I have recently switched to a Michellin pilot sport AS plus and have had some significant rubbing in the rear. I want these tires to work because they have a 500 tread wear rating as opposed to the ****ty 300 or 280 rating of the tires that the rest of us use ( toyo, nitto, falken, Kumho, hankook). I have had some luck with manually filing the fender lip down with a large metal file. I actaully got some metal snips and trimmed some of the lip as well. Its going well but its a slow process. I am willing to do what ever is neede to make it work even if it means filling by hand. I dont want to go straight to rolling the fenders because #1 everyone I ask says they will not do it, and #2 I am very concerned about the paint chipping.


What tools do you guys use for the rear fender lip trimming????? Is it possible to take it to a body shop to let them shave the fenders down??? I dont care if they charge me a couple hundred dollars. I just want it to fit. I will go back to the Falkens if I have to but i am going to kick and scream all the way

 

call jin at kyoei usa. he is in tempe and has rolled most az members fenders.

 

Drive to SoCal and I'll do it for you for a couple hundred dollars.

 

Thanks so very much for your help. I will call them tomorrow and set up an appointment. I am so desperate to get these pilot sport AS plus tires to work.


Thanks again man. I look forward to meeting you at one of the AZ meets. You are the man

 

If I was going to LA I would pay you to do it. The money is not the issue, the insane tire wear and rubbing is. I just think if I can get this thing sorted I will be able to have my cake and eat it too. I just cant believe after 7 years of dropped cars and tires every 9 months I actually found a tire in my 245/30/20 that has a 500 tread wear rating

 

what did you expect when you drop on coilovers when there are no camber kits available? you are bound to get uneven tire wear. as they say, you have to pay to play. and even though you found a new tire with a 500 thread wear rating, it's only going to last around 18-20 months before you get new ones. imho, if tire wear is a big concern for you, raise your car up a bit to reduce negative camber.

 

I8, why does falken not rub and the a/s+ does? same size?

 

The section width on some brands run a bit wider. The front run .16" wider than the Falken 245/30 and the rear 275/30 run .44" wider with the Pilot sport. I am going to make an appointment for this monday at Kyoei to have them shave the fenders.

 

I am used to replacing the tires every 9 months but its the 4-5 month visit to flip the tires for maximum wear and the 2 visits after that to get the tires balanced perfectly that drive me crazy. Then a month or two after that its time for new tires and the cycle starts again. I just want to extend the replacement intervals. My time is valuable and I would like to actually relax on my days off.


I tried to raise the car to get the old 255/30/20's in the front to fit but the car looked like ***. I dropped it again and went to the Michelin as a happy medium but have now created issues with the rear rubbing. I have tried to raise it up with a lower tread wear rating but wasn't happy with the look so I figured that if I cant raise it to increase wear then I am going to slam it and go with a higher tread rated tire

 

I believe it has to do with the side walls. Some tires have a squared off side wall (nitto, etc) while tires like falkens are more round.


I'm planning to do my rears once I get coilovers and install them anticipating the next set of wheels. Might as well get it done while I'm switching out stuff. I usually go with a grinder and start from the side towards the center and move my way out. the fronts will be rolled.

 

I shaved down about half of the fender lip near the rear but am wondering if I should just leave it alone and wait until monday and let a shop do it. I would rather to have the fenders shaved than rolled because I dont want cracked paint or waves in the fender. I know the shop will say that they know what they are doing and to not worry about a thing.... until they crack the paint and you get into a battle over who is going to pay for the body work

 

that's why i have always said one needs to be very careful on tire brand and model as well when choosing a setup. having a same size is nothing more than a ballpark, it can be night and day in terms of rubbing and clerance

brands like michelin, bridgestone, etc... they have very meaty / fatty tires, or as ek9vboi put it, squarish.

on the other hand, brands like toyo or dunlop, they are usually on the narrower side. the difference can be up to around 1/2" and that becomes a huge deal on clearance when your wheel setup is close to the boundary.

that's why i always say wheel setup is such an art rather than just a formula. there are so many factors going into how fitment is, down to the brand, model, and size of tires

 

couple hundred dollars? come on chris, don't be greedy. i will do it for 10 bucks less than your price j/k

a lot of places will claim they can do a good job, but from my experience a lot of times it's about if they know what to do and how much to do. for sure rolling is never a term by my book, and even for shaving has to be careful otherwise the sharp shaved fenders will cut through tires even faster (and rust)

 

when I got the wheels the shop told me to stick with the Falkens but I want to reach that dream 500 tread wear rating. The Michellins look much nicer to me than the Falkens because the rear doesnt look so stretched. I feel like the wheels look more aggressively fit with these tires. If the VIP guys can shave and trim fenders I can as well I guess. I never wanted to trim fenders on a car like this but when in Rome do as the Romans do. Club Lexus will tend to have that effect on members. You start off conservative and really not wanting to mod your car. Give it a year and you will be slammed on coilovers, sway bars, and exhaust at minimum. LOL.

My offsets are not so aggressive so the clearance required is a matter of a few mm. Its a tight rope, but I will make this tire work for me. Better looks aesthetically and 167% of the tread life. I am all over it

 

Wait till the next set of wheels that go on my car I8AMBR, you will be surprised.