Rubbing Issues 195/70/R14 on B4?

Put some new 195/70/R14's on my daughters 97 Passat last night. Previously had 195/60/R14. After setting the car down after installation I examined for potential rub areas. The top of the rear tires are really close to the perch that the coils sit on-maybe a 1/2 inch on one side and 3/4 inch on the other. Does that perch remain stationary when going over bumps etc.?-in relation to the tire?

I did research the forum prior to getting the tires and the consensus was no rub issues using the 195/70R14's. Wanted to ask others what their experience has been before I drive it. The struts are Bilsteins-they are blue with a yellow oval-don't know age but aren't sagging-and bounce well.

The suspension above the perch moves. You’ll be fine as long as the camber is correct. Curious why you have .25” difference between sides.

-Todd

Thanks Todd. I have no idea why the difference. Old B4 with 375,xxx miles-something bent rear axle.?? Have had car a year.


Relieved not to take wheels off again. Walmart wouldn't put them on car unless I brought the just wheels in. Looked to have good clearance on the rest

I just had tires installed at Walmart and they didn’t give me any grief. They installed 205/55/15, which definitely wasn’t stock.

They balanced it out with just the weights on the inside, too. They’re just Corrado Steelies, but I didn’t want to see the weights.

-Todd

I have the same size on both my 96 B4’s. I have no rub at all on the white one. I have a little rubbing on the front of the green one on tight turns in a dip or over a bump. But I’m sure my front struts are weak. No rubbing on the rear though.

In preparing to do a string alignment and looking up the track width difference found a posting from Abaucus that the B4 came from the factory with an ET of 38mm on the rims vs an A3 which has an ET of 45mm.

When I purchased the car it had alloy wheels which a previous owner must have put on from an A3 since they are all stamped ET45. This would help explain why the perch is so close to the tire. These alloys match what I have on my 98 Jetta.

Did the B4's only come with steel wheels from the factory or was there an alloy option?

Where do you get 1/4 spacers? That would seem to be the cheapest option.

ejallison1 said:

In preparing to do a string alignment and looking up the track width difference found a posting from Abaucus that the B4 came from the factory with an ET of 38mm on the rims vs an A3 which has an ET of 45mm.

When I purchased the car it had alloy wheels which a previous owner must have put on from an A3 since they are all stamped ET45. This would help explain why the perch is so close to the tire. These alloys match what I have on my 98 Jetta.

Did the B4's only come with steel wheels from the factory or was there an alloy option?

Where do you get 1/4 spacers? That would seem to be the cheapest option.

Click to expand...

VW produced an assortment of wheels that could be installed on the Passat, but there aren't any optional alloy wheels listed in the brochures for 96/97. Any alloy wheel option would have been dealer installed.

Wheel offset depends also on the wheel width too but you are correct that Mk3 were fitted with ET45 from the factory, B3 (and Mk2) had 14" alloys that were ET38. IMO the Passat looks funny with the ET45 wheels, especially in the rear.

The rear track width on the B3 and B4 is too narrow IMO, I think the heart of the beam axle is from the Mk2 (and Mk3) which used the same width beam IIRC. The rear track I know is the same between B3 and Mk3 and since Mk3 and Mk2 share stuff like rear stabilizer bar, I'm going to conclude that they're the same width.

If you're going to use spacers to make the rear track more consistent with the front I'd actually go to the effort of getting rear stub axle spacers. That way the whole rear setup moves out by the thickness you choose, instead of just moving the wheel outboard more.

If those wheels (I assume the Orlando wheel) match what's on your Mk3 then they are actually Mk3 wheels.

Steve

If you want to go with normal spacers, don’t forget longer bolts. I have spacers on the rear of my wagon, that are roughly 1” thick and they’re still tucking a fair amount. No issues since I put them on maybe 4 years ago.

-Todd

wheel offset shouldn't make a difference when doing the string alignment since your likely running same wheels front & rear...

the track width is what matters...took the difference and made two 1/2 width spacers to place under the string at the rear tires...

28.5mm as I recall...

have a bad boot on one of my brand new CV axles so I'll be doing the whole thing again

Offset affects track...

Pulling an axle should not affect alignment, unless you’re disconnecting the suspension. If you’re doing that, you’re doing more work, than you need to.

-Todd

put new tie rods, ball joints, strut bearings, rack boots all on as well...