rubbing when turning hard right

[KevinC]

Somehow I've got rubbing somewhere up front, not sure which wheel, when I make a slow right turn at full lock. I poked around both fender wells and can't see any sign of what might be amiss. Stock wheels & tire sizes. Only happens on rights. Anybody have any suggestions on what might be the cause?

[The HACK]

Check the FCAB. A broken or aged out offset FCAB may allow enough wiggle in the control arm as the tire is subjected to lateral grip to move far enough to let the front outer edge to touch the corner of the bumper where the bumper and front fender meets.

You can also try high speed (70-80mph? Without getting in trouble with the local constables) moderate pressure braking, if one or both FCABs are starting to fail, you will feel what seems to be unbalanced wheels or warped rotor sensations (again the FCAB allowing the front control arms to wiggle in place). If the tires are rubbing as you turn on stock diameter/width tires up front, and you get that vibration through the steering wheel braking at high speeds, you need to replace both FCABs even if they appear to be in good shape.

[racerbruce]

The HACK does it again....always precise and helpful.

[KevinC]

Thanks Hack, I'll look into that. You might well be onto something. I *think* the FCABs are fine, and the car is still under 35k miles, but they are a decade old after all.

I'm now wrestling with tire balance issues. When I bought the car in November, it had Michelin PSS's on it with about 75% of their treadlife left - but they were 8 years old, so they had to go. Balance on those was PERFECT. Replaced them 2 weeks ago with Pilot Sport 4s's, and Discount Tire can't get the balancing right, after 2 tries. I'm sure the wheels are true or the old tires would't have felt so perfect. So I'll probably drag my ass back in there a 3rd time and ask them to road force balance them this time. Problem is finding a guy who actually knows how to use the machine. I once paid for road force balancing on my original Z4MC and the kid was done with all 4 wheels/tires in 45 minutes flat. That's barely enough time to do one properly!

[StickMon]

And The HACK said "you will feel what seems to be unbalanced wheels" ...
Just sayin'.
Check the FCABs before going back to Discount Tire.

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by StickMon

And The HACK said "you will feel what seems to be unbalanced wheels" ...
Just sayin'.
Check the FCABs before going back to Discount Tire.

Yeahbut.. the previous tires were absolutely perfectly in balance the day before I bought new ones. The FCABs wouldn't have gone bad overnight.

I'll be passing through Phoenix in early January and I'm planning on a trip to my old indy dude while there. I'll have the belts replaced and have him check the FCABs, as well as check the LCM, as I still have an issue with dim dash lighting that I want to get resolved. Hoping I don't need to replace the LCM as that puppy ain't cheap. Will also try to get him to code my halos as DRLs and the clown nose to blink when the car was locked, as my '07 did.

[dc_wright]

Originally Posted by KevinC

Yeahbut.. the previous tires were absolutely perfectly in balance the day before I bought new ones. The FCABs wouldn't have gone bad overnight.

I'll be passing through Phoenix in early January and I'm planning on a trip to my old indy dude while there. I'll have the belts replaced and have him check the FCABs, as well as check the LCM, as I still have an issue with dim dash lighting that I want to get resolved. Hoping I don't need to replace the LCM as that puppy ain't cheap. Will also try to get him to code my halos as DRLs and the clown nose to blink when the car was locked, as my '07 did.

Higher grip and/or wider tires will accentuate front end issues. Try backing in a circle at a bit of speed with the steering wheel at left and right lock. If you hear or feel any clunking at all then your FCABs are shot.

With respect to the potential balance issues, take a look at each of the wheels and see how much weight they put on. If there are a lot of balance weights stuck on the wheels, then they hosed the balancing job. A good quality tire shouldn't need much weight tape to be in balance.