Ffmetalm fat front tyre F panel

[Blue Viking]

I will be running the 17x9 rims with 245/45R17 tires on my Roadster. Will they go lock to lock without any limiters without rubbing the stock F panels, or should I get the FFmetalFat front tyre F panels?

[JohnK]

I can't say for certain with the 17x9's but I'm running 245/40R18's on an 18x9 in front and the stock F panels were robbing me of ~1/4 turn in each direction. With the FFmetal F panels I can turn lock to lock with plenty of clearance.

[Blue Viking]

I can't say for certain with the 17x9's but I'm running 245/40R18's on an 18x9 in front and the stock F panels were robbing me of ~1/4 turn in each direction. With the FFmetal F panels I can turn lock to lock with plenty of clearance.

Your wheel is only 1 mm larger than mine in diameter, with the same width, which means mine is probably going to rub as well. So, one more thing on the shopping list....it's getting long now....

Thank you very much.

Øystein.

[Avalanche325]

I am running Nitto NT05 255/40/17s. I rub on the driver side only. It also rubbed with 245/45/17 Khumos.
$.02 worth of PVC pipe to make a limiter, or $10-ish for real limiters would fix it for me.

Your car may vary depending on the rack, rack centering, and the exact tires. 245 on one brand is actually different than 245 on another.

I would consider it a non-issue. The AL won't hurt the tire and the tire won't hurt the AL beyond a black mark. You can feel it when you get there, so you just back off a hair. If you have power steering, you should not go to the locks anyway.

But, if it is something that will bug you, go for it.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

255/40/17 NITTO 555R no rub. Think is variable on the build tolerances and ACTUAL tire physical spec. Contrary to general opinion not all 255/40/17 brands or lines within brands or any other tire size will all measure the same in actual dimensions.

Tire rack has a pretty good actual size listings but as far as I know they don't carry NITTO

[Jim1855]

Just a question. Are the fat panels necessary for 275/40-17s?
Will the turning radius be severely limited without?
Thanks,
Jim

[mike223]

Are the fat panels necessary for 275/40-17s?

Will the turning radius be severely limited without?

No.

IMHO - you do need steering limiters.

Probably ~1/4" more on one side than the other.

Because the "rack outer housing" doesn't center up "perfectly" - doesn't matter - it has to be in a position where you can get the steering shaft to the "rack housing".

The actual "internal rack" does need to center up between the steering arms - inner tie rods, outer rods etc need to be "equal" + "centered up".

[CraigS]

I am running Nitto NT05 255/40/17s. I rub on the driver side only. It also rubbed with 245/45/17 Khumos.
$.02 worth of PVC pipe to make a limiter, or $10-ish for real limiters would fix it for me.

Your car may vary depending on the rack, rack centering, and the exact tires. 245 on one brand is actually different than 245 on another.

I would consider it a non-issue. The AL won't hurt the tire and the tire won't hurt the AL beyond a black mark. You can feel it when you get there, so you just back off a hair. If you have power steering, you should not go to the locks anyway.

But, if it is something that will bug you, go for it.

This is the answer. If it does hit, it will only be in a parking lot and will not damage anything.

[edwardb]

I get that people don't want to give up on turning radius. But IMO unless you're dealing with really wide front tires, e.g. maybe 275 and up, the stock F-panels are fine and the gain with modded panels is marginal. Even with 275's, it's probably not a big deal. I've had several different brands of 255's, and now BF Goodrich Rival S 245's on #8674, which dimensionally are very similar to the previous 255's. If I turn the steering wheel all the way, they just touch the F-panels. But at that point, the PS pump is complaining that I shouldn't do that (which I shouldn't). Unless you're parking with an extreme turn, or doing a u-turn in limited space, whatever, you're never going to need that much turning radius. In day-to-day driving, never an issue. I say for most applications, install the stops or just recognize when it's near the limits. I mod stuff as much as many, but this one has low return in my experience.