I bought a mazda 6 about a year ago and recently had to change the tires. What came with the car were size 215/50R 17s and I replaced them with same size all seasons. Everything was fine with the previous tires but with the new ones they rub in the rear. I'm worried I need new springs or shocks. I need advice.

 

Are they rubbing on the outside or the inside of the tire? As for needing new shocks, it's possible. What's the mileage on the car currently?

 

outside of the tire. Its the fender that's rubbing it. I have roughly 88k miles.

 

Hmm odd. The thing is, dead shocks/springs will not cause rubbing, only exaggerate it. Are you running aftermarket wheels or the stockers? Has there been anything else that has changed suspension wise in the past year (ie hitting a curb or anything that might change the alignment). Though I will agree with you that at 88k your shocks are likely dead.

 

they're aftermarket and they're low profile as well. To help better with the explanation it doesn't rub all the time. It's really only when I have someone in the back and I go over a bump. It mainly rubs on the driver side rear fender. After reading some more on these forums I've seen information about rolling the fender too. I'll have to take it to a shop to see if it needs at least springs I guess.

 

The wheels are aftermarket? What is the offset on the wheel? I'm guessing that you are going to need a fender roll to compensate for the lower offset that most aftermarket wheels have.

 

lol yeah sorry wheels are. I can't tell you what the offset is. I took them to a shop to have the tires put on the wheels. The wheel well to begin with is pretty close to the tire, but I've figured I would need to roll it. I'm gonna take it to a shop either thursday or this coming monday and I'll keep you posted on what they say.

 

I think I'm having a similar issue with my 6. A few weeks ago, I blew out the left rear tire and after having replaced it, I noticed that the car sits low relative to that tire (not to mention that the handling/ride quality is shot to hell). I was thinking that I've got a dead spring on that side but I have to take it back to the shop that changed the tire to see if there could be any other suspension issues.

 

Strat, what's the mileage on the car? My shocks were dead as door nails by 60K (read I could work them like an accordion when we took them off) so you may need to replace them.

 

I'm almost at 93K...I guess it's time.