Hello forum,

Now that I have installed the B12 pro kit, I noticed some slight rubbing or grinding (in / around the front wheels) when the steering wheel is fully locked (left or right). Not always but it's there.

I won't list everything but these parts were also upgraded at the same time:

• Front swaybar links (Moog)
• Rear tow arm (Moog)
• Rear upper control arm (adjustable for Mazda/Focus/Volvo v50)
• Rear Swaybar links (Moog problem solver)

I have about 100 miles on it now. I have not had the car re-aligned, yet. My mechanic checked the rear camber - with some tool of his - and told me it was at zero (0), neutral. The handling is very stable, both on the fwy. and on rough and windy roads (steering does not pull either way).

My first question is: any idea on what the rubbing might be? And my next question is, aside from needing an alignment, what else should be done or considered after lowering the car?

It goes without saying, I'm not a car dude.

Thank you for reading this and your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Replaced parts in red

 

Jag4, first off, is it more of a rubber squealing sound or a metal on metal sound? That should help give you a point to start looking at. Next, I would pull one or both of the front wheels and look for any color transfer (ie, where 2 parts have been touching). it is possible that you are getting a little bit of rubbing on the back of the front wheel wells. May get a little bit of rub somewhere on the inside edge of the front tires. This is where looking for discoloration/rubber is going to tell you a lot.

After this, then your next step is to simply put the front end of the car up in the air with one tire on a jackstand and the other on a jack. Then you can lower/raise the one corner of the car with the jack and see if you can determine where the rubbing is occurring.

 

@Thermo, it's a mettle on mettle sound. I should have made that clear. I'll put it up on a rack next week and have a look around, as you suggested.

 

Since you have metal on metal, if it is a scraping sound, then you most likely need to take a quick look at the inside of the rims. If it is more of a clunking sound, I would be looking at the mounts for the lower A-Arm. Those will most likely be your sources of the noise.