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[jdash]

Hi Folks,

Picked up an '08 6MT M-Sport 135i coupe last week. I am loving this car

The previous owner installed really sharp 18" CSL reps.
I am experiencing some rubbing of the rear tires with 4 smallish passengers in the car over moderate bumps. After reading through hundreds of posts on here, it seems several people are running very similar setups without rubbing. Hoping for some feedback.

I couldn't tell if I am rubbing the fender or the wheel well lining. Though I am familiar with the term and mechanics of fender rolling, I do not have a baseline to be able to determine if my fenders have been rolled.

Here are the specifics of my setup that I've been able to determine so far (before pulling a wheel off).

Any advice would be appreciated!
Rear Wheels
Style: CSL Reps
Brand: Maybe VMR?
Diameter: 18"
Width: ?
ET: ?

Tires:
Nitto N555
255 / 35 ZR18 90W

[ptack]

Stock fenders have pretty much a 90 degree lip. Also check out if the front and rear lips are the same. You probably just need to do a slight roll on the rear. Take a wheel off and see if there's a spec on the inside. You could also just call VMR. They were one of the companies early on offering CSLs for 1s in almost the right offsets. That tire size should work so hopefully it's just a minor fix.

[VMRWheels]

Nitto NT555's do run pretty wide and square so that is the reason why you are experiencing the rubbing during compression with a full cabin. A slight fender roll will solve your issue.

-Charles@VMRWheels

[UdubBadger]

Jdash, contact Johan@wsto or go to wheelSTO.com and get their number and call (talk to Johan or Julius). They're the best to work with and know the 1ers inside and out since they have a shop 135i.

[jdash]

Thanks for all the tips, guys. I took a closer look and it does seem that fenders front and rear have already been rolled at the top of the wheel well. I may need to have the lower portions rolled?

I'd like to keep this setup, but I can't handle rubbing with a loaded car. I have some roadtrips coming up with passengers -- they will already be much less comfy than in my A4!

Charles@VMR, what tires would you recommend that run narrower and rounder?

Will report back with further info once I pull the rears off for a closer inspection over the next few days.

[Xaeryan]

Along the lines of fender rolling, who do you guys have do this? I've seen some cars come back with crinkled fenders after sub-par shops do this (haven't seen it on any 1s, but other cars), so I think I'll leave it to the pros instead of trying it myself using a fender rolling contraption - body work is not my forte.

[M II]

The CSLs that you're running have an offset of +45 in the rear. Looks great! But paired with the Nitto tires and a car full of passengers - you'll get some rubbing.

You can try rolling the fenders a bit more and really flatten it to make it work.

[VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by jdash

Charles@VMR, what tires would you recommend that run narrower and rounder

Falken FK452's and Toyo T1R's are both great tires to run if you do have minimal clearance issues.

-Charles@VMRWheels

[UdubBadger]

hankooks and yoko s.drives are also good options and cost a little less but are high enough performance for these cars. I'll be running VB3's with the same offset on S.drives in about a week.

[ptack]

Hankook V12s are not a good idea if you have rubbing. They have a fairly square shoulder as opposed to round.

[UdubBadger]

good to know

[jdash]

Should I be looking at tires in sizes *other than* 255/35?
A local tuner shop I contacted doesn't open on weekends, wondering if this is something that a decent tire shop can help me sort out -- obviously not the fender rolling -- but perhaps with different tire sizes and shoulder styles?

I guess I am just not convinced that another set with a slightly rounder shoulder would be enough.

[jdash]

So after visiting my local Discount Tire to fix a slow leak (improperly installed TPMS), I was referred to a specialty wheel shop for my rubbing probs.

After inspecting my setup, they told me they would not be comfortable rolling the fenders any further, for fear of cracking the paint. However, they said that mounting some Falken 452s may take care of the issue. They also offered me to machine down my +45 rear offset by 3 to 5 mm. Seeing how some manufacturers are selling 47ET and 50ET rears as "1er friendly" I'm gonna let them try.

I'm not opposed to swapping out my tires, especially since I am hearing a heck of a lot of noise from the rear Nittos. However, at that point, I'd probably also swap the rims to some VMR V710s in ET50, Alufelgens, or Apex ARC-8, etc to make damn sure I won't have to deal with rubbing any more.

Gotta love these forums, I always feel well informed before heading to the shop.

[cherylrpr]

Agree about the Hankook V12s. Had some on a Volvo and they rubbed due to the "squareness" of the profile.

[jdash]

The guys over at Wheel Specialists in Tempe, AZ did some amazing work for me. As I mentioned earlier this week they inspected my car and ruled out further fender rolling. They decided that adjusting the offset of my CSL reps from 45ET to 50ET would do the trick.

The 5mm shave allowed me to keep my 255/35 Nittos with *zero rubbing*. I've been out for some spirited driving with four adults in the car -- no problem at all! The look is still very aggressive, IMO.

Highly recommend these guys to anyone in the PHX area.

[texasmojo]

Good to hear you got that problem fixed. How much for the rim shaving?

[jdash]

Originally Posted by texasmojo

Good to hear you got that problem fixed. How much for the rim shaving?

Thanks, man. I am really pleased that the first attempt and lowest cost option got me rolling with my new 50ET rear offset.

I paid ~$160 out the door with a perfect Hunter road-force balance after remounting the tires.

I haven't taken the wheels off to see if they retained the lip that maxnix was asking about yet.

[Yvette]

interesting, do you know the maximum safety shaving allowance?

[jdash]

Originally Posted by e90sexion

interesting, do you know the maximum safety shaving allowance?

I have no idea, TBH. It will obviously vary by wheel design, that's for sure. I trust these guys know what they are doing. The hub contact area on my wheels is quite thick.