Installed new 17x7 wheels with 235/45/17 in rear (225 in front) today. Everything looks good except the clearance between the top inside crown of the tire and the bottom of the strut spring. Clearance is right at 1/4". I have driven for a few short rides, and over several speed bumps, and heard no rubbing and the tires show no damage on the inside crown. Is 1/4" enough clearance? Does the gap between the tire and the strut remain constant, meaning when you go over bumps the spring and shock compress and move upward? I will pull the rear tires off in a few days to put eyes on the inside of the tires. I plan on doing coilovers soon which should give more space. Just wondering if there is any issue with the gap I have currently. See Pics

The wheel/tire and bottom of strut move up and down as one. Should be fine.

Hub bearings are make to have a little wheel play...
That and tire moving sideways while turning might make tire to hit the strut w/ low clearance.

Tires move sideways on bottom you can see easy but other areas move too.

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If all is in working order it should not be a problem.

Have to disagree. I tore two tires up on one of my race cars with double the clearance you have. If you corner hard, the tire rubber moves more than you'd ever think and when it touches the immovable suspension bits it can rip the sidewall out of the tire (or with lighter contact just wears a hole through the sidewall).

The tires can flex more than you'd think - better to have more clearance than to find out the first time you decide to corner really hard that what you have isn't enough.

If the car is just a cruiser, then it probably won't be an issue. But in hard cornering, there may be some interference.

quote Originally posted by BillS: If you corner hard, the tire rubber moves more than you'd ever think and when it touches the immovable suspension bits it can rip the sidewall out of the tire (or with lighter contact just wears a hole through the sidewall).

Are we interpreting the image and info supplied above differently? Looks to me like there is no issue with the sidewall whatsoever. What's it possibly going to rub on?

quote Originally posted by Mct2green: ...the clearance between the top inside crown of the tire and the bottom of the strut spring. Clearance is right at 1/4".

I would have to agree with Patrick on this. From the angle of the picture it looks as the shock/spring are above the tire by a 1/4 of an inch. How would the sidewall hit this under hard corning? Maybe the tire will flex out some at speed but don't think it will be anything to worry about.