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Camber the answer?

891 Views 10 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  mycologist
My daughter has a 2012 sedan and has purchased Work Emotion 18" x 9.5" +38 wheels and 245/40/18 Pirelli P7 tires. Before the tires were fitted, I tried a wheel on the rear. The rim protruded 11mm (7/16") out from the fender. I would have preferred she bought the 18" x 8.5" +38 wheels but she wanted the deeper dish look. We tried a tire on and because the bead rolls out from the rim by 5mm or so, it makes the tires look like they stick out even worse. I was wondering what rear camber and front camber for that matter, that we could get away with that will make the tire look like it's flush with the fender at the top? I've been going around in circles on several forums to find answers including the best method of cambering, for example, adjustable LCA or camber bushes etc.
I feel she will get away with the wheels/tires she has bought with rolling the rear fenders. It's more the fact she could get harassed by the police. I figured she may only need another degree of camber to bring the top in by 5-10mm?
I know it's radical stretching but she was also thinking of swapping tires to a 235/40/18 which has a slightly smaller rolling diameter and slightly narrower tread width that might give her a little more fender clearance? She was also looking at getting a tire with less of a lip on the bead so it doesn't stick out more than the wheel. A lot of people are against this much of a stretch but I have seen a 225 on a 9.5" wheel - something I wouldn't do though. It's the look she wants. I tried a wheel/tire on the front also and it protruded about the same amount but seemed to be be OK through steering lock to lock.
In the future she was looking at lowering with RCE black springs and keeping stock struts. She'd prefer coilovers if she could afford it. Will lowering front and back by that 1" bring the outer face of the wheel in a bit that they may end up flush with the fenders? If so, rolling the rear fenders and lowering might be all she needs to do?
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Sell what she has and buy proper fitting equipment. That is the only safe solution for your child

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You're going to get some harsh opposition to what you are doing here - comes with the territory with appearance mods that are questionable safety wise. You may want to reconsider what the possible consequences of stretching tires are.

You will start to see camber wear on the tires at around -2 degrees and that is a pretty nice amount handling wise. Beyond that wear will get excessive quickly.
Life is kind of like school, except you get the test first and the lesson afterwards. The lesson your daughter is learning is that it is dangerous to make purchasing decisions based solely on looks.

If you add a bunch of camber (negative camber, that is) she will learn how fast her tires wear out on their inside edges and hence, how expensive her mistake was. Additional learning will occur if road grit coming off the tires blasts the paint off her wheel well lips, which it probably will.

IMO ditch the pretty wheels and get back to something sensible. The cost of that is tuition paid to the school of life.
Now that its called out, I am perplexed by this harassed by the police comment...
Now that its called out, I am perplexed by this harassed by the police comment...
I think he believes the police care about such things as cambered wheels and stretched tires, maybe instead of kids driving like douches. Maybe in the richest communities with the most bored cops.
2 days ago and no response from OP. I'm thinking troll, guys....
Oddly specific for a troll - maybe they just didn't like honest answers.
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