like you spoke to guys that either had cars with solid axles or the wrong backspace on the wheel package they used. I do not have a SPF but my car does have a low stance and does not rub, it's all a matter of the right tire and wheel combination for your specific car.

Jeff

[Fred Z]

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...ne_2_Cobra.jpg

Check this one out.........they are the best for hooking up as well as a great fit!
fred z

[greg schroeder]

I put on 325/50 15 Mickey Thompson ET street drag radials on the rear along with alike looking 15 inch wheels with an offset that move the placement of wheel in another .4 inches from stock. So that basically means the now wider tire is inward .8 inches and the outside is in about the same location when compared to the original .8 inch narrower BFGs that came on the car.

In doing this the driver side rubbed on an odd protruding lump of fiberglass of the inner wheel well. I repaired what I considered a defect and now it's never rubbed. The passenger side was fine.

I lowered the rear about 1/2 inch because the new tire is about 1 inch taller than the BFG. I did this with spring adjustment.

[Powershift1038]

Wow, D-Cel... your car looks GREAT! Are those the original SPF wheels with those tires?

[scootter]

I have 315/45 17's on the rear of mine. I couldn't even put my fingers between the fender and the tire and they never rubbed.

Scott

[Mr Monster]

All of your cars look awesome. I guess there shouldn't be an issue. It struck me a little odd that that would happen, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask esp before I get the car -- which is somewhere between S. Africa and Long Beach. I guess the fit and finish on SPF is what it claims.

[greg schroeder]

Originally Posted by scootter

I have 315/45 17's on the rear of mine. I couldn't even put my fingers between the fender and the tire and they never rubbed.
Scott

I like that look with the 315/45 17! Nice! I just put on some 315/35 17s. I'd of liked a little more side wall.

I got my wheels from Vintage. Here's about how they fit in there. I think I could fit a 345/35 17 in there. As it's presented in the attached thumbnail, the fender lip is at 25 3/4 inches.

[RedBarchetta]

Originally Posted by greg schroeder

I like that look with the 315/45 17! Nice! I just put on some 315/35 17s. I'd of liked a little more side wall.

Greg, I keep offering Scott thousands of dollars for his nearly worn out Goodyear F1 Supercar tires (no longer available...trust me on that one), but he keeps refusing.

If anyone out there ever comes across 45 aspect ratio 17" performance tires, please let us know.

-Dean

[Flyin_Freddie]

Dennis and Bob (RIP, my friend) Olthoff recommend no lower than 27" at each fender lip, when measured directly over the axle. I have #770 set at 27" and even with my fat ass in it, I seldom bottom out and have no tire rubbing, even with my Goodyear Billboards on it. I have some slight rubbing in the front, when the wheels are cut far to the left or right, but this seems to be normal with everyone's car from my experience. SPF's done a good job of fitting their wheels and tires under their fenders. I can say that in almost every case I've seen where someone complains of tire rubbing, they've used to large a wheel - either too wide, or too wide an axle - or they've got it riding too low, or they don't own an SPF car. If you get your car too low, even an SPF will rub, though.

I'm running the Olthoff designed Bilstein coil overs...read "no firmness adjustment". But, they do adjust for ride height, and so far, no problems with rubbing in the rear.

Hope this helps...

[Madmiles442]

My Michelin Pilot 335's don't rub on the back with my shocks set soft or hard. I have the old AVO's and not the new Bilstein's.
But my 275's on the front rub when turned too far left or right.
You'll be very happy with your SPF. Enjoy!

[wanab5150]

This is an old post but for the future...I cut the inside body work back 1 inch and re glassed it for clearance for my 315's. They only rubbed when super hard cornering so I did it when I bought #2769. I had heard that others were experiencing rubbing depending on ride height so Taking out the "Bump" as Greg Schroeder said was what I and several others did.

[WardL]

The original owner had my SPF set F: 25-1/4" & R: 25-3/8". The front tires rubbed pretty bad on the 275/40-17" tires. I raised everything up to specs of F: 26.3" & R: 26.6 with the 335/35-17" tires on the rear. No rubbin' now!

[PANAVIA]

It's ok to have a little bit of ground clearance, so you don't trash your nose.