suspension help!!!!

icecreamtruck · Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 2

hey guys i have lowered my 06 scion xb with tein s tech. my rear springs have sagged a lot more than i expected. i just recently bought a set of sportmax 002 wit 195/50/16 tires and the back rubs so much on every bump i hit.(the wheels i had before werent as wide so they didnt rub at all) i cant have anyone sit in the back b/c it rubs when i give it some gas. ive read a few posts but my question isnt quite answered yet. would i be better off wit new shocks/struts or get new springs wit struts? from wat ive read, i would need new springs and a set of monroe shocks/struts because they work decently nice. help!!!!

TerribleTed · Joined: 13 Nov 2006 Posts: 1106 Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Where does it rub? If rubbing on the inside of the tire , wheel spacers might gain the clearance you need.

icecreamtruck · Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 2

it rubs right on the shoulder of the tire.

TerribleTed · Joined: 13 Nov 2006 Posts: 1106 Location: Atlanta, Georgia

icecreamtruck wrote: it rubs right on the shoulder of the tire.

On the outside or the inside edge? If you are rubbing on the outside edge then you need a different offset wheel or body modifications to make clearance with your current springs. You could go to a spring with less drop and possibly gain some clearance, but, in my opinion going higher is not necessarily a good fix since if the suspension gets heavily loaded it is still likely to hit (remember all we did is raise the fender a little...if we push the wheel hard enough it will still hit). A different offset wheel might work with no other mods (you do not say how wide your wheels are). Rolling the wheel opening lip is a common body mod to gain some clearance at the outside edge. This may or may not be costly and results will vary depending on the skill of the technician performing the work.

I am running 18" 7.5" wide 40MM offset wheel in the rear. I am also running a 215/40/18 oversized tire. With these wheels I can lower my car on my airbags all the way down till the suspension is fully down with no hitting of wheel to body (it just touches when the suspesion bottoms). A 35MM offset in this width would have been perfect, I used 5MM spacers to space the wheels out 5MM due to too little clearance at the inside (not hitting but too close for my comfort). If your wheels do not have the proper offset to clear the wheel opening at the outside I strongly recommend getting different wheels.