Help, new wheels scraping on '85 Coupe GT addendum:

[Craig Lebakken]

All related BW for this subject snipped........It's in the
archives. Right?

For reference:

My car, 1986 4KQ, 2B coilover/koni yellow (yes $1000, not
including labor), lowered approx 1 3/4", 16 x 7.5 x ET45 TSW
Imola, 205/45-16 Dunlop W/10, NO rubbing.

Friend's car, 1987 4KQ, 2B coilover/koni yellow, not as low,
(probably 1 1/2"), TSW Evo, 15 x 7 x ET35 (or maybe 38),
Yoko AVS 205/50-15, RUBS in rear when taking hard corners,
with 4 passengers, etc.

Offset is everything here. Unfortunately, the offset my
friend used was the recommended offset from the Tire Rack.

I have had this set up for almost three years now. My
experience:

I like it.

- The 325 lb/in rear, and 275 lb/in front Eibach springs are
at the brink of acceptable stiffness. Which means I am
careful who I take in this car when on business, as some
would think this way too stiff. I have always been happy
with Koni's.

- 1 3/4" is the brink of being too low. I can scrape speed
bumps with the exhaust if I am not careful. Any lower is
stupid and detrimental. Although the custom 2.5" exhaust
does have a little to do with the scraping problem. My
friend's 3" is worse.

- The Dunlop W/10's have proven to be excellent tires. Good
wet or dry. Wear is excellent. They have not needed
rebalancing in the 25K miles I have on them. I have not
tracked them, yet, but hope to in February. I think I paid
less than $100US per tire, so from a value standpoint they
have been superb. And to think I waited a month to get
Michelin Pilots in this size at almost twice the cost. But
Michelin, according to many suppliers I have talked to, has
a pretty uppity attitude. As in: "Vee vill let you sell them
ven vee decide to make them".

- The TSW Imola's suit the car well. Having been custom
painted factory Zermatt Silver, they almost look like a
factory performance option. They also look great on my
Zermatt Silver car. Too bad they don't make a 16 x 7 though.
Despite being VERY conscientious, I have once each scraped
both the RR and RF wheels. This wheel/tire combo leaves
little margin for error. On the freeway, they are a bit
grabby in the ruts. If I could do it over I would go 15 x 7.
I have hit some pretty good bumps with them also, to no ill
effect. So they must not be TOO soft.

Don't know how much this relates to the subject Coupe's. Is
the wheel well that much different? It would be interesting
to put my wheels on one to see if the 45mm offset helps.

FWIW.

Craig Lebakken
1986 4KQ turbowannabe.