Tire rub on front strut - E38 16" rims and Kumho KU27s

[Dave M]

Good afternoon.

I just replaced my Kumho 712s with their new KU27s (Ecsta LX Platinum) in a 225/55. I'm running these on an E38 16" Style-5 or basketweave or whatever you wanna call em.

The old 712s ran close to the strut and did take some paint off (underinflated or under hard cornering?), but these new KU27s run closer and rub the strut. I am able to turn the wheels by hand and get the expected high pitched rubber squeek.

So, the question is, what's the best remedy? Do any of you run narrow spacers? I have no experience with spacers, but expect a couple of mm is all I need to get clearance.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Dave

[BennyM]

Ugh. I was just outside bolting on my new E38 style 5s with brand new 225/55/16s. Came in and saw your post, went back outside and I found that I have the same damn problem. Well, the right front rubbed, the left front didn't....not sure why that would be since they are at the same pressure. I wonder if changing pressure would help keep them away from the struts. Otherwise, I did find this: BMW E34 Website Looks like 3mm spacers will do the trick. I hate the idea of having to track down longer lug bolts though.

I just put on Conti Extreme Contact DWs. Looking forward to initial test drive, but I hope I don't wear them out prematurely becasue of this.

[Dave M]

Ugh. I was just outside bolting on my new E38 style 5s with brand new 225/55/16s. Came in and saw your post, went back outside and I found that I have the same damn problem. Well, the right front rubbed, the left front didn't....not sure why that would be since they are at the same pressure. I wonder if changing pressure would help keep them away from the struts. Otherwise, I did find this: BMW E34 Website Looks like 3mm spacers will do the trick. I hate the idea of having to track down longer lug bolts though.

I just put on Conti Extreme Contact DWs. Looking forward to initial test drive, but I hope I don't wear them out prematurely becasue of this.

What are the odds of us both installing new 225s on the same day??? Hopefully your situation is managable, but you might need 2 or 3mm spacers. Heres what I found during a quick search.

3mm spacers. Scroll to the bottom, choose E34 and add bolts. Pretty cheap at ~ $53

These guys sell 2mm, 3mm and 4mm with bolts as well - ~$65

3mm spacers from H&R - Turner Motorsport. Much pricier at ~$70 NO BOLTS

Let me know if you find any other good sources.

Dave

[BennyM]

Thanks for the links, Dave. The first site seems like a good fit, but it says their 3mm spacers are unavailable. Hopefully that's just a temporary glitch. I'll keep looking.

If you look at the guide here you'll see that the E38 style 5s do in fact have a 3mm deeper offset than the E34 versions, so the 3mm spacer should bring everything back to normal. The question is, should I space out the fronts and the rears? I hate spending more money on this, though. The rims wound up costing me $50, but the tires were $650!

[Tiger]

More stability if you do all 4 corners... you get a wider stance...6mm total. It really does make a bit of difference on how the car handles...

[Dave M]

Just ordered 3mm spacers from ECS (second link) as they were in stock with bolts and a reasonable price. I just ordered two for the front, although Tiger's post does hold water......

Dave

[BennyM]

My tires must have unusually bulgy sidewalls because they rubbed paint off of the strut towers during a 5 minute test drive. I'm thinking 3mm might be too little for me. Now I'm torn between two more expensive options:

Option #1
10mm hubcenteric spacers for all four wheels $150 + I'll have to grind the hub lip down to 10mm, bringing the offset to ET13 (which is pushing the limits from what I've read)

Option #1
5mm front only with Turner hub-extenders $110, bringing the offset to ET 18 (Apparently hub extenders don't fit the rear hubs, so I'd have to leave the rears 5mm shallower than the fronts)

Not a fan of either of these options. I guess I'll wait and let you be the guinea pig, Dave.

[Dave M]

My tires must have unusually bulgy sidewalls because they rubbed paint off of the strut towers during a 5 minute test drive. I'm thinking 3mm might be too little for me. Now I'm torn between two more expensive options:

Option #1
10mm hubcenteric spacers for all four wheels $150 + I'll have to grind the hub lip down to 10mm, bringing the offset to ET13 (which is pushing the limits from what I've read)

Option #1
5mm front only with Turner hub-extenders $110, bringing the offset to ET 18 (Apparently hub extenders don't fit the rear hubs, so I'd have to leave the rears 5mm shallower than the fronts)

Not a fan of either of these options. I guess I'll wait and let you be the guinea pig, Dave.

I doubt you'll need any more than 3mm. I can turn my wheels by hand, but like I said, they rub consistently around the entire circumfrence. Now, before I ordered the 3mm spacers, I placed 2.5mm washers between the wheels and hub (I suggest you try the same). No more rubbing. The resulting gap is tiny, but the 3mm spacers are, well, 0.5mm larger and you don't need much of a gap to begin with. My old Kumho 712s ran extrememly close to the strut for 6 seasons with no issues.

I will however, be picking up the spacers tommorow and shall report back.

Dave

[BennyM]

I bought some 3mm washers to test with, but since winter has returned, I haven't had the motivation to do much of anything outside. Have you had any luck on your end, Dave?

[Dave M]

I bought some 3mm washers to test with, but since winter has returned, I haven't had the motivation to do much of anything outside. Have you had any luck on your end, Dave?

Funny, I read your post, looked at your location and laughed. We're experiencing the same sprinter (spring/winter) and I'm as motivated as you are. I've installed one and its provided ~2mm of clearance, more than enough from my experience. I'm tending to some minor rust spots in the other wheel well, so it will be a couple of more days before its complete, the weather has improved and its on the road for a final test.

I'll update then, but please let us know whats up if you get to it first.

Dave