Is this possible? I put wider wheels and tires on my car last week, 16x7.5, 205/55/16, and during the alignment we noticed that the drivers side wheel protruded further out from the fender than the passenger side.


Passenger side:



Drivers side:




A quick look at the subframe, and it appears to be centered. Camber and toe came out perfectly, -1.5deg on both sides, toe was even side to side as well.

Pretty stumped.

 

More likely that the panels and or wheel arch trim are not straight rather than the subframe.

The other obvious thing is spacers. You haven't left a spacer on the hub or the wheel by mistake?

 

Were the wheels/tires new? Are they all the same offset?

 

I purchased the wheels used, had them refinished and painted.

I never thought that one of the 4 could be a different offset. I guess Ill go back and check. They should be +43.


I have the fender a slight pull this morning, no way that it could be manipulated easily to clear.

 

My car is like this also. Could it be the subframe causing the issue? I've had mine off from a rear sway bar upgrade. Maybe it was shifted to one side on the bolt hole clearance.

 

my old gti had this issue. rear driver side tire stuck out 1/16 of an inch and rear passenger side was in 1/16 of an inch. I found it extremely frustrating that my tires were 1/8 of an inch off. this might sound trivial but when you are going for a flush look it was defintely noticeable.

 

It seems odd to have the alignment of the rear cradle out that much. I would just put a spacer (5mm?) on one wheel to make them look even.

The expensive option is to get 2 sets of adjustable RCA's and use that to adjust the track width. You can use the toe adjustment at the frame to bring the wheel in or out, then balance the alignment with the RCA's.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Is there a mystery adjustment in the upper LCA that no one knows about?

 

I thought about that. If it really comes to it. That one wheel rubs on really hard bumps.

 

Just to be sure, swap wheels left to right to confirm that the issue is not related to the wheels. I would expect that the wheels are accurate, but it would be good to eliminate this possibility.

No adjustment in either factory control arm (upper or lower). I've never played with the toe adjustment, but you can probably look at them to confirm that there is adjustment to bring the offending wheel inboard.

There is also the possibility of loosening the subframe bolts and trying to move the subframe the way that you want. Just trying to think of all the options for you....

Good luck,
Mike

 

I dont think the wheels are a different offset. Havent officially taken the wheel off and looked at the stamp. But, looking at my wheel studs, there are the same amount of threads showing and the "dish" of each wheel seems equal.

Just non-scientific observation.

 

I would agree that there is little chance of the wheels being different or wrong from one to another. Just trying to think of all the potential causes.

Good luck,
Mike

 

More likely that the plastic has warped a bit making it appear that one is protruding more than the other. The only way you'll know for sure is to determine the exact center of the car and measure the track based on the relationship to the center line. if the car is properly aligned and is tracking correctly, I'd look at the body first before I'd try offsetting anything.