15 replies to this topic

[FloydeIOM]

1.3i
1994

The mini I bought the other day has 12" wheels on. Looks good and drives nice but there is big rubbing happening on the front driver side wheel inside arch.

Its only when turning left and reversing whilst on left lock (not always full lock).
All the googling I've done suggests that 12" would be fine.

I'm wondering if it could be my weight casuing the issue.. I'm 6'3 and 18stone.

What ya reckon?

Cheers

[Tomf]

how wide are the 12s? you start to get rubbing issues on 6" and wider 12s... and you sometimes get rubbing with 5.5" wide 12s depending on what tyres are used.

[jakeace]

when i fitted a body kit on my mini i had 175/50/R13's this made it rub when i went to full lock on both ways.... therefore to enable full lock we had to cut away at the body work... which has been a right pain but have finally sorted the problem.... and it still looks good!!! is this an option? maybe check the air in the tyres as well?

good luck

jacob

[jaydee]

It cant be your wheight actually, if your rims are wider than 5", you need a little bit of trimming on the inner arches, but check that your rubber cone has not collapsed and the knuckle joint isnt knackered, causing the front driver side to sit excessively low.

[FloydeIOM]

Heres a couple of pics that show the front tire and where its catching... the other side is fine.. which makes me think something is relly out!

The wheel is turned in.

Attached Files

•  mini428.jpg   653.76K   14 downloads
•  mini427.jpg   501.31K   10 downloads

Edited by FloydeIOM, 29 October 2009 - 07:28 AM.

[Bungle]

are your tie bars bent ?

that wheel looks a long way forwards

[FloydeIOM]

I'm not sure... but it sounds possible as the other side doesn't touch at all even under hard cornering (intentionally to see if it would rub at all).

I'll investigate the tie bars.. cheers Bungle..

[Pauly]

They look like 5.5x12 ultralites, they will need the arch trimming for them to clear. Anything over 4.5" wide need some slight trimming.

Paul.

[FloydeIOM]

Cheers Pauly... I hear ya... but I would have thought that would be the case for both sides.... the other side clears with no issues at all.

[sambarnes]

are your tie bars bent ?

that wheel looks a long way forwards

I agree with Bungle, the wheel is way to far forward. I got 13x7 on mine and they dont even come that close.

[FloydeIOM]

Sweet... Well I dropped it back at the garage to sort out a few of the problems I've noticed that should've been sorted before I got it.. so will give them first dibs at fixing. Will report back with what I'm told.

[Pauly]

It will rub more on the drivers side because the suspension cones settles down more on this side (because the drivers side has more weight than the passengers because of the driver, flywheel, brake/clutch cylinders) If you look at your car directly infront you will notice its lower on one side.

As said though it doesn't take 5 minutes to check your tie rods but im placing my bets on the width of the wheels.

Paul.

Edited by Pauly, 29 October 2009 - 12:50 PM.

[buffalox]

It will rub more on the drivers side because the suspension cones settles down more on this side (because the drivers side has more weight than the passengers because of the driver, flywheel, brake/clutch cylinders) If you look at your car directly infront you will notice its lower on one side.

As said though it doesn't take 5 minutes to check your tie rods but im placing my bets on the width of the wheels.

Paul.

I now have this problem after replacing my 4.5" Rover Minilites with 5" Ultralites - problem is only on the drivers side. So how do I sort the problem? I'm rolling with 3 Ultralites and 1 Minilite at the moment!!!

Possible solutions:

1. Washer on the end of the tie rod
2. Replace tie rod bushes
3. Check tie rod isn't bent
4. Check knuckle joint?

Any other ideas???

[L400RAS]

Any other ideas???

There was a rover "factory fit" washer, that went between the subframe and front panel, to effectively push the front panel away from the wheel... - honestly, it was a genuine part, with proper part number - had a couple on my 94 mayfair.

Ryan.

[buffalox]

Any other ideas???

There was a rover "factory fit" washer, that went between the subframe and front panel, to effectively push the front panel away from the wheel... - honestly, it was a genuine part, with proper part number - had a couple on my 94 mayfair.

Ryan.

Hmmmm, so fit a spacer between the two (or one only on the right side) bolts on the front of the subframe? When I bought the Mini it didn't have any nuts or bolts there! This would mean that the tracking wouldn't be affected as well I guess!