Club 80-90 Forums

I've got mercedes 7.5j 16" alloys with a 42ET on the van with 10mm spacers on the front and 20mm on the back however the fronts are just slightly rubbing on one side of the upper control arm as I can see a shiny mark all around the inside tyre wall.

The tyres I have on are 225/55/16 and I'm going to replace the tyres so they have the correct rating this week (currently 95)

Can I use a different tyre on the rims like a 215/60/16, and would this stop the slight rubbing?

yes as that would be bringing it back to (almost) standard diameter

the current 225/55/16 are bob on standard diameter but possibly slightly too wide hence the rubbing

What difference, if any, would I notice with 215's?

In theory at least.....225's are 225mm wide whilst 215's are 215mm wide so you would summize that the slightly narrower tyre would be 5mm slimmer each side.
Problem is the aspect ratio (how tall the tyre is in relationship to the width, expressed as a percentage) at just over 5mm taller the 215, again 'in theory' there will be more tyre wall flexing so if you ask me if this will fix your problem I would say it's anyones guess! but probably.

Martin

Could it be that the van geometry is out?

The tyres hae even wear but the tyre does seem to rub just on one side of the upper control arm which indicates that the wheels turn slightly more one way than the other

Well that's a possibility as I'm not entirely sure where it;s touching.
More travel one way than the other is usually an indication that the rack wasn't centralised when fitted and one track rod is screwed on more threads than the other.

Martin

I have exactly the same tyre alloy combo on mine, the 215s are fine mate with the spacer