I have a 1999 camaro and I recently put a set of stock OEM C5 wheels on it. They are the 17X8.5 fronts and 18X9.5 rears. The rears have 295/35/18 tires. When I corner hard I hear the loud rubbing from the rear tires. I don't hear it over bumps or anything but only when cornering hard. I have seen many f-body's with this setup so I am wondering why mine are rubbing. I think they are rubbing the inside of the tire against the inner rear fender. I don't think they are rubbing the outside of the fender at all. The stock size tire is a 285/35/18 and mine are 10mm wider.

Will that little difference make it rub?

If I run a 10mm spacer will it rub on the fender lip?

I wanted to lower the car an inch but I assume it will rub more if lowered.

Thanks for any advice.

 

What year C5 wheels? Offsets are different on the 18x9.5" wheels between 97-99 (61mm) and 2000+ (65mm).

The 2000+ wheels will have approx 7.75" backspace, and that puts them fairly deep in the wheel wells. If the tires are rubbing, most likely it would be against the inside fender liners. You should be able to space them out to eliminate the interference, without putting them too close to the fender lip. But do NOT use a 10mm (.40") spacer. You would need longer studs, and the wider the spacer, the more stress you put on the studs. Max width for a spacer is in the 1/4" (6-7mm) range.

Check a couple things first.....

-check the panhard rod and bushings. If the rod is loose or the bushings are worn, it allows the body to move toward the outside wheel in a hard corner.

-check your sway bars. Worn bushings, on the sway bars or on the end links allow the body to roll more. That pushes the edge of the inner fender liner down on the sidewall of the tire, and can cause some fairly deep cutting in severe cases. Soft springs will also contribute to excessive body roll.

 

Thanks for the advice. The wheels are off a 1998 vette so they have less backspacing and should be the best fit. The bushings appear to be fine but its hard to tell how much they flex under the weight of the car. It only rubs when making a hard right I think. The panhard bushings look ok but they are a little worn. I think I might replace the bushings and if necessary run a 1/4" spacer.

 

You might also want to check the "centering" of the body over the rear axle. If its off to one side, it will rub on the inner fender on the opposite side. With my 315's/17x11's, I thought I had it all under control, and a really hard shift would push the body far enough to make one side rub a bit. Recentering with an adjustable panhard rod helped.

There's always "hammering" if necessary.

 

Urghh. The rear axle is centered perfectly. I took some hard turns and the tires rub on both sides so that isn't the problem. Hopefully poly bushings will tighten it up, or some spacers or hammering. I'm suprised that it rubs on both sides and I have seen so many people with these C5 rims on camaro's that I thought they would fit perfectly.

 

The 295 tire is a bit wide for a 9.5" wide wheel. Its intended to be mounted on a 10.0-11.5" wide wheel. And you may have a particularly "wide" 295 tire. Not all 295's have the same section width.