Wheel rub - shock advice?

[FrozenCaveman]

Hi,

I'm hoping I can get some opinions on a solution to a problem that, with the state of most of California's freeway system, is getting worse...

I have a set of Centerline Mojave 16" rims on my '70 Camaro, tires are 50 series 245's, I think - same all the way around. OEM shocks (can't remember the brand at the moment, probably Monroe). New coils. Original leaf springs in the back.

Anyway, anytime I hit a substantial bump in the road, I get some pretty serious wheel rub in the front. Infrequently, it happens in the back as well. Rather than blow out my tires, can someone suggest a good set of shocks for the following preferences based on my own experience:

A) I don't race the car and don't need super handling.
B) I have Bilsteins on a '68 w/fiberglass rear springs and found them to be really bouncy - stiff, but ricer bouncy at freeway speed.
C) I had Konis on the same '68 above and until I put the fiberglass springs in, they were great, then became too wallowing - switched to Bilsteins based on the manufacturer's recommendations.

I've been reading about Edelbrock IAS shocks, and they seem like they might be a good fit. I'd be willing to give the other shocks a fair shake, too. The '70 is much heavier than my '68, so my experience will probably be different.

But basically I want to limit the big dives that my front end is taking on the road, yet remain relatively comfortable to drive.

Thanks for your input,

John

[RedDragon]

First off, do you get wheel rub on just one side or is it rubbing both? Second, what coils do you have and are you running a big or small block? Third, did you heat/cut your springs to lower it?

If you're getting pretty bad rub then it could be a number of things and might have to do with the springs. If it's not that bad and only does it when you hit really hard bumps then it might just be you're shocks. I personally perfer QA1 shocks but it all depends on your set up and how much you want to spend.

[GRSCAMARO]

In general, your springs control ride height and travel after hitting a bump. The shocks control how fast or slow the car returns to normal position. I installed Hotchis 2" lowering springs on the front of my 69 and had trouble with tires rubbing backing out of the driveway. I needed new tires so I went with a narrower and smaller dia. The rubbing problem went away. When I bought the car the rear shocks were new but the springs with original. The stance looked OK but the springs were very weak. The rear tires rubbed the inner wheel well if you looked at the car wrong!

You may only need to replace the rear springs to solve your problem.

[FrozenCaveman]

Originally Posted by RedDragon

First off, do you get wheel rub on just one side or is it rubbing both? Second, what coils do you have and are you running a big or small block? Third, did you heat/cut your springs to lower it?

If you're getting pretty bad rub then it could be a number of things and might have to do with the springs. If it's not that bad and only does it when you hit really hard bumps then it might just be you're shocks. I personally perfer QA1 shocks but it all depends on your set up and how much you want to spend.

It rubs on the front passenger tire for the moderately bad freeway drops, but can occasionally rub on the front driver side as well if it's a really bad drop. The back rubs fairly infrequently - I think just the passenger side if it's a bad drop. Rubs a bunch more if I have a passenger, like even on left hand turns.

I bought stock coils to replace the originals, and didn't cut/heat the springs. It's a 350 small block - originally had A/C, but I haven't reinstalled the compressor, condenser, or dryer yet.

It doesn't constantly rub, it's just on the occasion that I hit a bad spot in the road, say a 1"+ drop coming off a bridge. But I cringe every time it happens.

I'm OK spending the money on the shocks, just would like to feel good that I'm fixing the problem before I spend the money.

Thanks!

-JP

[FrozenCaveman]

Originally Posted by GRSCAMARO

In general, your springs control ride height and travel after hitting a bump. The shocks control how fast or slow the car returns to normal position. I installed Hotchis 2" lowering springs on the front of my 69 and had trouble with tires rubbing backing out of the driveway. I needed new tires so I went with a narrower and smaller dia. The rubbing problem went away. When I bought the car the rear shocks were new but the springs with original. The stance looked OK but the springs were very weak. The rear tires rubbed the inner wheel well if you looked at the car wrong!

You may only need to replace the rear springs to solve your problem.

I guess the question comes down to this: could the bounce in the front be caused by weak rear springs? And like I mentioned in my reply to RedDragon, the front passenger tire rubs on left-hand 90 degree turns if I take them at more than a casual 10-15 mph with a passenger. Without a passenger, I have to take it quite a bit faster to get it to rub.

These tires are pretty new, so I'd hate to A) replace them already or B) ruin them from prolonged rubbing.

Thanks,

JP

[RedDragon]

I guess the question comes down to this: could the bounce in the front be caused by weak rear springs?

The answer in your case is no, one doesn’t have too much to do with the other as far as rubbing. If your shocks are the original it probably wouldn’t hurt to change them out. If that doesn’t work there could be a bunch of different things that’s going on cause this issue. Here is a check list rundown…

Park on the flattest area you can find, measure the distance from top of tire to bottom of finder on both sides. Is there a noticeable difference (lean)?
Are the upper and lower ball joints still good?
When installing the coils, did you get them seated right?
If everything comes back okay then you probably need to go to a smaller tire in the front. Just looking at the 245/50/16 the section is 9.64 inches and the height is 25.64 inches. Those are awfully big to put on the front.

I had a lot of issues with my front suspension as well. I’ll be ripping it apart at the end of the month when I get the new upper and lower control arms in.

[FrozenCaveman]

RedDragon - cool, thanks for the suggestions. I just have to hope the coils were seated correctly because I paid a shop to do it. I replaced the coils in a Toyota once and the spring compressor gave me the heebie-jeebies.

There's a little bit of warpage to the passenger wheel wheel. I think it was hammered out, but the damage was to the lower section of it, not where I think the rub was occurring. This weekend I'll see if I can get a better clue as to what's going on, measuring the height on each side.

I really appreciate the comments and ideas, thanks.

-JP

[RedDragon]

Hey no problem, it’s always good to get some ideas thrown out there. When I changed out my coils, I used the compressor and double wrapped it in chains. Probably the most nerve racking thing I’ve worked on.