Last Updated November 25, 2022
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Tire rubs are not only an eyesore when you look at their edges being scraped off by fender wells. These nuisances are also extremely dangerous if not addressed right away, as they will result in a blowout if too much tread has been exposed.
To stop tires from rubbing, first, you must diagnose what’s causing them. If the tire rubs occur when you change or modify anything on the wheels, then a fender roll should be done to increase wheel offset, allowing more space between the fender and the tires. On the other hand, faulty suspension components, such as shocks or bushings are more likely the cause, and you should have them replaced.
Whether you’ve upgraded your tires or wheels, replaced them with an OEM, or your vehicle is already aging and showing signs of impending repairs, the root cause of tire rubs can be easily diagnosed, and can even be resolved at the comfort of your garage.
What's In This Guide?
Tire rubs occur when a tire hits a component on the underneath of your vehicle or when there is not enough clearance between the tires and the wheel arch. Tire rubbing is extremely dangerous and can lead to a tire blowout, as it causes your wheel to crash with the wheel well whenever you hit a bump in the road.
Tire rubs or any damages occurring on the edge of the tread have something to do with any changes done within the wheel wells. These problems occur when installing bigger tires or a change in wheel offset. Some other causes include putting wheel spacers, or in some cases, replacing new tires with the same specifications can also end up with tire rubs.
Installing bigger tiresA common modification for a variety of vehicles is to increase the size of the wheels and tires. Without adequate clearance, your tire will shove against the wheel well, and you will definitely experience these whenever you hit a pothole or are steering too hard.
Change in wheel offsetWhen replacing wheels, one of the most difficult things to get right is wheel offset. This is the distance between the surface of the wheel and the centerline of the tire. Tire rubbing will happen if the wheel offset does not match.
Wheel spacersStyle and performance are the most common reasons for wheel spacers.
Interior clearance is being gained by moving the wheel and tire assembly outward from the hub, but rubbing on the vehicle fender and/or wheel well liner will happen. Spacers will reduce the offset even further and push the wheel outside the fender, resulting in even more rubbing.
Even though you’re following the exact specifications required by the manufacturer, chances are, you’ll still end up rubbing them at the fender wells. This is because the original wheel and tire gaps are very limited to start with, and even a slight difference in the tire design (e.g. shoulder construction, tread pattern) can increase the overall profile of the wheel.
Since the wheel clearance has a very slim tolerance, to begin with, even the slightest difference in tire dimensions can cause tire rubs especially on certain steering angles or driving conditions.
Tire rubbing with no tire or wheel changesThere will be instances that the causes were coming from the issues on the suspension system itself.
A skilled mechanic will be able to quickly identify and diagnose malfunctioned suspension components. If your vehicle is getting old or has a lot of miles on it and still has all of its original suspension components, look into this area as a possible source of tire rubbing.
If you notice tire rubbing when driving over bumps or taking corners where weight transfer compresses one side of the vehicle’s suspension, you have faulty suspension components.
Shocks can fail over time, springs lose elasticity, and bushings and shock mounts wear. As a result, the suspension or damping capacity sags and is no longer capable of handling road bumps or vehicle load transfers.
Extreme misalignmentAn alignment issue is also caused by a vehicle being out of alignment with its caster angle, or if the caster angle is significantly out of specification, this can be a source of tire rubbing.
Alignment problems are most commonly associated with uneven tire wear, but in severe instances, they also result in tire damage.
To accurately assess your tires from any fender rub, first, make sure that you are on level ground. Then pull the handbrake and set the gears on ‘Park’. If necessary, use a flashlight to inspect the wheel well for any areas where the tire is making contact. The contact point between the wheel well liner and the tire is the part that sticks out like a sore thumb. Identifying the location of the rubbing can help you and your mechanic determine the causes and provide appropriate resolution.
How To Stop Tires from RubbingAs with any repair procedure, a proper diagnosis must be done first to accurately pinpoint what’s causing the problem. It is also important to always have the proper tools at hand to prevent further damage when assessing or repairing the problem.
Part 1: What you will useThe process of adjusting your wheel well to make way for the newly installed tires is very difficult to reverse.
Make sure of the proper fender rolling procedure and check other alternatives first before concluding on this process.
The fender wells must first be free from any accumulated dirt and mud to ensure accurate measurements.
Check if the shocks aren’t deadYou might not even need a fender roll but new shocks instead.
Part 3: Repair ProcessPark on a flat surfaceLift the vehicle with a jack and remove the wheel beneath the first fender to be rolled. Since the hub must remain at a level similar to when the tire is on, use a jack stand to support the lower suspension arm. If necessary, remove any fender liner.
Attach the wheel-arch reforming toolHeat the fender first to prevent paint cracking. Then tighten and secure the lug nuts with the same torque as when attaching the wheel. If you attempt an extreme roll right away, it will cause the paint to form bubbles.
Finally start by applying heat to each corner of your vehicle and gradually rolling it in, beginning at the top and ending at the bottom. Pay close attention and continue to adjust the angle in the slightest way possible. If more clearance is required, push in slowly. Repeat at each corner and you’ll have more breathing space for your tires, free from fender rubs.
Risk of Tire RubbingIn most all cases of tire rubbing, wheel well liner damage is the most serious issue. Some enthusiasts accept this as a necessary measure in exchange for larger wheels and tires. More serious concerns revolve around the contact of suspension and steering components. Tire rubbing can sometimes be remedied with a simple alignment or suspension component replacement. But first, you must have complete information and check before jumping to any processes to handle the tire rubbing problem.
ConclusionThe most common causes for tire rubs came from self-inflicted modifications and upgrades, deviating from the wheel’s original design and specification.
However, there will be cases when the reason also boils down to faulty or aging suspension parts and components. Regardless of the causes, a proper mechanical diagnosis must be done in order to accurately solve the concern.
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Tire rubs are undoubtedly an eyesore that nobody wants to encounter, but knowing how to fix tire rubbing on a fender is also beyond their ability. For more information, there can be many reasons for this matter.
We are going to list one by one for you to broaden your knowledge so that you can know some ideal solutions as well. Take a seat and check it out.
Table of Contents
What Causes Tire Rub?There might be several causes of tire rubs, from the changes of the wheel wells to the suspension system itself. You should read each one carefully to see if your matter falls into which reason.
You can seek help for mechanical diagnosis and identify why tire rubs occur and how to deal with them. Let’s get started.
Install Bigger TiresInstalling larger tires is the common reason causing tire rubbing on inner fender in almost all vehicles. When you change the larger wheel and tire, they will take up more room for sure.
As a result, there is no adequate clearance for your tire, and it has to shove against the wheel well. This happens more frequently when you are driving aggressively and usually bumping potholes.
Change In Wheel OffsetIn the case of replacing wheels, you might sometimes get trouble with keeping the suitable distance between your tire’s centerline and the wheel’s surface, which is called wheel offset. And an unmatched wheel offset leads to tire rub.
Wheel SpacerWheel spacers are not out of the common tire rubbing causes.
This issue starts with performance and style, especially when moving your vehicle’s wheel and tire assembly from the center to outward.
It can improve the interior clearance but rub your fender and the wheel well liner instead.
In some worse cases, the wheel is pushed further outside the fender due to wheel spacers.
Replace New TiresSome people do not believe that new tire replacements can be one of the popular reasons for tire rubbing. There is always a potential risk here, although you have followed all the manual’s tire specifications.
For example, it happens when your old model is no longer available, and you have to choose a similar type instead. Your new tire design can be slightly different from the old one regarding tread pattern, tire dimensions, tire size, or shoulder construction.
What is more, the gap between the original wheel and your new tire, also called the wheel clearance, is too small and cannot stand the difference.
All these differences, even the smallest ones, will increase the overall profile of your vehicle’s wheel. The result is that you make tire rubbing inside wheel well, especially in case of certain driving conditions and steering angles.
That’s why you should always be cautious about using the correct size wheel first.
Suspension Component IssuesApart from the changes to the wheel wells, suspension components can be another significant culprit here. If you notice, tire rubs frequently occur once you drive your vehicle over bumps or move it through corners. In this case, the car’s weight pressure is shifted to one side of the suspension system excessively.
Over time, the springs gradually lose their elasticity, shocks fail, and bushings and shock mounts will wear down. At last, the capacity of the suspension or damping component drops, and it cannot handle vehicle load transfers or road bumps well anymore.
Extreme MisalignmentLast but not least, do not miss out on extreme misalignment when you cannot find your problem through those above reasons.
Misalignment means your vehicle is not in the same line as the caster angle. Also, the caster angle is totally different from the specifications.
This problem can be a source of tire rubbing on fender liners.
It is worth noting that misalignment issues are related to the uneven level of tire wear. You had better be careful if there is hazardous tire damage.
Signs And Risk Of Tire RubbingSigns Of Tire RubbingIt is quite simple for you to check and assess signs of tire rub. First, you have to keep your vehicle stand still on level ground by pulling the handbrake. Do not forget to set the mode of “Park” for the gears.
For better inspection, you can utilize a flashlight to see which area on the wheel well your tire has made contact. Rest assured that the signs of tire rubbing are relatively noticeable.
Specifically, the contact point of the tire and the liner of the wheel well will stick out and look like a sore thumb. Knowing that point saves you much time from thinking of an appropriate solution.
Risk Of Tire RubbingTires rubbing on fenders can bring small damage to the most serious issue for any driver.
However, if your car suffers from wheel well liner damage, then it is a noteworthy problem. Other concerns can be around the contact point of steering components and suspension system.
To have everything solved smoothly, you must give your vehicle a cautious check first. Then, give all the necessary information to the garage so that they can handle that problem for you.
In case you want to fix it yourself, please keep scrolling down to see how to stop tires from rubbing the fender.
How To Stop Tires From Rubbing Fender?PreparationAfter diagnosing all the potential problems of tire rubbing, you can join hands in preparing proper tools first. Here are what you need:
Before heading into the repairing process, you must know that it cannot be reversible.
Specifically, once you have adjusted the wheel well to replace the new tires, you cannot fix it again.
Hence, it is a must to do it carefully and properly instead of ending the process in a rush.
Remember to clean the wheel wells to make sure there’s no accumulated mud and dirt left. It will help you to measure more accurately.
Also, you should prepare for the new shocks when the old ones have been dead. In this process, a fender roll is not really as important as new shocks.
Repair ProcessTo ensure the repair process runs smoothly, you must move your vehicle to a flat surface, then take a jack to lift it up and take off the wheel under the first fender.
Do not forget to utilize a jack stand to support the weight and allow for more vision; alsp, the hub can be balanced. Moreover, you can remove all the fender liners if needed.
Next, let’s attach the wheel-arch reforming design and carefully tighten and secure the lug nuts.
Now you can start with rolling the fender. Of course, you must heat the fender up first, then heat each corner of your car before rolling it in.
One thing to note here is to do a gradual roll and adjust the angle as lightly as possible. Repeat this step at the other corners, and you have repaired your tires to have enough breathing space for not rubbing the fenders anymore.
To Sum UpIn short, tire rubs are a serious matter that any uncareful action during the self modifications and upgrades can cause. Moreover, it may originate from your vehicle’s faulty suspension system. All the potential causes we have mentioned above for you to check out your car carefully.
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You don't have to go to a car wash or a spare parts store to get your tires back to a deep black color. You can get by with improvised means, and some of them are sure to be found in almost every home.
There are several ways to blacken tires that are safe and do not affect traction. In the absence of special means for restoring color, for example, shoe polish, glycerin, silicone oil, and even laundry soap and household chemicals are used. Each substance has its pros and cons, but it should be remembered that none of them fully possesses the qualities inherent in special solutions: neither long-term effect, nor protective properties, nor ease of use.
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Blackening tires with shoe polish or other shoe care product is the first thing that comes to mind. At the same time, the processing process itself is no different, only instead of a brush it is better to use a sponge so that splashes of shoe polish do not stain the body. We simply rub the sidewall of the washed and dried tire with shoe polish and let it dry.
To be honest, the result does not look very good, even when using the product with wax: there is neither shine nor color depth.
The application process itself is also inconvenient - imagine what it would be like to process four wheels. The downside is that you have to wait for the shoe polish to dry completely before driving. Otherwise, road dust will quickly stick to the treated surface, reducing all the efforts made to nothing. Of course, there are also quick-drying paint creams, but their cost is such that it will still be cheaper to buy a special product for blackening tires.
Due to its consistency, glycerin creates a stunning jet-black shiny tire effect, and the degree of "greatness" can be adjusted by diluting the product with plain water. For one procedure, only one hundred grams of glycerin and the same amount of water are enough. We mix them, taking into account the fact that the less water in the composition, the more "fat" the effect will be. But it’s better not to spare water, otherwise dust will stick to the tires, as in the case of wet shoe polish.
The composition is applied with a simple sponge without rubbing. By the way, unpainted black plastic body parts can also be processed with this compound.
The advantage of this method is its low cost and the availability of glycerin in any pharmacy. The disadvantages overlap all the advantages: glycerin quickly ages rubber, causing it to crack. In addition, the composition is very well washed off with water - the very first rain or driving through a puddle will not leave a trace of glycerin. In dry weather, tires will only stay black for a couple of days.
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Blackening tires with silicone oil is not the cheapest way because it is not sold in small containers and you will have to buy an annual supply of funds right away. This method is the simplest, most efficient and less labor-intensive than the others. It is better to use medium viscosity oil, which will also come in handy for treating tires before winter or summer storage - this is the only substance described that somehow protects rubber from cracking, drying out, ultraviolet radiation and moisture.
The effect after treatment with silicone oil is long-lasting and the tires look blacker than new. Silicone oil is also treated with door seals and trunk lids so that they do not freeze.
Laundry soap is perhaps the cheapest product suitable for blackening tires. It can be applied with a pre-soaped brush, or by dissolving a crumb of soap in water, apply the composition with a sponge. There is no need to rinse off the soap: when it dries, the rubber will acquire a beautiful and deep black tint. Like most artisanal methods, blackening tires with laundry soap has its drawbacks. Rubber because of it, as in the case of glycerin, ages faster and may begin to crack, so we do not recommend this method of blackening.
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Household chemicals are often used in car washes. This is a cheap, effective and harmless method for rubber and its adhesion to an expensive method, which can be offered as a bonus or "gift".
It is mainly used for washing glasses, as well as dishes. The first is sprayed onto the sidewall of the tire and rubbed quickly, while the second is applied with a damp sponge. It is not necessary to wash off the compositions.
Also on the forums it is advised to blacken tires with drinks. More often than others, Coca-Cola is mentioned. But because of the sugar in the composition of the cola, it creates a sticky layer, on which dust quickly settles, and is easily washed off in the first puddle.
***
All of the listed products, of course, are inferior to the special compounds sold in auto chemical departments. Their blackening effect is short-lived and does not look so beautiful. In addition, most of them can harm rubber by affecting its chemical composition and reducing its service life. Nevertheless, the described methods are in demand due to their availability and spontaneity, because most motorists do not need to blacken tires every day.
However, the safest alternatives to professional tire blackeners are silicone and household chemicals.
The latter is usually also cheaper.
Photo: depositphotos.com
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Tuning spreads along the roads of Russia at the speed of lava after the eruption of Vesuvius. Thousands of official dealers, network services and garage workshops will willingly take on the transformation of a car, whether it is a domestic “classic” at the price of a TV or a premium sedan that costs the price of a good apartment in the capital.
Hundreds of exhibitions, festivals and competitions are held annually throughout the country. But does all this mean that there are no "white spots" on the tuning map? No. Now we will talk about a popular phenomenon, which, nevertheless, still raises many questions - tire preload, or stretch.
The word "stretch" is a Russian transcription of the English stretch - "pull", and is pronounced similarly. The common spelling "stretch" is a misnomer. Simply put, rubber is a “house” when a tire of a smaller width is put on a disk than is calculated by the manufacturer. For example, a 195mm tire instead of a 255 on a 9" wide rim. This is achieved by tensioning the sidewalls of the tire, the so-called profile. Now the profile is not perpendicular to the contact patch, but is at an obtuse angle.
How blunt is determined by the amount of interference, and it, in turn, depends on several factors: the difference in the width of the disk and tire, the height of the profile, the tire manufacturer and a number of others, but more on that later.
In most cases, when stretching, the inner and outer edges of the disc bulge outward. Now that you associate the word "stretch" with more than just jeans, it's time to answer the main question.
Depending on the area of use, the answer to this question will be different. Below is a complete list of the "pros" and "cons" of stretch, now we will talk about primary sources. Historically, the method of stretching narrow tires on a wide disk appeared almost simultaneously in Germany and Japan at the end of the last century. But if in the east the cause was drift , then in the old world it was legislation, or rather attempts to get around it.
In Germany and Belgium, the law prohibits the operation of cars if the contact patch is outside the arches - this left no choice for lovers of a wide gauge. By pushing the disc out of the fenders, the stretch allowed the tire to stay inside and everyone was happy.
As for drifting, the tension is appropriate here for several reasons: a narrow tire is easier to break into a skid, it costs less, and due to the “house” it breaks less under lateral loads that occur in sliding.
Decades later, all the reasons were intertwined, and now light stretch can be found even on some cars coming off the assembly line, such as the Infiniti Q60, but it was most widely used in the stens style.
In order not to get confused, it's time to put together all the terms related to stretch. "Stens" (from English stance - "landing", "posture", "posture") is a style in which stretch is used in most cases. According to his canons, the car should be pressed to the ground as much as possible, and the wheels to the arches. The latter has its own name - “fitment” and denotes the relative position of the disk, tire and wheel arch, or fender (wheel arch extension).
Such a fitment is considered ideal when the edge of the wheel arch is in the gap formed during a strong stretch - it is called a poke. The latter is often possible only when using an air suspension, which allows you to raise the car while driving, saving the arches from contact with the disk. Examples of a static, that is, without height adjustment, fitment are distinguished by a larger “rim gap” (rim gap is the distance from the edge of the disk to the wheel arch). Due to the operation of the suspension, the rim gap of a static car can range from a few millimeters (with an extremely stiff suspension) to five centimeters. In any case, the stronger the tightness, the more likely it is to secure the wheel arch and achieve a better appearance.
Let's say you've made the decision to stretch.
What is needed for this? First, define your goals. If this is drifting or another sports discipline in which handling is at the forefront, then you should start by looking for tires in the right parameters, after which the required disk width will become clear.
Example: for track days, tires of dimension 225/40 R18 are selected, the recommended wheel width for which is 7.5 inches. Increasing the width of the disk by an inch, we get a slight tightness, and by two or three - a strong one.
On the contrary - if the appearance is more important than driving characteristics, then we are looking for discs of the maximum width that the wheel arches can accommodate. Suppose it is 10 inches in the seventeenth diameter. It is recommended to install tires of at least 275 millimeters on them, which means that a width of 245 or less is suitable for stretch.
It should be borne in mind that the height of the tire profile has an almost stronger effect on the ability to preload than its width.
Low-profile tires have stiffer sidewalls, which make them harder to stretch, but give more effective stretch compared to 50% or more profile height.
In order to understand the variety of sizes, enthusiasts create entire photo libraries, the most popular of which is tyrestretch.com. The name that speaks for itself will allow you to decide on the size and model of tires without resorting to experiments - hundreds of people have already tried different combinations. But even in spite of this, the choice can turn into an epic: tires of the same marking, but from different companies, can differ markedly in size, composition and characteristics. Decided? Buy.
Alas, the purchase of stretch wheels is no less “exciting” than the choice. Let's start with disks - it's easier with them.
The only defining parameter here is the width. There is also a departure, but it has nothing to do with tightness, so we will not dwell on it. The rest is determined by personal preferences and budget: stampings or forged composites, new or used, ready-made version or "custom" in a single copy.
With tires it is more difficult, and even if we are talking about new ones. The fact is that “new” often means opposite things: produced a few months ago or never put on wheels. The latter may be ten years old - despite the fact that the shelf life of car tires is five years. Information about the production date is located on the sidewall of the tire and consists of four digits, the first two of which are the week of manufacture, and the second are the year.
If for some reason the choice falls on used tires, among other things, you need to pay attention to the condition of the toe - this is the inside of the bead.
It should be free of cuts and cracks, as it ensures the tightness of the "stretched" tire. Without stretch, damage to the toe is not critical, because the tire is adjacent to the disk with the entire plane of the bead. You should also pay attention to the geometry of the inner ring - its curvature due to improper storage will prevent you from pulling a narrow tire on a wide rim. Finally, when everything is bought, the most interesting thing lies ahead.
It is better to assemble wheels where they have experience in explosion and installation of non-standard sizes. If you do not approach the choice of a tire shop carefully, at best you risk simply not putting the tire on the rim, and at worst - damaging both. Let us focus only on the pumping procedure, because the rest of the actions do not differ from ordinary tire fitting.
The problem here is that the tire will take the desired stretched position only at high internal pressure (from 3 to 15 atmospheres).
The narrow size of the tire prevents such pressure from being created. Humps (sides on the disk that do not allow the tire to get off inward) are located far from the tire beads, therefore, you have to resort to various non-standard methods.
There are two options: seal the missing space with an auxiliary chamber or resort to an explosion. The second option is simpler and more technologically advanced. He, in turn, has two methods: explosive pumping (booster) and setting fire to a flammable liquid. In the first case, air is pumped into a cylindrical receiver with a volume of about 20 liters, after opening the valve of which, within a tenth of a second, it enters the tire, inflating it. When ignited, high pressure is created by the expansion of instantly heated air. Gasoline (or another flammable liquid) is applied to the entire circumference of the inner rim of the disk and set on fire with a torch. At the same time, air is supplied through the nipple, which does not allow the tire to jump back to its original position after the explosion.
After the tire has taken the desired position on the rim of the disk, the operating pressure is set from 2.5 to 4 atmospheres.
+ less tendency to break under lateral loads
+ the ability to take out the disks from the wheel arches while maintaining the track
+ reduction of the height of the profile when preloaded
+ lower cost of narrow tires compared to wide
+ the ability to lower the car more
+ visual enlargement of the disk
- lack of protection of disks from curbs
— high requirements for the condition of tires
- Less ride comfort
- more labor-intensive installation procedure
- high probability of disassembly in case of pressure loss
- increased load on the tire profile
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