Fender Clearance

Is there a scientific method for deciding where fenders should be trimmed to avoid tire contact, or do you just trim a little bit at a time until you don't rub?

I'm toying with the idea of (much) wider wheels and tires on the Beetle, which will very likely put the tires in a position to rub on the fender lips when the suspension compresses. I don't really want to drop $1k on wide fiberglass fenders, nor do I want to narrow the front end to tuck the front tires inside the stock fenders.

Any insight?

I've never done it, I would think one would remove the springs or load it down to the bump stops with intended tires/wheels mounted on the car, then start steering and trim leaving appropriate gap for bump stop compression.

there are a lot of things to consider. Type of suspension, some tip the wheel more than others. Amount of wheel travel. How much does the body roll on the suspension.

Carry a baseball bat with you,when you get tire rub, stop, insert the bat between fender and tire, roll the car fore and aft. Instant fender clearance.:

ive always used painters tape. drive car get the lil rubs. go back see where it rubbed and go from there.

I did it a little at a time, cutting more where it contacted. Took a few times to get it all clearanced.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: I've never done it, I would think one would remove the springs or load it down to the bump stops with intended tires/wheels mounted on the car, then start steering and trim leaving appropriate gap for bump stop compression.

that wouldn't work on a beetle. you need the torsion bars to hold the arms on.

I take the springs out and move the suspension through its range. If it's for a set of wheels/tires I don't have on hand, I'll take a known set and figure the difference. You can also get a magic tool for measuring this, I forget what it's called but I have one on my desk :)

Can you set the torsion bars really soft on the Beetle? or rotate the suspension so it's at full compression?

remove fender, cut down the middle (front to back) add in 2 to 4 inches of metal. Weld and grind. Cheap wide fenders for a beetle :)

Based on the thread title I was hoping for some cheap Telecasters!

In reply to JThw8:

Yeah... I may wind up doing that. I haven't seen it done where it turned out really nice yet, so I'm a little hesitant. Just getting a feel for other options.

I'd be going from 15x5.5's to ... 15x10's in back, 15x8's in front, or something like that. There's not nearly enough backspacing room to account for wheels that size, so I either need wider fenders or more (vertical) fender clearance or stiffer suspension. Not to mention that I'd like to go about 2" lower without narrowing, if possible.

lol @ logdog.

Don't forget to add space for the fact that tires will be larger in diameter at speed. (there was a video of a guy clearancing some suspension components, and the amount of difference at speed was surprising, it looked lke an extra inch or more.. because there is no load to hold the tire down, like there is on the ground.)