wheel arch destruction/tyres

[RobCapper]

Hi,
trying to methodically sort the various problems - I at lasy hve a charged battery, but am now agonising over why my front right tyre ate the wheel arch at the weekend. The tyre has also been rubbing on the front inside of the arch - ie the bulkheady-bit., not just the external 'flair' of the arch...

there is a bit of history with this arch, as it's the side that got rebuilt after it got dinged... however, the bodyshop (who did a first class job) swear it's nothing to do with them, pointing to the rubbing on the inside of the arch (original not rebuilt) and saying that my geomatory is wrong.

They claim that the tyres are also prob wrong - that I should be on 70s not 80s... is this the case? I've been on 80s for 3 years with no problems. In fact, the problems started when I bought new wheels from Matty - but the same size, and with the EXACT same tyres that I'd taken off the old rims.

Yes, I also had the front suspension rebuilt, with new shocks and springs, but haven't put it any lower than it was originally yet.

Very confused and still losing the will to live. Yes Mark, would love that sensible car to, but the elan continues to drink all my money...

[Elanintheforest]

Rob..some real basics. Does the problem transfer to the other side if you swap front wheels over? Is that right hand wheel sitting correctly on the hub? Does the wheel rub when turning left AND turning right? In the accident, did the wheel / suspension take any impact, or was it just body damage? Has the car been jacked up on the wishbones?

I can't see it as the tyres being wrong otherwise both sides would be rubbing.

If the problem swaps sides then it's obviously the wheel. Otherwise it's something to do with the suspension on that side or the stop on the steering rack. It's very easy to bend a wishbone and even the chassis / mounting pin with a seemingly small impact...I clipped a kerb at slow parking speed in my S3, which had just had a new chassis fitted, and that bent the suspension and the chassis. The result was extra negative camber on the damaged side and the tyre taking a chunk out of the wheel arch on full lock.

Take a look at the car from the front...is it sitting square, and do both wheels look to be at the same sort of camber angle? It's pretty obvious when it's bent! Does the car track straight (hands off wheel when going along).

If that lot all checks out, and all the bushes in the wishbones are good and there is no undue movement in the front suspension (back to front) then you need to get it checked out professionally. It's probably something small, but something has changed somewhere in the setup which could potentially be dangerous.
Mark

[Rob_LaMoreaux]

Another thing to check that I didn't expect is the inner bushings shifting. I bought new bushings when I restored my car, and the didn't have the inward turn on the outer shells, so they shifted causing the lower links to move forward and messing up the geometry. I bought some correct bushings and it is much better.

Also check the rest of the dimensions of the chassis and control arms in case that is the problem.

Rob