1969 rear tire rub
 

Hey guys, I have a 1969 Z/28 clone that I've had for about a year. It has 275/60/15 rear tires (don't know the wheel back space) and mulit-leaf springs, and had air shocks on the rear. The rear tires would only rub on the inner fender during acceleration and hard bumps and only when the pressure in the air shocks got low.

I installed a set of Edelbrock IAS rear shocks and the rear end sits much lower now and the tires rub bad just from acceleration. The height from the ground to the rear fender lip is about 27.5", which seems consistent with what I have seen posted in other threads. I've seen a lot of folks run this size tire on this car, so I know it should fit.

Do I need a new set of springs? Is there a way to check the springs? I don't know how old they are. What other options do I have besides a smaller tire or mini-tub? Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Sounds like the tires are/were pretty close to almost missing the inner fender. The two less complicated ways would be to either get different wheels with less backspacing to move the tires out more, or use thin wheel spacers: Wheel Spacers And depending on the length of your wheel studs, you may need to install longer ones so they still have a good hold of your nuts (lug nuts).

I don't think I have much room to move the wheels out either. I'm considering replacing the springs with another set that will raise the rear end a few inches. I'm going to put the air shocks back on today and measure how high the rear fender lip sits with low pressure so that the tires rub and with enough air so they don't.

Anyone have any experience with using lift springs, or can recommend a brand?

TX380.. You may want to try some suspension upgrades as well to stabilize the rear end of the car.. I added Hotchkis subframe connnectors, rear antisway and CE adjustable traction links to my 68 and find that the car is very stable under acceleration with almost no squat at the rear. I do not have air shocks and the car is stock height. Running 255/60-15's on 8.5 x 15 rims with 4.75 BS. There is tons of room.. no doubt I could move up to the 275 size without problems or rolling the fender wells.

Without knowing much about the wheel/ tire combo, I'd have to agree that your springs might be weak. I can remember running a 275/60-15 on a 15 x 8 wheel and with multi's and air shocks, I'd still hit the wheel well when going around corners. After I installed a new pair of springs, the problem was solved and I got rid of the air shocks as well.

I'd check into Calvert split springs, I've heard a lot of good things about them and know some racers that use them and really like them.

Maybe something else to consider is relocating the shocks, which some have found helps. You can get those kits from a lot of places.

I was thinking that maybe some poly body bushing might work to help the body from twisitng like it does with the factory rubber bushing.

Thanks for the info guys. Suspension upgrades are part of the long term plans, I was trying to get rid of the air shocks as a first step. I hadn't thought about poly body bushings, good idea. I've decided to replace the springs and see if that fixes the rub. I like the ride height where it is anyway. Then on to sway bars and subframe connectors!

There is some good info in the 68 Camaro Max Tire Size thread ont his forum also.