235/65R17 Falkons's with 17x7.5 40mm offset wheels rubbing badly. Shredded felt wheel well liner up pretty bad

[ShowBlacks]

Just discovered a massive tear in the felt wheel well fender liner and the whole felt has been pretty much ripped out from its clips and is hanging down in places now. This leaves my bcm and other important sensors and modules that ford tucked up in that are all exposed to the elements now.

Gonna order a new fender liner to fix that issue but I'm trying to figure out the cause of the damage, the only thing I can think of is the new wheels and tires I got a couple months back.

I think I screwed up, I see a lot of people have these tires with no issues so my assumption is it has to be related to the wheels. I'll admit I didn't know much if anything about wheels/tires/offset/backspacing etc before I picked up my 21 BB back in January.

Well a couple of months ago I upgraded the wheels and tires from the stock 225/65R17 continentals with grey 17x7 wheels to some Falkon Wildpeak A/T4 tires 235/65R17 on some nice black Voxx wheels that are 17x7.5. what I didn't take into consideration is these new wheels have a 40mm offset. I'm pretty sure this is what's causing the rubbing as it's the only change I've made to that area.

I bought both from discount tire and they said both wheels and tires fit my vehicle and I didn't really even know or understand what an offset was until I started researching this issue upon discovering the torn felt.

I had checked for rub after 100 miles and again after 1000 and didn't see any signs. I thought I could feel a little rub when making tight right turns, especially first thing in the morning but I couldn't visually recreate the issue and didn't see any signs of it happening so I assumed it was just loud tire to road noise as these are my first all terrain tires and they're definitely a bit louder.. I don't mind the loud though.

Is this something spacers could fix until I can afford to buy all new wheels again? I was just about to install a Flat out suspension lift level kit today but decided to hold off until I can diagnose this damage so I don't possibly make it worse.

Any help of insight is greatly appreciated.

 

[jkernitzki]

(Edited out massive case of dumb.)

Wheel spacers would work to an extent, but they should be temporary until you can replace the wheels with an appropriate offset. I think a 35mm offset would be the most in the other direction you'd need to go.

I wouldn't do any serious off-roading or heavy loading with spacers, and the torque should be checked periodically, but that's just me. Over many decades of "creative wrenching" I've learned to not trust most bolt-on mods, especially ones that alter drivetrain and suspension geometry.

 

[Jake25]

Your wheel offset is tucked in by a full inch (2.5mm) more than stock, and 1.5mm more than factory range.

Are you sure?

 

[jkernitzki]

Math fail!

Thanks, I overlooked the wheel width change. My bad. The remainder of my points remain valid as part of the larger discussion.

With regards to the math comparing stock to OP's current setup (https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/?wheel1=225-65-17X7ET37&wheel2=235-65-17X7.5ET40&fcl=2in&wcl=1.25in&scl=2in&sr=0in):

Suspension		Tire is ¹¹⁄₃₂" closer to suspension components. Rim is ³⁄₈" closer to suspension components. Acceptable for most cars
Fenders		The tire will stick out ³⁄₃₂" farther. Rim will stick out ¹⁄₈" farther. Acceptable for most cars
Wheel Wells		Wheel fills out the wheel well by extra ⁹⁄₃₂". Acceptable for most cars
Brakes		Rim offset is more than OE, so brake support will be closer to the rim. Make sure they are not touching.
Scrub Radius		Negative scrub radius (about -³⁄₁₆"). Almost no difference. Please be aware that calculated value is approximate.

 

[Jake25]

"Only rubs @full lock"
"Slight trimming required"

 

[Warped9]

A change in offset from 37.5 to 40 is only 2.5 mm.—thats only about 1/8 in. And Ford specs say you can put wheels with 39.5 offset. That .5mm is practically nothing. His new 17x7.5 wheel is 1/2 in. wider than his factory 17x7 wheel—meaning his new wheel would poke only about 3/8 in. further toward the suspension components. I have 18x8 wheels with 35 offset that poke in about the same 3/8 in. and have absolutely no issues with rubbing.

I’m wondering if it’s possible Discount Tire sold him wheels with the wrong offset, something lower than 40 between 42-50. Or his wheels are defective, maybe?

I agree he might be better off with a different set of wheels with an offset between 38-35. or even 30.

I’d suggest looking for a wheel 17x7.5 or 17x8 with a 38-35 offset. You can also check out other distributors such as Fitment Industries. https://www.fitmentindustries.com/

 

[CancunBadlands]

Go back to the Factory OEM 17" Wheels and you'll be alright with the 235/65/R17 tires even the 245's will fit on the OEM Wheels with no rubbing issues

 

[Warped9]

Go back to the Factory OEM 17" Wheels and you'll be alright with the 235/65/R17 tires even the 245's will fit on the OEM Wheels with no rubbing issues

That would also work, but lots of people put aftermarket wheels on Bronco Sport with no problems whatsoever.

 

[Jmuns]

Are you sure you didn’t just tear it out somehow, or hit something that caught it and tore it? How many miles are you at now with the new wheels and tires? It seems odd that after 1000 miles you saw no wear and no all of a sudden its destroyed.

 

[Warped9]

Are you sure you didn’t just tear it out somehow, or hit something that caught it and tore it? How many miles are you at now with the new wheels and tires? It seems odd that after 1000 miles you saw no wear and no all of a sudden its destroyed.

Yeah, I was thinking along similar lines, wondering if the liner had gotten damaged some other way which caused it to rub against the wheel and tire.

 

[NMhunter]

I'd take it back to Discount Tire. I've been buying from them for 45 years and they've never failed to make things right.

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