'99 OBS - rear tire clearance problem

R

rick

With my old tires I would occasionally "bottom out" when going over a dip at
higher speeds. It was so seldom that I didn't worry about it. Now, with my
new Goodyear Triple-Treads, it happens much too often....bumps, dips, extra
weight in the car. What's happening is that the bottom of the coil spring
assembly is rubbing the inside tread of the tire. Even though I bought the
same size as what I had, the tire seems a little wider, plus the fact that
there's more new tread now. I should also mention that they're aftermarket
wheels, and I don't know what their offset is. So.....what's going on?
Worn Struts? Can I buy some type of bracket/spacer to get more clearance?
Maybe some type of wheel spacer to move the wheel/tire out farther? I
looked at some lift kits that spread out the spring coils, but I don't think
that will help any since it's the bottom of the spring that's hitting the
tire. Any ideas??????

TIA,
Rick
 
rick said:
With my old tires I would occasionally "bottom out" when going over a dip at
higher speeds. It was so seldom that I didn't worry about it. Now, with my
new Goodyear Triple-Treads, it happens much too often....bumps, dips, extra
weight in the car. What's happening is that the bottom of the coil spring
assembly is rubbing the inside tread of the tire. Even though I bought the
same size as what I had, the tire seems a little wider, plus the fact that
there's more new tread now. I should also mention that they're aftermarket
wheels, and I don't know what their offset is. So.....what's going on?
Worn Struts? Can I buy some type of bracket/spacer to get more clearance?
Maybe some type of wheel spacer to move the wheel/tire out farther? I
looked at some lift kits that spread out the spring coils, but I don't think
that will help any since it's the bottom of the spring that's hitting the
tire. Any ideas??????

I would suspect your aftermarket wheels. The
suspension on my '99 Outback with 109k miles
has gotten quite soft and still doesn't bottom
out with new tires.
 
Sorry, none of those are correct. On my 98 Forester the same thing
occurred to both rear struts at different times. I asked about it here
in this forum and nobody responded. What's happening is the "bottom of
the coil spring assembly" as you put it is weakening. It is bending
down, getting closer to the tire. I followed up with Transport Canada
as this is a safety issue which my local dealer refused to recognized,
subsequently Subaru Canada refuses to recognize. However from the
Transport Canada rep, Subaru Canada is aware of the problem and it has
occurred on other vehicles, similar ages various location across Canada.
Solution - I bought new struts from the dealer, installed them myself
total cost $400 each side. Good luck
Regards
OdB
 
if you don't know the offset then changes are it's probably wrong.

and you cannot rely on the people who sold you the wheels to give you the
correct offset.

the wrong offset will also adversely affect handling.

Subaru is a higher offset then just about everything else out there.

(e-mail address removed)
 

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