tires and wheels It's rubbing

[Tim D.]

I recently bought a 74' 2002tii. Never had one before, but my son loves his, so I jumped in with both feet. My current issue is tire rub. I have what I think are called alpine wheels. They appear to be ALU 13x5.5 inch wheels. The tires are 185/70 R13. I need new tires anyway. Can I get rid of the rubbing with the right tire size? I was thinking of a 165/80R13 or a 155/80R13. I kind of like the wheels.

[PaulTWinterton]

From your description I would guess that the wheels are not the correct offset.  This means how centered they are on the hub, laterally.  They can rub against the strut or the fender depending on the direction of the offset.  Sometimes this can be corrected with a spacer behind the wheel (stop rubbing on strut only).

 

Your existing tire size is ok, but 185/80 would be better suited to the car.  165/80 is good but skinny.

 

There is a wheel and tire guide somewhere on the FAQ.  Can someone direct Tim to it?  OR Tim could do a site search on "Wheels" "Tire" "Offset".

 

Good luck and welcome to the madness.

[Conserv]

Tim,

 

I would suspect that 5.5" Alpina-style rims are originally from an e21 car, which means they are ET18 rather than the ET29 of the 5x13 steel rims the factory installed on your car, or any non-turbo square taillight '02, for that matter.  This change from the factory configuration shifted the rims outboard by 11mm (ET29 to ET18), thereby creating half your issue.  Running 185/70-13 tires, rather than the original-equipment 165/80-13 tires, created the other half of your issue.  165/80-13 tires on 5.5" ET18 rims GENERALLY fit without rubbing.  The factory used 5.5x13, ET18, rims and 185/70-13 tires on one '02 sub-model, the factory turbo:  and they deemed full fender flares necessary to accommodate that combination without rubbing and with an adequate margin of safety. 

 

There are LOTS of threads on 165/80-13 tires (try "165HR13"), which discuss today's options in terms of these tires.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited May 31, 2016 by Conserv

[Gordon]

+1 on what others have said that you are running 13" E21 wheels which are not the correct offset for a 2002.  Recommend you read this thread on everything you want to know about 2002 tires/wheels.  http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/142446-tires-and-wheelrims-fitment-guide/

If you want to run different wheels, check out this thread. 

 

[p1k]

I run those same wheels with those same tire specs. However, I use coilovers with camber plates and am running the maximum camber settings and my car is pretty low. Maybe you could just add a bit of camber with some fixed camber plates? Just a suggestion/option. 

Edited May 28, 2016 by p1k

[TobyB]

...what are they rubbing ON?

 

The solutions vary depending on what you're hitting.

 

t

 

[Tim D.]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. They're rubbing on the fenders, mostly on the front of the car.

[Stevenc22]

If they are rubbing on the fenders then spacers wont fix your wheel offset. 

 

Do you love the wheels? Could be a good opportunity to get wheels with the correct offset to fit the car.

[avoirdupois]

4 hours ago, Tim D. said:

Sorry, I should have been more specific. They're rubbing on the fenders, mostly on the front of the car.

 

 

Easiest solution MAY be to roll the fender lips. 

[TobyB]

That's what I was thinking, too, if it's not too bad.

 

Or you can gently 'pull' them a little bit.

 

t

 

[Tim D.]

I don't love the wheels. I do like them a lot better than a steel wheel which is probably what I could afford if I sold these. If I could afford the stock alloy wheel, I would much rather have those.

I do have a friend who is willing to let me us his device that rolls up the lip on the fender, and I'm not apposed to going to smaller tires. I need new tires anyway.

Before I forget. I really appreciate all of the good information you all are giving me.

[Tim D.]

I got 175/70 R13 kumos. They work great. Rubbing problem solved. Thanks for all the advice and information. I'm glad I can stick with the wheels I have.