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[drwankel]

I've noticed I've got a little bit of rub on my rear wheel fender liners. Specifically where the bumper meets the body. Pictures attached. Left side is the first picture, right is the second.

I have two questions.

1. Is it possible to massage this area with a heat gun to increase clearance? I do see the screw behind there.

2. Is this bump where it rubs, bigger on the left side vs right side, or is it just my car? Pictures below as an example. Left (first picture) side sticks out much worse than the right (second picture). I'm unsure if this is normal or the left side has warped or was put back together incorrectly before my ownership.

Although this seems small, it is making an annoying cosmetic mark on the tire, and I'd like to eliminate it.

[M3 hacker]

Yep, mine was rubbing there. I used a heat gun to flatten that part down for some extra clearance.
Just be careful not to heat the bumper plastic too much so you don’t damage the paint.

[spammysammich]

somebody cut my bumps away but I still get some contact at the forward 2/11 o'clock positions with 12 ET offset on an 18x10.5" rim & PS4S. Very faint contact at full compression. going to try fit with 25 and 13 ET this weekend maybe.

[UPSROD]

Stock tire sizes and no spacers! Fixed!

[CamasM3e93]

The heat gun is an interesting idea for those who desire a larger wheel/tire setup. Is it possible? Yes, but boy I'd pull the fender liner out to do it first. I just repaired a 4 cm hole in a front fender liner with a sheet of 1/16" neoprene and black pop rivets. If its an area that bulges, you could consider cutting the fender liner out in that area and doing a similar patch to lower the profile.

I just put on 265 Conti ECS's on the rear and I note that they have a visibly rounded shoulder compared to the Michelin products. Given we share proximity in the PNW and wet roadways, you might consider a brand switch for the superior wet stopping power of the Contis - two birds one stone!

[drwankel]

Originally Posted by M3 hacker

Yep, mine was rubbing there. I used a heat gun to flatten that part down for some extra clearance.
Just be careful not to heat the bumper plastic too much so you don’t damage the paint.

Can you tell me if both sides were the same, or did the left side stick out more like in my picture? Trying to understand if that is normal, or my left wide was assembled incorrectly at some point, or became warped from heat.

[drwankel]

Originally Posted by CamasM3e93

The heat gun is an interesting idea for those who desire a larger wheel/tire setup. Is it possible? Yes, but boy I'd pull the fender liner out to do it first. I just repaired a 4 cm hole in a front fender liner with a sheet of 1/16" neoprene and black pop rivets. If its an area that bulges, you could consider cutting the fender liner out in that area and doing a similar patch to lower the profile.

I just put on 265 Conti ECS's on the rear and I note that they have a visibly rounded shoulder compared to the Michelin products. Given we share proximity in the PNW and wet roadways, you might consider a brand switch for the superior wet stopping power of the Contis - two birds one stone!

The tires are pretty new just got them this year. Unsure I'm going to keep the wide ZCPs or not. If I go back to stock ZCPs, I would be looking at a 255/30/19 front and 285/30/19 rear. PS4S seems to rub on the front in that size on the factory ZCPs. Plenty of people claim that it doesn't, but enough people have supplied evidence otherwise that it does in fact rub.

Going to the conti's would solve that problem in those sizes since they have rounder shoulders.

[//steve\\]

Rubbin' is racin'.

Mine used to rub in the same spot...it's fixed itself now.

[M3 hacker]

Originally Posted by drwankel

Can you tell me if both sides were the same, or did the left side stick out more like in my picture? Trying to understand if that is normal, or my left wide was assembled incorrectly at some point, or became warped from heat.

Here’s a pic…

[M3 hacker]

Originally Posted by //steve\\

Rubbin' is racin'.

Mine used to rub in the same spot...it's fixed itself now.

Yep, probably the easier way!

[drwankel]

I had to chance to check out a bunch of other e9x m3's today and I made a few observations:

1. The fender liner bump is in fact bigger on the left side.
2. Most people cut off the bumps, or cut them down for clearance. Seems to be a common problem.