Fender Clearance Question!

[ef_michael]

Lol I know, im going crazy with these threads lately! Sorry guys lol.

Anyways, I own a 330i sedan and I ordered a set of vmr v703 (aka vb3) last week. I ordered a staggered set; 19x8.5 et40 and 19x9.5 et45. Ive had this set up in mind for a while (paired with 235/35 and 255/30 tires) and finally saved enough to purchase them. I kept in mind that I would of course, need to roll my fenders in order to avoid any rubbing issues at my desired height. I planned that I would go and get my fenders rolled once ive finally ordered the wheels. So....today I went to my body guy for him to roll my fenders and he tells me he cant do it on my drivers side because the previous owner had that panel repaired and some bondo was used. Furthermore, I would most likely encounter cracked paint! Im now looking into having my fender lips cut in order to have the wheels fit but alot of people are strongly advising me against it. I know I can run a smaller tire with alot of stretch and or buy a camber kit to camber the rear wheels more, but I really want the setup looking nice and flush for that nice oem+ setup/stance. I have no idea what to do now!

Any ideas or insight as to what other options are out there? Maybe im overreacting and a slightly smaller tire for SLIGHTLY more stretch would suffice without rolling?

[az3579]

Cutting fenders just to get wheels to fit is no good, IMO.
Same goes for stretch. Form shouldn't follow function... lots of stretch is a major detriment and can be dangerous depending on the situation.

If you REALLY wanted those wheels to fit, then I'd raise the car up enough to make them fit without rubbing. I did this as well and it has worked out perfectly. The best advice I can give is get wheels and tires that fit the car properly. You'll save yourself a lot of headache in the long run!

[ef_michael]

Cutting fenders just to get wheels to fit is no good, IMO.
Same goes for stretch. Form shouldn't follow function... lots of stretch is a major detriment and can be dangerous depending on the situation.

If you REALLY wanted those wheels to fit, then I'd raise the car up enough to make them fit without rubbing. I did this as well and it has worked out perfectly. The best advice I can give is get wheels and tires that fit the car properly. You'll save yourself a lot of headache in the long run!

What would be the disadvantages to trimming the fender? Just a trim not eliminating it totally

[WOLFN8TR]

Cutting fenders just to get wheels to fit is no good, IMO.
Same goes for stretch. Form shouldn't follow function.

I agree. There's NO way I would ever cut my fenders.

[johnrando]

I hv no legit scientific reason why, but I would not cut my fenders either.

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[az3579]

What would be the disadvantages to trimming the fender? Just a trim not eliminating it totally

Well the biggest concern is introducing the potential for rust. Sometimes bodywork can increase the chances of it forming. You really have to be careful in making sure it gets done right.

Also, it's a lot more expensive to have to do bodywork to get it all to fit - it's cheaper to buy wheels that are the proper size.

The main concern is the rust. I sort of regret rolling my fenders for this reason... It hasn't rusted yet but it's an invitation.

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[ef_michael]

Well the biggest concern is introducing the potential for rust. Sometimes bodywork can increase the chances of it forming. You really have to be careful in making sure it gets done right.

Also, it's a lot more expensive to have to do bodywork to get it all to fit - it's cheaper to buy wheels that are the proper size.

The main concern is the rust. I sort of regret rolling my fenders for this reason... It hasn't rusted yet but it's an invitation.

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Yeah I see where you're coming from. I mean the wheels are the recommended size for the car, its just that because im lowering it, thats where the rubbing issue would come in. Im just so upset because Ive had this look for my car in my head and now I cant make it reality lol

[ef_michael]

Just so im not making another thread. What tire size would I have to run in order to avoid any rubbing while lowered a little bit with that wheel setup and stock rear fenders? Would 245/30 suffice?

[az3579]

I mean the wheels are the recommended size for the car, its just that because im lowering it, thats where the rubbing issue would come in.

Actually, those are aftermarket sizes, not recommended ones. The only "recommended" sizes are the stock sizes since those are the sizes the car has been extensively tested for.

As far as tire sizing goes... I'd think 245 is a little narrow for 9.5" - taking 245/30-19 Pilot Super Sports as the example (which have a pretty wide tread width to begin with), you'd still be running almost an inch of stretch.

Unfortunately, something's gotta give - either the lowering, or the wheel sizes. Or, if you're feeling very frisky, you'll have to modify your fenders, but we've already gone over that one.

I'm running pretty aggressive offsets for my car with lowering - 18x8.5 et35 all around, and used to be lowered on H&R Race springs. It was rub city once I got my 255/35-18 Pilot Super Sport tires. I actually bought coilovers so I could raise the car a bit so that my wheels and tires would fit. Mind you, I already modified the plastic in my rear wheel wells to further reduce the rubbing and already had rolled fenders (which I need to check for rust). The car simply wasn't having it, so I had to jump through some hoops to get everything to fit. 18x8.5 is hardly an aggressive fitment, but the offsets cause the problem here. In your case, the fronts should fit fine -- thinking about the rears, you might be okay, depending on just how low you want to go. You might have to modify the rear fender lining slightly and get a fender roll, but I think that should cover it as long as you don't go too low.