Need help to fix rear tires rubbing inner fenderwells on 69 R/T Charger.

[chargerbr549]

I thought I had it fixed but I just took my 69 R/T Charger 512/auto/8.75 rear with 3.91 suregrip around an 80 mile cruise and I had more tire rubbing issues mainly on the passenger side but not on the drivers side anymore. I just put on 245/60/15 with 15x7 wheels 3.75 backspace on the front and no rubbing problems whatsoever and the car sits around an inch or so lower than stock front and rear. ON the back I put on 295/50/15 with 15x10 wheel and 5.5 backspace, I had some rubbing problems between the inside of the tires and the inner fender so I put on a 7/8 rear swaybar replaced the leaf spring bushings and shakle bushings with polyurethane and also added about .100 thick spacers between the axle flange and wheel to move the tires away from the inner fender, so now i have about 15/16 inch clearance on the drivers side and 7/8 on the passenger side and the passenger side still wants to hit, I really don't want to move them out much farther since I will be getting too close the taper of the outer wheelwell or the wheel well moulding itself and I don't want to raise the car, in fact I would like to lower it about an inch more in the back. I was wondering if I added another leaf spring on each side to stiffin up the spring rate on each side and then used a lowering block to compensate for how much it raised the rear if that would cure the tire rubbing blues? If I moved the wheels out anymore I am going to have to get longer wheel studs to compensate for the spacers.

Kevin

[Steve P.]

I am not one that likes spacers. I would get out the straight edge and tape measure and start measuring the space on each side of the tire to the nearest hit point. Then buy the correct wheels. I believe your back spacing is heavy to the inside. Maybe 4.5 or 5 inch BS would be closer. Many 2nd gens are running this size tire on 10 inch wheels without trouble. Getting the right fitment is crucial. Especiallllly if you want to LOWER the rear end.

[greenpigs]

What brand and style tire are you using? The same sized tire has between 9.9 and 11.3 for a width from what I have seen.

[elacruze]

While you're measuring, measure from the fenderwell lip to the frame rail-maybe you have some difference there from production or repair. Check your rear spring shackles to see that they're straight and the bushings are sound.
Lots of work but a sure thing to locate side-to-side is a panhard rod. Since you have some misalignment somewhere, find a shop good with 4 wheel alignments to be sure the axle is straight in the car too.

-the alignment Nazi

[chargerbr549]

I am running Cooper Cobra tires and American Racing VN500 aluminum wheels as far as backspace I did some measuring and reading what most guys were doing on here and decided 5.5 backspace was going to be the best for what I have set-up on my car, I kind of wanted to get 5.25 backspacing but that wasn't offered, a 5 inch backspacing would put the tire out  close to the wheel moulding and getting pretty close to the taper of the outer wheel well which would be fine if I had the car at stock ride height or lifted a little bit, also the rear shackles appear to be in good shape when I just replace the rubber bushings with poly.
My thinking is that the rearend isn't moving side to side much anymore because of the sway bar and new poly bushings, but that the tire is hitting because of the rear axle and body are not always going to be parallel with each other so I thought of stiffining the rear springs might help, also is 7/8 of inch still to close between the inner wheel well to survive on the street?

Kevin

[suntech]

I run 10x15, with Cooper 295/50 . 4,5 backspace, with rolled wheelwells. Looks good, but 5 is probably easier to get under there.

[BrianShaughnessy]

8 3/4 housings for 69 and earlier were welded with about a 3/8" offset plus or minus.       I'm told this was corrected in '70 but I've never verifified it.
The net effect with wide tires would be the tendency to rub outer on the driver and rub inner on the pass side.

Most of the time I see people buying OOTB 15x10 wheels with 4.25" BS and rubbing the driver side outside.   I prefer 5" BS (0 offset) even tho it involves a special order.  I messed with a bunch of wheels years ago to figure this out.   So even tho most people still use the backspace measurement,  I now try to say 0 offset measurement as another way of ordering wheels.   

You didn't state how many wheel spacers or shims that were used... was it only (1) .1 spacer on each side?   

Order another wheel that fits better,  correct the housing offset,  wheel spacer... whatever.   

[suntech]

A buddy of mine has a 68, ther the axle it 1/2 inch off to one of the sides! There is a 1 inch difference in distanse from outside wheel, to wheelwell/ bodypanel!!!
He is running 295´s on 10´s with 5,5 backspace (5 inch is actually 0,5 positive offset Brian, since a 10 inch rim has an outside with of app 11 inches).
He also has a little rubbing on the inside on one side, and a lot of clearance on the other side.
I think the right thing to do is to center the rearend on the car, and then i think your rubbing issues are gone!

[komninon]

i have 15x10 5inch back space 295-50 15 on my 68 fits perfect.
i have 1 inch clearance on both sides.

[BrianShaughnessy]

He is running 295´s on 10´s with 5,5 backspace (5 inch is actually 0,5 positive offset Brian, since a 10 inch rim has an outside with of app 11 inches).

I'm old... I use the inside lip measurement... not the outside lip. 15x10= 10 wide for me.

Doing a quick google type search,  more sources indicate using the back edge or outside lip now...  which wasn't what was preferred when I ordered my Cragars.   

Using that "new fangled" method, yes,  5.5" = 0 offset,  5" = +12 mm offset. 


Here's the link to tirerack's offset definition.  http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=101
and also this which slightly contradicts that earlier article's comment on backspacing.
http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/eds-tire-guide/0/0/wheel-offsetbackspacing
Whatever... I give up. 

[Steve P.]

Brian, I'm with you. I have no idea why they have changed their ways of measurement. It worked well forever before this and now it's confusing.   And for the record, you BETTER talk with the manufacturer of the wheels you want to buy because I know that some still use the old method. Summit has "HOW TO MEASURE BACK SPACING" in their catalog and their OWN WHEELS do not measure up as they way. 

[suntech]

I think it is pretty easy if you think like this:
Offset tells where the mounting surface is , compared to center of rim.
Backspace tells how much space you need behind mounting surface, for the rim to clear. Hence measurement from outside of rim!

[Steve P.]

That pretty much sums it up. BUT it allllways did.. There just use to be ONE method of measuring BS. Some brainiac decided we needed to confuse things with another.