Grind upper bump stop tyre rubbing

[tg007tim]

Got a problem on my buggy build.

Have wheels with an offset of 35mm running 16x7 rims. I need to do this to ensure i don't increase my track width by more than 25mm from stock (legal requirement here) and the wheels next offset i bought is 20mm which would just put me over the requirement. So need to make these work

On one side the inner tyre sidewall is rubbing against the upper bump stop "up stop" attached to the shock mount. My suspension is IRS.

Im thinking i can grind 10mm off this stop to give the tyre the clearance it needs.

Thoughts?

[tg007tim]

with image

[GTBRADLEY]

Grind away!!!!!
_________________
Brian B
1973 Surfer GT Boat
1966 Thunder Bug Buggy-current project
1949 Dodge Coronet-retirement project
that is family owned since new

[Axitech]

I don't see any problem with grinding it, BUT I'm not an engineer. That said, if you do grind it, you'll probably need togrind more than you think. The tire will bulge at the bottom over severe bumps. It will then rebound at the top in response. You might not have the clearance in motion as you had when static.

[vincent9993]

What about wheel spacers? How much room do you have to play with to stay legal?

[Q-Dog]

Is it only rubbing on one side? Those shock towers can be bent fairly easily ... maybe your is bent?. One of mine was bent when my buggy was wrecked and we were able to pull it back with no problems.
_________________
Brian

'69 Dune Buggy, http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=419624
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle, http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=544918

[kustoms]

Just to be clear, you have a 5 5/8" or 146mm back spacing?

You can grind the bump stop but pay attention to the torsion plates. In the photo it looks like you will have an issue there as well.
_________________
Google this.
"Bread and Circuses"

And wondering what the heck happen to my Samba post count?!?
Tom Thompson
Tijuana Kustoms Inc. (TM)
1-877-338-8746
www.tjkustoms.com

[manxfwin]

Can't tell from photo but are your wheels from the rear looking like this /---\. You might need to redo the torsian bars and adjust to come up with this |---|.
Sorry,did not pick up on the IRS rear but I agree with Tom,you might have a torsion bar/trailing arm problem.

[dan macmillan]

What law are you trying to comply with? Where I live, the highway traffic act states .

Every motor vehicle and every trailer shall be equipped with mudguards or fenders or other device adequate to reduce effectively the wheel spray or splash of water from the roadway to the rear thereof, unless adequate protection is afforded by the body of the motor vehicle or trailer or by a trailer drawn by the motor vehicle. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 66 (3).

Given this statement.
1. on a sunny day {most of our driving is on nice days} fenders are not required as there is no wheel spray or splash of water.

2. Should you encounter wet weather/road conditions you have a couple of built in options. As the law states " or other device adequate to reduce effectively the wheel spray" and does not say by how much, simply slowing down will reduce wheel spray. Secondly you could pull over and stop to wait it out.

This is how T Buckets get around the law legally.





The above car is mine. I have driven it in all kinds of weather including a major thunderstorm from Niagara Falls to Toronto the day after these pics were taken. No problems, I slowed down a bit. Instead of doing the posted 60mph I did 50 mph. 3 hrs of rain, it was a blast. Even at 50mph there is not a lot of wheel spray.

Never been pulled over for any reason.

Running your tires that close is asking for more problems than sticking them out a bit. Besides it is wheelspray to the rear, not upwards that they are concerned with.
_________________
Licensed Automotive Service Technician
Licensed Truck and Coach Technician
Licensed Heavy Duty Equipment Technician
CFC/HCFC/HFC A/C handling and installation license
Alignment specialist
66 Modified Manx,68 Kyote,74 Thing,74 Beetle, 76 Transporter,75 self made Double Cab,65 Meyers Manx,78Westy,68 Ghia, 79 Bradley GT2
Current projects:
Built for others:69 Manx Clone

[kustoms]

He's from Australia. They have messed up laws down there.
_________________
Google this.
"Bread and Circuses"

And wondering what the heck happen to my Samba post count?!?
Tom Thompson
Tijuana Kustoms Inc. (TM)
1-877-338-8746
www.tjkustoms.com

[tg007tim]

Hi guys, thanks for the responses

Wheel track is a law here in Australia. Original VW was 1350mm and you can only increase by 25mm.

Wheel spacers are illegal here

The easiest solution is to buy the same wheels in a 20 offset, or 0 offset but this won't pass the engineering test to get it on the road. But could be done after!

Hence i am running these with an offset of 35mm which is bringing the tyre in so close to the shock tower and spring plates, but keeping the original VW wheel track.

Unfortunately the rubbing was unforeseen until after i got the wheels and tyres fitted.

A couple of the guys here have said its quite common to take up to 20mm off the unstop mount so should be no problem?

So the way i see it is;
1. Test fit front wheels which are same wheel but smaller tyre (215/70R16) and see if they are also a problem. if ok run smaller tyres on rear and replace down the track with less offset and no issue

2. Grind back shock mount and leave as is with bigger and much better looking tyres on the rear! Less cost for me - but there may be the spring plate issue that one of you pointed out

How much tyre roll do you think i will get with these tyres (265/70R16)?