SoLows and Duchy Banded Amaroks !RUBBING!

[Niall.b]

My solution is whip off the current tyres, whack on some 215/40 all round. Jack it up, wind the Solows right down, drop the jack and stand back and admire...

Yeahhhhhhh boy.

View attachment 136919

Or you could just be sensible and follow the above advice

Brilliant!!!

 

[F2JON]

When you were running the amaroks you had an 8" front so not sure its comparable. Loads of peeps on here have 255/45 on a 8.5.. so it could be the falkens are odd..

I had the same size tyres I can’t see half an inch affecting the tyre width that much?? As tourershine said it’s just plastic

 

[T6ARF]

@dErZ your van may not look low to you, but any van running Solow is towards the extreme end of lowering. With a 255/45 18 it’s no surprise to me that the fronts are rubbing. It’s already been said, but these vans were never intended to run at the ride height that us Solow users run them and there are always compromises. I have a few observations of your van.

1. You have some adjustment left on the front, maybe 5mm, so you could raise it a little if you wanted to.

2. I think you’ll still get rubbing if you did go up that 5mm. The rubbing you’re getting isn’t going to be solved with a 5mm ride height raise.

3. A heat gun and some moulding of the liner might help, but there’s one spot that it definitely won’t. There’s a shoulder in the liner towards the outside in about the 2 o’clock position passenger side and 10 o’clock position drivers side and you look to be getting a rub here too. This is because there’s a metal edge behind it, so you can only solve this by cutting this metal away, something that is sometimes done on vans running air to enable the really big drops.

4. Those FK510s do look wide on the fronts. They’re a great tyre, I’m a big fan and use them myself (in a different size), but they do look wide. A cheap budget tyre with less rim protection might help reduce the rub, they are typically narrower size for size.

5. I always explain to Solow customers that rubbing can be a problem, even at full height, especially when running load rated tyres. This is one of the compromises when choosing this suspension.

6. No two vans are the same, well, not exactly the same, and as such it’s really hard to make comparisons from van to van. Manual vs DSG, 4 motion vs 2wd, kombi/PV/Caravelle/any other variant, the owner’s regular load and other variables can make a difference between a rub or no rub at solow drops. Some vans will be OK at your ride height with that size tyre, some won’t.

7. A smaller tyre without the required load rating will help stop the rubbing, but is that a route you want to go down?

I run Solows at 125mm down on my own van and I’ve made a few compromises and mods to get there, but I still get rubbing. My arch liners have got more holes in than a Swiss cheese and my under engine tray is a mess, but it’s my personal choice to run that low and I accept it.

Solows aren’t something I recommend to anyone else without first discussing the associated issues and compromises that they would/might have to make.

As a summary from all of that, you might just have to accept that rubbing if you want to run that wheel+tyre+suspension combination.

Spot on Chris…. great post!

 

[T6ARF]

I know you’ve obviously just invested in new tyres, but maybe your best (cheapest) option at this stage would be to change your front tyres to something not so wide?

Falken Azenis FK510 SUV
225/50 R18 W (99)​

 

[JOG]

@dErZ your van may not look low to you, but any van running Solow is towards the extreme end of lowering. With a 255/45 18 it’s no surprise to me that the fronts are rubbing. It’s already been said, but these vans were never intended to run at the ride height that us Solow users run them and there are always compromises. I have a few observations of your van.

1. You have some adjustment left on the front, maybe 5mm, so you could raise it a little if you wanted to.

2. I think you’ll still get rubbing if you did go up that 5mm. The rubbing you’re getting isn’t going to be solved with a 5mm ride height raise.

3. A heat gun and some moulding of the liner might help, but there’s one spot that it definitely won’t. There’s a shoulder in the liner towards the outside in about the 2 o’clock position passenger side and 10 o’clock position drivers side and you look to be getting a rub here too. This is because there’s a metal edge behind it, so you can only solve this by cutting this metal away, something that is sometimes done on vans running air to enable the really big drops.

4. Those FK510s do look wide on the fronts. They’re a great tyre, I’m a big fan and use them myself (in a different size), but they do look wide. A cheap budget tyre with less rim protection might help reduce the rub, they are typically narrower size for size.

5. I always explain to Solow customers that rubbing can be a problem, even at full height, especially when running load rated tyres. This is one of the compromises when choosing this suspension.

6. No two vans are the same, well, not exactly the same, and as such it’s really hard to make comparisons from van to van. Manual vs DSG, 4 motion vs 2wd, kombi/PV/Caravelle/any other variant, the owner’s regular load and other variables can make a difference between a rub or no rub at solow drops. Some vans will be OK at your ride height with that size tyre, some won’t.

7. A smaller tyre without the required load rating will help stop the rubbing, but is that a route you want to go down?

I run Solows at 125mm down on my own van and I’ve made a few compromises and mods to get there, but I still get rubbing. My arch liners have got more holes in than a Swiss cheese and my under engine tray is a mess, but it’s my personal choice to run that low and I accept it.

Solows aren’t something I recommend to anyone else without first discussing the associated issues and compromises that they would/might have to make.

As a summary from all of that, you might just have to accept that rubbing if you want to run that wheel+tyre+suspension combination.

Informative post - thanks Chris

 

[dErZ]

So wound the passenger side up easily but the drivers side wouldn't budge so had to take to a garage. Still rubbing on the drivers side so have whipped the arch liner out as a test...

 

[Insert Coin]

I didn’t get any rubbing on 265/40/20 Pirelli Verde All Seasons, but when I went to Goodyear F1’s in that size they rubbed badly and I had to get the inner arches heat treated and moved. So there’s definitely some size/profile differences on outer edges of different brands of tyres.

 

[Wilmur]

So strange, I'm on Solows 5mm down and feel I could way more. 9s front and 235 50s. No rubbing

 

[dErZ]

I'm just waiting on a second jack and then I'm going to try the 9"r on the front, that bit of stretch might help

 

[dErZ]

So driving with no arch liner in there was no rubbing, I checked the tyre and underside to see if it had kissed but couldnt see any obvious marks. At least it wasnt fouling on the wheel arch

Would fitting the H&R anti roll bars help ?

 

[Wilmur]

I would say only if its rubbing whilst going round bends at speed. If the arch liner is removed try heating it up and moulding the rubbing part back abit.

 

[CRS Performance]

So driving with no arch liner in there was no rubbing, I checked the tyre and underside to see if it had kissed but couldnt see any obvious marks. At least it wasnt fouling on the wheel arch

Would fitting the H&R anti roll bars help ?

If you fit ARB you must add some adjustable drop links because with the kit you are running the ARB bracket for the drop link isnt in the right place and due to the excessive drop the anti Roll bars wont be working at full strength .

I would suggest fitting the adjustable drop links first actually , because the ARB s might be better once they are set up properly saving potentially £400.00
Otherwise fit H & R ARB s and adjustable drop links , sure to be better

 

[DWS]

@dErZ christ you’re having fun with these aren’t you!

Just caught up on the thread, I’ve already said via text, I’m running SoLows max height, that running 2 separate tyres and widths what I’ve come across, 9” wide with pretty worn out Falken Eurowinters 255/45 I had slight rub on the arch liner, but not when turning the wheel whilst stationary, it was very slight on bouncy road or certain cambered roads, it was nothing that ever bothered me as it barely even marked the liner.

I’ve since changed purely because I prefer the 8.5” on the front, still with 255/45’s but Bridgestone weather control A005 evo’s …. Still in my opinion a chunky tyre, no rub what so ever, not once in 18k or so miles.

Sounds like a right ball ache, most would have binned them off by now and gone for a different wheel set up!

 

[dErZ]

So my modded arch is better but theres still a bit of a rub when going too fast over a speed bump or cornering to the left a bit too vigorously.

Went for a burn tonight and met these guys

 

[dErZ]

Can anyone advise how level the front needs to be before getting the tracking redone? I had both shocks set to full height but the drivers side was 10mm lower. So have now lowered the passenger side and the different is 5mm. How close does it need to be?

OSF 352
NSF 356
OSR 361
NSR 362

 

[T6ARF]

Can anyone advise how level the front needs to be before getting the tracking redone? I had both shocks set to full height but the drivers side was 10mm lower. So have now lowered the passenger side and the different is 5mm. How close does it need to be?

OSF 352
NSF 356
OSR 361
NSR 362

@CRS Performance ?

 

[CRS Performance]

@CRS Performance ?

Unfortunately this van is way too low T6 Arf , As most people know we aren't fans and don't sell stuff like this . I cant see why one side would sit differently unless there is an issue with a spring , Or all the weight in side is over one side of the van ?? increasing weight in one corner actually dispurses over the whole van and not just the corner where it is .. so this is odd .

 

[T6ARF]

Unfortunately this van is way too low T6 Arf , As most people know we aren't fans and don't sell stuff like this . I cant see why one side would sit differently unless there is an issue with a spring , Or all the weight in side is over one side of the van ?? increasing weight in one corner actually dispurses over the whole van and not just the corner where it is .. so this is odd .

Thanks Steve…. I know you’re not a fan of this particular suspension setup, but I knew you’d have some insight into the problem @dErZ is talking/asking about.

 

[Doulsy]

Can anyone advise how level the front needs to be before getting the tracking redone? I had both shocks set to full height but the drivers side was 10mm lower. So have now lowered the passenger side and the different is 5mm. How close does it need to be?

OSF 352
NSF 356
OSR 361
NSR 362

how do you measure it acurately?

 

[The Bear78]

The only way that doesn't need to take wheel and tyre size into account is from the centre of the wheel. The measurement is typically from the wheel centre to the edge of the arch, directly above. A tape measure should be accurate enough.