how to aviod popping off fender??

ok.  i need the experts help! 

i have a 2000 gs400 and i just threw some work euroline fs 19x9+24 245/35/19  19x10+20 275/30/19.   i shaved front and rear fenders.  clears very well but the problem i am having is when i enter driveways at a angle i need to turn my steering wheel BUT i am scared its going to pop my fender off because the front gets tucked into the fender.  is there anyways to fix this problem and still keep the low ride height? 

all ideas are welcome/

Two things:
1) Have someone look and see if your tire is actually rubbing against the fender when the steering is in full lock.

2) If it is rubbing, just add a little more camber or pull/flare your fender a little.

you won't "pop" the fender off. the worst it will do is bend the top of the fenderwell out.

Dark Anghell,
when the car is sitting on flat ground, theres no problem.  but as i put on a driveway the wheels touches the fender before full lock. i can see less then half the tire sticking out if the fender.  

the problem is when the car gets tucked because of the driveway or slope.  but i will try to add some camber and see how that works. 

jonja, 
thats good to know.  i dint have to be as scared anymore.. but still be a pain if i bend the fender. 

Thanks for the info! i will try it

you consider changing your tires and getting some stretch.
you could go much smaller on the widths (of the tire)

I guess there is no way to avoid the wheel/tyre touching the fender when you are running very flush fitments. As others said, you wont 'pop the fender off', but i agree it would suck to have to respray your fenders every month!

Here's my thoughts:
a) Avoid that driveway, park on the street etc
b) reduce the steering angle the instant you hear the wheel touching the fender (You can usually hear it before it does any damage), only if its a wide driveway of course
c) hit the driveway dead-on or at a mild angle. 

Obviously there are clearance issues here that would make the the last suggestion all but impossible, so in my case i do A) wherever i can, and if I have to go up the driveway i carry blocks of wood i can use as ramps for option C)

oh, and option d) airsus...

[QUOTE=Dominik;40009]I guess there is no way to avoid the wheel/tyre touching the fender when you are running very flush fitments. As others said, you wont 'pop the fender off', but i agree it would suck to have to respray your fenders every month!

Here's my thoughts:
a) Avoid that driveway, park on the street etc
b) reduce the steering angle the instant you hear the wheel touching the fender (You can usually hear it before it does any damage), only if its a wide driveway of course
c) hit the driveway dead-on or at a mild angle. 

Obviously there are clearance issues here that would make the the last suggestion all but impossible, so in my case i do A) wherever i can, and if I have to go up the driveway i carry blocks of wood i can use as ramps for option C)

oh, and option d) airsus...[/QUOTE]
I'm with Dominik on option d) it will be worth it in the long run with less headaches.

still havent had time to do the try adding camber.  but option d) would be GREAT!  dont know if i want to go downthat road yet.

but i had another question.  i removed my fender lining in the front. will i be getting any rockchips / rockdents from daily driving on the inside of the fender?   maybe become visiable from the putside?

Only if you hit some big rocks... I daily drove my old 240 without fender liners and it was fine.

your fender won't pop off. you may need a different tire size if anything.  and im assuming your car is lowered..of course you cant make it up a drive way straight you needa snake it up..unless your drive has clearence.  but your fender's wont pop off unless you hit a really big pot hole and maybe you might bend the fender..but i doubt it though.

Any pics of your ride and ride height?

my brother took my camera and i havent seen him for awhile but i will borrow my friends camera tomorrow around 1 and see if i can get some pictures up by tomorrow night.

here are some pictures 

[IMG]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b43/qQjQp/GS400/IMG_3175.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b43/qQjQp/GS400/IMG_3177.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b43/qQjQp/GS400/IMG_3179.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b43/qQjQp/GS400/IMG_3183.jpg[/IMG]

Damn, that is some fitment there. Very nice. Looks like if you hit a driveway at that angle, it might kink your fender. Maybe you might have to pull the fronts a little?

Inevitable. . .  Thats y you see lots of VIP cars in Japan having wicked rear fitment, and not so totally wicked front fitment. .They still need to turn. . .Esp. on coilovers. .

I would recommend simply going to narrower tires. . looks like you have lots of meat. . you dont want extra meat on the front if you want to turn. . your rims fit fine. . just the tires need trimming. .

G.

Shane C .....

the answer to your problem is to lower it more.....

sounds crazy but true.

I've been looking at your rides stance. just lower it a tad more, you'll be surprised what just a few more turns on the coils will do.
this will allow to add a bit more neg cam. 

I'm lower and absolutley not rub up front. also, consider a 225/35/19 or a 235/35/19

mine was pulling the lip down constantly...it got to the point were it literally took me seconds to stick my bat under there,fold the lip back in and get back on the road.

it wasn't until I rolled my fenders more and just a few turns lower on the coils.

i still drive though with the habit of going over those somewhat uphill entrances, with a wide turn so the car is going up straight on.

[QUOTE=gmckey;40102]Only if you hit some big rocks... I daily drove my old 240 without fender liners and it was fine.[/QUOTE]



wont engine get dirtier without fender liners??

i was thinking probably a 235-35-19 tire.  the camber is corrected as close to specs as possible.  so far i am avioding driveways.  been too busy, no time to test different solutions. i will probaly get smaller tire and maybe lower or add camber or both. 

Thanks again guys.

Dont be scared of camber! VIP [i]is[/i] camber!! :)

heat up the fender a bit, and massage it out with a roller if you can get access to one. not too much, and it'll clear up that problem a little bit. you might want to try a 30 profile tire also, you can see you are chunking it. with the roller or bat, you can clean up that edge a bit flatter, and you wont have that problem either.

[QUOTE=Caoboy;40553]heat up the fender a bit, and massage it out with a roller if you can get access to one. not too much, and it'll clear up that problem a little bit. you might want to try a 30 profile tire also, you can see you are chunking it. with the roller or bat, you can clean up that edge a bit flatter, and you wont have that problem either.[/QUOTE]


i still havent had time to work on the car but i do want to pull the fender.  problem is, i dont want to mess it up and have to repaint if i dont have to.  i talked to a few 240 owners and they said heating barely helps because if the paint is going to crack it will.  but others say they heat it up to the point where it starts to smell like paint and no crack occured.  so i will see when i have time.  i will want to pull sooner or later.  i want to run lower offset later on.

Your tires are too beefy and you need more camber...


19x9+24 
RECOMMENDED > 225/35/19 

19x10+20 
RECOMMENDED > 245/30/19

i believe the my fronts are too beefy but the rears are perfect.  no rubbing issues in the rear.