17 inch wheels and wheel arches

[nexus6]

I appreciate this might have been covered before but not being particuarly conversant in suspension and off-sets etc I need some individual advice. My cav came with some nice 17 inch Wolfrace wheels but the previous owner must never have used it loaded in the back. The 17 inchers ripped the outer skin of the wheel arch on the nearside rear arch but near the front edge. Putting the standard wheels back on stopped this but I'd love to have the Wolfrace's back on if possible. Is there a reasonable and inexpensive workaround for this. See pics for details.

[nexus6]

other pics from the inside of the Wolfrace jobbies:

[nexus6]

last pic:

[branny361]

They should be a perfect fit with no rubbage at all as the offset of 40 is within vauxhall std parameter of between 35-49 if your photo of where its rubbing is by the rusty patch near the bottom , somethings wrong as it should never touch that part of the arch

[Hayward691]

As above.... Is there any marking on the wheel or tyres...
Maybe its just rusting through as all Cavs do...
I have 17"s with 40mm lowered and never had them scrub anywhere... and i have towed trailers and had a fully loaded roof rack on aswell...

[jimmy]

Looking at your first picture your tyre size is 205/45 R17 which I'm guessing that having a 45 profile on a 17" wheel probably wouldn't help I can't see it making much difference but just a thought

[gsi pie]

et49 are vauxhall offset

et40 is why the rubbed the arches buddy as the stuck out further than et49

[humbucker]

et49 are vauxhall offset

et40 is why the rubbed the arches buddy as the stuck out further than et49

Yes ET49 is cavalier offset. I had some 37s on mine and exactly the same thing happened.

[nexus6]

Thanks guys. Yes, the poor pic of the rust is where the tyre ripped the outer skin of the wheel arch and made it protude into the arch and obviously lost the paintwork. I pushed the tear back in with a plastic handle and fairly forced it back but it still caught on the tyre again. I've had a mechanic glance over the suspension and they thought it was ok but without a laser alignment rig, it's hard to spot.

What's involved in this roling the arches thing? Is it a lot of work? Are these ET40 wheels destined not to go on? There seems a difference of opinion where vauxhall should handle a range of this measurement but others thnk it should be the same for all wheels? What's ET40 stand for?

[planetc]

Cavaliers are best kept on 49s, why don't you sell the ones you have and find some rather than struggling to make them fit?

[Hayward691]

Mine are et38... Dug my paperwork out...
Many ways to roll the arch. I'm just gonna cut or grind mine when I go lower.
Another is slide a scafold poll in and slowly roll the car back...
Will dig a video out later lol

[humbucker]

is your car lowered? arch rolling is really only necessary if your wheels stick out too far and the car is lowered / heavy load in the boot. arch rolling can lead to all sorts of problems if not done properly (one of the main causes of wheel arch rot is where moisture and dirt collect in the lip. the moisture is retained in the dirt and then absorbs into the metal). if your lip is rolled and then becomes a moisture trap you might end up with more than just your lower arch to worry about. unless absolutely necessary i would avoid this route as at least you stand SOME chance of fighting off the metal cancer if the lip is accessible.

if you love the wheels that much i would look for the same ones but in a more suitable offset and ensure you have the right tyre size. if yours are in good nick sell 'em and use the dollar to buy the new ones who know you might be quids in, wolfrace aren't a premium brand so replacements should be cheap enough to come by.

i am surprised that the 40ET caused that much trouble as on standard right height even with a 40ET i wouldn't have thought it would have caught so significantly. your handling at speed can't be that great either. any front end wheel wobble around 60/70mph? mine were an even lower ET (37 iirc) and they caught the lower arch, but the car is on 40mm eibach springs, and my rear shocks were knackered so whenever i went over a bump they caught. i would recommend you check the condition of your shocks/springs to see if anything needs replacing. once i replaced the rear shocks and changed the tyres they were fine, even with the drop. then again i never have anyone in the back.

mine:

[Peanut_119]

i have the vec b gsi wheels with 215/40/17 tyres on the back, i had to roll my arches slightly as the rubbed when i had people in the back, but since rolling my arches i have had no problems even tho there 215 tyres

[V6power]

I had 205/55/16 tyres on my last V6, standard ride height and they ripped the arches to bits, my rear shocks were knackered though and I have a very bumpy dirt track to drive up to the house

[humbucker]

my rear shocks were knackered

my rear shocks were knackered

a trend is developing here...!

[branny361]

mines 40 lower with 205 40 17 tyres the only time i had probs was the top edge slightly touching when it bottomed out but once new shocks were fitted the problem dissapeared and the offset on mine is outside the recomendations of vauxhall so et 40 should give no probs maybe if the tyres were 40's it would give the little bit of extra clearance

[planetc]

my rear shocks were knackered

my rear shocks were knackered

a trend is developing here...!

Hmmm, yes, looks like fitting they wrong offset will knacker your rear shocks.