Tires hitting fender on freeway - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ps2cho · #1 06-21-2009, 08:34 PM

On my 87 260E when I hit a bump on the freeway the tires are hitting the fender at the back (front only). It "looks" as if the wheel sits too far back in the arch. The tires are only 205/55/16 so they are nowhere near too big.

I won't be driving it on the freeway any more because I feel unsafe as its a very loud scraping sound when it hits a dip in the road.

Any ideas what the potential problem could be?

Ivanerrol · #2 06-21-2009, 09:59 PM

You may have the wrong offset on those wheels you have.

Are you sure they are for a W124 and not a W126?

cliffmac · #3 06-21-2009, 10:07 PM

yeah, I have a couple of ideas...

G-Benz · #4 06-22-2009, 12:55 PM

Hard to say if the tires are too big or not. I believe for a 55-series, 195 should have been the correct profile to prevent what you have occurring with 16-inch rims.

I feel your pain. My W124 was eating 40-series tires (17" rims) at the rate of one set per 9-15 months! If I went to a 45-series tire, freeway dips always caused the scraping you describe. I now run a thicker tread on a 40-series tire, and also have this scraping issue...

Unfortunately, the sun isn't shining directly on the fender lip, or you could see the paint missing on the inner rear lip where the tire always contacts under those conditions...but the point of contact is somewhere between the 3 and 4 o'clock position...

david s poole · #5 06-22-2009, 02:46 PM

you may have worn bushings on the lower control arm.have someone drive car while you take a position to the side and parallel with front wheel then have them stomp on brake and see if wheel moves backwards within wheelarch.

ps2cho · #6 06-22-2009, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david s poole

you may have worn bushings on the lower control arm.have someone drive car while you take a position to the side and parallel with front wheel then have them stomp on brake and see if wheel moves backwards within wheelarch.

I'll have to check that thanks

I never had any problems with them when they were on my 300TE...Weird

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivanerrol

You may have the wrong offset on those wheels you have.

Are you sure they are for a W124 and not a W126?

They are w124. ET35.

dtrain · #7 06-22-2009, 03:39 PM

my 89 420 sel did that and I found that the guide rod retaining nut had sheared off (where you make the adjustment for alignment) and the rod moved to the point that the tire began hitting. I don't know how your suspension is set up on the w124 but it would seem like it should be similar.

ps2cho · #8 06-24-2009, 08:27 PM

I had someone watch and the control arms are fine. The wheel does not seem to move back in the arch...

After some careful looking, it looks to me like the wheel is hitting the top of the wheel arch. I don't see any tire remnants, but I do see a faint "groove" which I am almost certain is the tread pattern of my tire. This has to have been when I hit metal gratings on the freeway going downhill at 75MPH. It was a horrifically loud skid and after that I vowed not to go freeway with this car again until I figure this out.

Is it safe to assume that my front shocks are toast? I guess that would also explain why my front bumper hits when going over speedbumps at faster speeds. My wagon would never hit so I thought it was strange.

---

If it is my shocks, should I stick with OEM? I don't feel like dropping this car quite yet, and I couldn't do H&R's on the front only, I'd have to do both front and rear, right?

teezer · #9 06-24-2009, 08:40 PM

i'd measure your wheelbase side to side to make sure there's nothing bent

if they measure close enough might tweak the caster, as that's what centers the wheel in the opening, providing the fenders are on correctly

bsmuwk · #10 06-24-2009, 11:40 PM

You have the wrong tire size. If you have 16 in wheels, they should be 205/50/16. The width of the tire is fine (205).

You're off on your speedo at 60mph with 55 height tires. There's nothing wrong with the tire size except that they're too tall, that's what's causing the scraping. It's either that or some suspension components that have never been changed are starting to show that they're tiring.

ARINUTS · #11 06-24-2009, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ps2cho

They are w124. ET35.

The offset means nothing without knowing the width of the wheel. Sounds like the wheel offset is not enough depending on the width of the the wheel OR the wheel is too wide depending on the offset.

Also, you might want to consider rolling your fenders.

On time I had a vehicle with proper wheels and tires and this still happened, I had the fenders rolled and I never had an issue again. there is a device that bolts to the hub instead of the wheel and has a perpendicular urethane wheel that rolls along the inside of the fender where there is a lip and makes the angle of the lip more vs. the wheel. this way the wheel wont pull the lip down.

neanderthal · #12 06-25-2009, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsmuwk

You have the wrong tire size. If you have 16 in wheels, they should be 205/50/16. The width of the tire is fine (205).

Incorrect.

205/55-16 is the correct Plus One size for a 195/65-15.

jcyuhn · #13 06-25-2009, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dtrain

my 89 420 sel did that and I found that the guide rod retaining nut had sheared off (where you make the adjustment for alignment) and the rod moved to the point that the tire began hitting. I don't know how your suspension is set up on the w124 but it would seem like it should be similar.

Completely different front suspension design on the 124, no guide rod is used.