Zen Alloy issue

Hi I have a 2006 Zen LXI and I recently upgraded to alloys 13 inches alloys with 165/70 apollo tryres, the concern is with 3 people in the rear seat the tyre  touches the innerwells (Rear fender). To avoid this I used 1 inch aluminum spacers, but the handling is compromised. I want to remove the spacers, please advice on what steps I can take to avoid the wheel scraping the innerwells

Post is edited to change the font size for better readability.

Stock tyres for zen are 145/70/R13.  You chose 165/70/R13.  165-145 = 20 mm difference in tread width.

70 in the tyre spec is the sidewall height as a percentage of tread width. So sidewall height difference = 14 mm

The new tyre is twice that difference taller - = 28 mm = ~1.1" taller. There you are...  Now the tyre rubs innerwalls!!

What you should have done, is going in for squatter tyres ... if it were 165/65/R13, you would have ended up with tyres about 0.45" lower than original tyres.

If its not too late, swap your tyres for the squatter tyres. If it is, try for stiffer springs in your suspension. All the Best! And... Welcome to CW forum!!

PS: Maybe only one sidewall difference should be considered, rather than two. But still you will get about 0.75" difference in the distance-to-sidewall with /65 instead of /70.

Well explained Krishna-good!

There is another aspect also-that of 'offset'

-as alloys had been installed the offset from the stock wheels would have changed-the present one must be having quite a bit of posetive offset-so that is another thing to look into.

Hey Jaggikashid, this should help.

Hey Jaggi,

Yeah, your problem could actually be out of Binoy's explanation, rather than mine... you said the tyre rubs the fender, and not the top surface of the wheel well...

When you load your car, the curvey portion of the wheel well rubs against the corner of the tyre, it is not drum-brake like contact at the top of the wheel well.. Right?

Then choosing an alloy with correct offset would solve the issue. However, if the distance from tyre top to the wheel well is also very low, you could also get the other 'drum brake style' tread rubbing problem.

Check it out...

Thank you all for the reply.

Its been more than 2 months that I got the tires..so not sure if the shopkeeper will agree for a 65mm swap....I live in Bangalore...when I contacted Pratham motors and asked them if they can replace the existing springs with stiffen springs ...they said it cannot be done...not sure where I can get it done and from where I should purchase those springs...wht may be the approximate cost?

Also I have been having lot of nosie/Vibrations...especially the dash board area....last time around they changed the Suspension bush (I guess) it was 2 big rounded rubber bush not really sure what the name was....but when i still  travel on rough roads ...there is lot of noise inside...not sure what is causing the noise....the noise actually drives me nuts...please help

Tyre properties can make them quiet/noisy - depends on the tread as well as compound. When I bought my Michelin Energy XM1, there was another guy who too was tyre-shopping. I chose mine, and asked him why he wouldn't choose the same - He said, agreed, fuel efficiency with these tyres is great, but so is NVH - Noise Vibration Harshness. So that is one point. But as the tyres are two months old, nothing can be done about it.

Check, with some other puncture shop / air filling station other than your usual pump. It may be that your tyres have excessive air pressure. This can also cause NVH.

If both of the above points are ok... then it could be bearings, as you say bushes are alreay changed.

Thanks Krishna...do you know any good mechanic / work shop in Banglore whom I can approach..

I checked with my friend he has 155/65/13 and for him too the the top arch of innerwell touches when there is load at the rear...he too like me as gone for 1 inch spacers....

Please let me know where I can get the springs...and who can fix it for me...as authorized dealeers don't do modifications....

I read your initial post again, carefully.. Now I know what exactly is happening. Sadly, the situation is worse than suspected...the height is only marginally responsible to our woes...

The tyre's INNER  edge is scraping the INNER side of the wheel well...

This is a NEGATIVE offset, because alloys are mosty designs with NEGATIVE offset... Also the tyre is fatter, exacerbating the problem...This is corrected for the time being with 1" spacers... With load the tyre moves up and INSIDE in the wheel well because the suspension arm holding the wheel pivots up with load...

Thr issue will not get solved without swapping the ALLOYS with those having a near 0 offset. Catch hold of the guy who got you these alloys fitted. He should have known the problem... Selling whatever could be sold without considering any possible harm to the customer is pretty bad business ethics. Maybe on request he will swap the alloys...

What do you say... ye seniors of the forum...?

PS: The spacers were the clue for concluding that the offset is negative. No spacer could possibly correct a positive offset.

Krishna...as suggested I called my tyre dealer to see if I can get a swap...actually I just checked the bill ....the tyres I have is 155/70/R13 and the alloys is league...sorry for the confusion ...if a tyre swap is an option...please suggest what I size and make I should go for....