Help me LOWER! Machining offset up?

[akoehler]

I want to take my perches out in back again but to do that I'll have to stretch more.. and that's the problem. I don't want to stretch more. The fronts are 205/45s on 17x8.5s and rears are 235/40s on 17x10s. I drive the car pretty spiritedly so I don't want to lose anymore grip patch on the front or back.

When the perches are out, I rub, but only on one side, since my passenger side wheels are just a few millimeters farther out than the drivers side wheels.

My question is, have any of you heard of machining down the mounting surface of a wheel to raise the offset by just a millimeter or two? But also, am I only not rubbing the drivers side because the passenger side is stopping the body from dipping lower before it touches? If that's the case then I'll only be rubbing more on both sides.

This is more of a brainstorm sesh than an outright question.. I'm just not happy with my stance in back right now.

Anyways here is how it sits now.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4082805034_82b225c076_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3535/4082805108_b4fa2c5eeb_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2530/4082805322_d8f16ff360_b.jpg


Driver's side (With Perches IN):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2555/4082805240_7c9c553e2b_b.jpg


Passenger's side (With Perches IN):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2710/4082076389_ed522b792e_b.jpg

Thanks!

[Presns3]

yeah, its definitely possible to machine down the hubs to raise the offset a bit

[1badg35]

get a machine shop that has a good reputation to tell you how much they can machine off. some wheels allow for quite a lot to be shaved off the inner mounting pad, and some are not worth doing as they will only allow for a mm or two. are those the three or one piece wheel?

[LuckyBoyOne3]

totally doable, reputable machine shop might not do it if you tell them its a wheel for liability reasons, the machine shop we use will only do it if you never mention mounting it on a car or it being a wheel.

[SeanDub]

Roll your fenders...?

[LuckyBoyOne3]

Maybe I am wrong but they look rolled already.

[leigh-roy silk]

The rears on Mk4's are rolled from the factory :)

I have the perches/adjuster cups out on the back of my 4, 17x10 ET10, looking into machining myself as my arches are getting some abuse.

[SeanDub]

If the problem is mm's, you can roll them out, I almost guarantee it.

[grundle]

i would stay away from getting the wheel machined...i no you said you dont want more stretch but bumping down a tire size would fix the problem and you'll be able to go lower, i would also look into adding some negative camber in the rear that would also eliminate the problem as well. hope this helps

[Rally]

I vote camber

[Tuck&Poke]

camber is not adjustable on mk4's, you need shims to get camber. I wouldnt machine down the hub of the wheel on only one side because its gonna fuck your resale. I wouldnt but a set of wheels with different offsets from left to right.

You could center the trailing arm with shims, or you can machine them all down and correct with a spacer on one side

also check how much extra material you have behind the seats because if there isnt enough they're going to have to re-seat them which is going to raise the cost

[akoehler]

Thanks for the responses guys

If the problem is mm's, you can roll them out, I almost guarantee it.

You mean as in lightly pulling it with a roller? There's literally nothing to roll on back of mk4 GTIs, its just a flat body line down the quarter panel edge.

i would stay away from getting the wheel machined...i no you said you dont want more stretch but bumping down a tire size would fix the problem and you'll be able to go lower, i would also look into adding some negative camber in the rear that would also eliminate the problem as well. hope this helps

The problem with stretching more is the tire sizes. To downsize from a 235/40/17 I'd need a 225/40/17 which is a super rare tire size from what I've found and they don't make the tires I want in that size.. I didn't think about adding camber though, I need to look into camber shims.

or you can machine them all down and correct with a spacer on one side

Thats a good idea, I hadn't thought of that.

[Njdub]

Just pull the perches and ride on the tire :)

[schroedin]

How do you have different offsets? :confused

[leigh-roy silk]

If the problem is mm's, you can roll them out, I almost guarantee it.

Ah right, sorry dude. Thought you were talking about rolling the inside lip. My bad :)

[Rally]

How do you have different offsets? :confused

Mk4's often have a problem with their rear beam being a little off center so they poke unevenly sometimes.

The fronts are 205/45s on 17x8.5s and rears are 235/40s on 17x10s. I drive the car pretty spiritedly so I don't want to lose anymore grip patch on the front or back.

In terms of this, you'll lose a little contact patch if you go camber, but that'll probably be a good thing as far as handling is concerned. It's not like having a rear stagger on a FWD is helping your handling in any way. Cutting down on the rear contact patch of the 235's might balance the turn in a bit. Based on the pics you'd probably only need a degree or two of camber to eliminate the rubbing.

[grundle]

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/searchTiresBySize.do;jsessionid=t2PHK31Zmh8H1JVyC5 xhGWz1jkwnXYTKy9cLRwnpLDjnsLmm2KpgPr3n6TtVl8LVGpvB 2GpnC7HqBGLfnfl7HQvkH235cZcLK4SGJ5NpFfyTDPQNWT22d8 p7ZGQFYJn2!-635238297!266351037?sw=false&cs=225&ar=40&rd=17

or if u decide to go with the machining on both wheels

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/2mm_Spacer/ES250721/

[e36cruiser]

You could def. roll out the fender lip to match the angle the fender arch has(or close to it). I've seen many people do this and I think it actually looks good.

[audi666]

putting on camber plates could help but you cant get thatmuch negative camber out of them.

what suspension are you on? might need stiffer suspension ie dampening/spring rate or if it only rubs over bumps, live with it.

[Bimmerteck]

YOU! need great plates, to move the axle back then you shouldn't be rubbing.

http://mason-tech.com/greatplatesCW1.asp