I recently installed new rims and tires on my 99 vert. 255/35ZR20Y on 20 x 8" Milanni 20" ZS-1 chrome 5 spoke rims. If I'm clippin along and hid a dip in the road, I hear the tires scuffing the top of the wheel well liner. Obviously the new tires are slightly larger than the originals. Question is do I need new shocks or coil springs ??

 

From what I determined, your new setup is only 3/10's of an inch taller than your oem setup (@ 245-50-17)... which normally shouldn't make that much of a difference (and your new tires are a little wide for 8" rims - 8.5" is the minimum width that is recommended, but that is another story).

I would start by checking your upper shock mounts and see if there is any visible indication that they are failing (from the top under the hood see if the bushing material is breaking down at all - and double check that the shock bolt comes up properly right in the center of the opening). If that seems fine then I would definitely measure from the center of the wheel to the fender and compare to specs (search the forum for those specs)... also, with the Jaguar, a bad shock by itself would not necessarily cause the car to sit low - that support is provided by the coil springs, so if the mounts are good and you are sitting low that might be the next place I would look.

 

I just installed all new front end suspension parts, so the shock mounts are new. I'm thinking its springs. Car only has 66k miles. thanks for your input.

 

Ride height should be 15.5" from center of wheel to fender rim. You can add a spacer up to 3/8" thick on top of the shock mount, but it sounds like that may not be enough. The springs do sag with age.

 

I really doubt the top of the tire is hitting the top of the fender liner. There should be tire marks on the liner to confirm. Is the new wheel offset the same? I'm thinking the tire is touching the outside upper corner of the liner because the offset is putting the wheel further out in relation to the fender.

 

I couldn't fix the scuffing but I made your SigPic look a lot better.



Horizontal photos - curse of the iPhone!

Graham

 

First, I would like to thank Graham for fixing my pic ! Second, I can see the scuff marks on the wheel well liner, dead center. My ride height (center of wheel to top of arch) is 14.5", so something is off.

 

Ordered new front springs from Parts Geek today. Curious to see the difference. $244 including shipping.

 

That's very reasonable. I hope they prove satisfactory, please keep us informed.