[bluesy_cube]

Hi folks,

I just DIYed my wheels to the winter setup.
After finishing it, I realized that the gap between the tires and the fenders are much higher now.

The setup of the front tires were 225/40/18 in front and 245/35/18 which is the OEM setup and now it is 245/40/18 square which shouldn't give me that high gap.

The steps I took was to raise one corner(I raised wheel by wheel) and change the wheel, bring it down, then to the next corner.

What I realized though when I started off with the driver's side front wheel, I heard some kind of spring zap-like sound in the beginning of the raise. It did happen to the passenger front as well and now both side has significantly high gap.

As I try to bounce the front of car, it bounces like the shocks are broken.

Any idea how could I lead to this??

[relative4]

Where did you position the jack?

[bluesy_cube]

Originally Posted by relative4

Where did you position the jack?

Each point in the corner where we put the jack stand.
You know, there are four rubber points.

[Soravia]

LoL, shocks, actually dampers don't break from that. If they do, your car will sit lower due to less resistance they offered before.
Check the springs and their mount. Might become misaligned. Also check bushings. Could have been twisted the whole time and now repositioned?

Now your dampers may have been broke even before this! Most last like 60k miles.

[thakid22]

Originally Posted by bluesy_cube

Each point in the corner where we put the jack stand.
You know, there are four rubber points.

The car will return to normal ride height after a quick trip around the block.
When the tires leave the ground, they add stress to the suspension when you lower the car back down.
This is caused by friction between the tire and ground surface.
The suspension doesn't move straight up and down along its travel range.
It moves it an arc. When you lower the car back to the ground the tires and bushings bear the difference between the natural suspension arc and the vertical physical movement you create with jacking/lowering. This leads to increased height.

After you drive the car a couple of feet, the tension will be released (at the tire contact patches) and the ride height will go back to normal.

[bluesy_cube]

Originally Posted by Soravia

LoL, shocks, actually dampers don't break from that. If they do, your car will sit lower due to less resistance they offered before.
Check the springs and their mount. Might become misaligned. Also check bushings. Could have been twisted the whole time and now repositioned?

Now your dampers may have been broke even before this! Most last like 60k miles.

I am leaning toward that the dampers were broken before I changed the wheels. My car is 2011 model and is about to hit 70k, so maybe it's about time.

Originally Posted by thakid22

The car will return to normal ride height after a quick trip around the block.
When the tires leave the ground, they add stress to the suspension when you lower the car back down.
This is caused by friction between the tire and ground surface.
The suspension doesn't move straight up and down along its travel range.
It moves it an arc. When you lower the car back to the ground the tires and bushings bear the difference between the natural suspension arc and the vertical physical movement you create with jacking/lowering. This leads to increased height.

After you drive the car a couple of feet, the tension will be released (at the tire contact patches) and the ride height will go back to normal.

Thanks for the advice.
So they did go back and but they wouldn't sit with the consistent height. I was wondering if that's because of the ground not being flat, but they keep change their heights.

Right now, I am keep checking every time I park, but the front wheel gaps are changing all the time. I guess the dampers are about to be dead

I am gonna get it to the mechanic to see if the dampers are really gone bad or not.

[thakid22]

Originally Posted by bluesy_cube

I am leaning toward that the dampers were broken before I changed the wheels. My car is 2011 model and is about to hit 70k, so maybe it's about time.





Thanks for the advice.
So they did go back and but they wouldn't sit with the consistent height. I was wondering if that's because of the ground not being flat, but they keep change their heights.

Right now, I am keep checking every time I park, but the front wheel gaps are changing all the time. I guess the dampers are about to be dead

I am gonna get it to the mechanic to see if the dampers are really gone bad or not.

Ride height measurements should be checked on completely level ground.
If you can't find perfectly level ground, just find a spot that is reasonably flat.
Record your numbers and do future measurements in that exact same parking spot.

Also make sure that you have approximately the same amount of fuel each time you measure, as gas level can influence chassis height.