tires and wheels Altering Foot Wells For Extra Wide Steering Clearance

[DaveBMX]

Hi guys

 

does anyone have any pics of how people have altered the foot well areas to allow wide wheels to steer lock to lock correctly?

 

i'm running 8" wheels with -16 offset and also a 10mm spacer and 205 tires so the back outer shoulder contacts the footwells when getting near full lock.

 

My car is a 1502 so has top mounted pedals so theres no coach pedal problem.

 

I've had to rebuild both areas anyway as they were completely rusty and the car is off to paint soon so its best to do it now if im going to.

 

regards

 

 

Dave

[eurotrash]

Cut/Paste/Weld?

 

http://www.jegs.com/i/Jegster/550/40525/10002/-1?CAWELAID=1710927944&catargetid=1784156970&cadevice=c&&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CN2fxK6O4LoCFWxo7Aodyi8Ajw

Edited November 12, 2013 by eurotrash

[DaveBMX]

hey eurotrash ive never seen those before! doesnt really help i dont think as i just need to alter the floor pan behind the pedals. I was hoping someone might just have some pics of racecars as im assuming they must have the same issues with the extra wide wheels that the old touring cars and pig cheeks had? I also thought someone might chime in with some way they maybe limit the steering range

 

 

regards

 

Dave

[Preyupy]

They just took a hammer and made some room, race cars don't need all the steering lock a street car needs.  They also used a smaller diameter tire usually 21.5-22.0" tall. 

[DaveBMX]

ahh i was thinking of going a little cleaner as ive rebuilt both areas already with fresh metal. I will go take another look and come up with something. Its just nice sometimes to see how other people have tackled the same problem your faced with.

 

 

 

kind regards

 

Dave

[Preyupy]

That is a major issue with wide wheels on a 2002. You run out of steering lock very quickly, again race cars don't need that much steering angle so we just put a stop on the linkage and left it at that.

[DaveBMX]

hey thanks Preyupy any info on how you locked the steering? physical bumps or a steering box mod?

 

 

regards

 

 

Dave

[Preyupy]

We did brackets on the cross member to limit travel, if you look under the car you can see where the steering box and the idler arm hit the cross member as the stock limiters, we just added brackets that moved the stop inboard enough to keep the tires from rubbing when the drivers tried to maneuver in the paddock.  

[roadhog0]

I did the hammer trick. Worked good. I run 7" wide wheels though.

[DaveBMX]

thanks guys will have another look and let you know if i alter the shape, or weld on some stops

 

 

regards

 

Dave

[FB73tii]

I agree with adding steering limiters but also want to mention another option is to move the front axles forward a bit with a modified subframe and/or modified control arms and thrust rods. But I don't know how far forward you can go without hitting at the front, and of course that will affect caster which then may need custom mods to get back to what you want. I am not sure, but I think using the bavaria control arms to widen front track (and add neg camber) moves them forward a bit--need to verify.

 

I have considered cutting, relocating and welding the foot wells, but also want to do a custom front subframe with heim joints and adjustable control arms like flybmw02 did. I have a photo of his subframe somewhere, the control arms attach in the middle of the subframe large bolt, inside the subframe, rather that outside the subframe at the back as in stock.

 

EDIT: Ah, found a photo of what I am thinking of and associated link:

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/74769-my-gt3-2002-restoration-back-on-track-now-1130-update/

 

--Fred '69 & '74tii

Edited November 13, 2013 by FB73tii

[DaveBMX]

thanks FB73Tii those are some crazy subframe mods! does the set up not run into issues with the wheels not centring in the arches? Unfortunately with the crazy amount of work i have done dont think my budget could stretch to how far that has gone.

 

definately going to look at mocking up some limiters if i cant squeeze out a little more space though

 

 

regards

 

Dave

[RussTii]

This is my adjustable subframe that I purchased from John Forte when he redid his GT3 car. As you can see it has stops for the steering arms which effectively limit travel which is necessary because I run 10 inch wheels. When I tried running without the stops the tires would get hung up on the footwheels. Additionally, there is adjustment to push the wheels forward, so I have a slightly longer wheelbase than standard, again to provide clearance.

[gracer]

I drilled the center of the stock stops and welded a nut on the back side then used a bolt for an adjustable stop.  SCCA rules don't allow me to relocate the suspension pickup points so I can't move the wheel forward.  G

[TobyB]

You can also run Bav arms with 2002 radius rods to pull the wheels forwards, and then trim away the nose!

 

I found that flattening the seam on the rear side of the inner fender helped a lot.  I don't have any pics, partly because

we did it in the paddock...

 

What you find, though, is that when you hit the rear, you are also pretty close to the front, too.  Limit travel!

 

heh

 

t