Cold weather; too low! HELP!!

ka0ticnight

New Member
So I have a growing problem with my 1999 Acura Integra LS....
When I got it from my brother, he already had TEIN lowering springs installed. Overtime I guess they have set in now, and as it is getting colder I am starting to have problems. The early morning cold weather is contracting the springs making the front right tire rub on the inner fender and most recently the body itself. So far it only happens to the front right tire, I think its because we replaced the strut on it after damage so maybe it is not calibrated? Anyways, I need a quick fix before I can buy coil overs or higher springs.

I was considering taking out the inner fender (the plastic in the wheel well, I don't know the correct name), but I have a cold air intake right there so it may suck in too much water. Another fix i was thinking was to add spacers or something on the strut bar to maybe adjust the ride height? Would this be possible?? I really need a quick fix for this soon before something bad happens to the body or the tire rubs too much.

Please help ASAP!!!
As far as I know it only rubs when I turn left and shift any weight to the wheel at all.
 

ka0ticnight

New Member
Do you think this would fix it? I know it might help the tire touching part of the body, but what about the plastic fender inside the wheel well? It is already very torn and misaligned.
 

ka0ticnight

New Member
osiris19 said:
He's talking about the inner wheel well. Rolling fenders won't do anything.
Click to expand...
That's why I was skeptical, I would totally roll my fenders if that were the problem, but its the inner plastic within the wheel well. What should I do?!
 

osiris19

Active Member
Rolling your fenders only helps when the tire is literally trying to roll your fender for you. Theres several ways to fix your inner rubbing issue. Remove your splash shield, if that's all it is rubbing and get a water filter (or whatever they're called) for your intake. You can grind the inner well down a little so the tire doesn't contact. Running spacers is a little extreme. I rub my inner well all the time but it doesn't bother me.
 

Accel.speed

basically, i like fast!
You should have a coupler inside your engine bay that attaches a pipe to a second pipe. Just stick your filter on the end of that first pipe and pull the liner out. You now will have a short ram intake.
 


ka0ticnight

New Member
I don't know if I could put the intake at the end of the first pipe? I don't know what you mean by the coupler either, I have a setup like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/B18C1allNA/Integra engine bay and suspension pics/Engine_Bay_1_in_May_2003.jpg
Just one long pipe, I could maybe (it sounds ghetto) saw it off, it has a rubber inline at the end to keep pressure so I could just move it up and it would be fine.
So basically if I either bought a "water intake" or a box or something (or shortened the intake), I could then take out the inner fenders? And everything would be fine?
 

ka0ticnight

New Member
I can't at the moment because its really dark, but I think you knew what I was talking about at first, I may have just confused you.
http://www.team-integra.net/images/BAEC1978-D3A7-4405-AB2D-2761DC15A96D/articles/white_rice/hoodrelease/fig_05.jpg
So basically it is the inner fender liner we are talking about. When I shift any weight on the front right tire it rubs on this.
http://thumbs2.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mkZf95Y_wvGIzc6mmZ7r0QA.jpg
Alternate Picture
http://www.team-integra.net/images/BAEC1978-D3A7-4405-AB2D-2761DC15A96D/articles/white_rice/hoodrelease/fig_06.jpg
(Dont worry about the screws in the alternate picture, I just pulled it off the forums)
 

SoundEfx

New Member
Is it rubbing on the top or inside of the liner?

If it's rubbing on the top, then you have to raise the car, but if it's rubbing on the inside, you might have another issue.
 

Merlins Beard

*Beard not included
ka0ticnight said:
Overtime I guess they have set in now, and as it is getting colder I am starting to have problems. The early morning cold weather is contracting the springs making the front right tire rub on the inner fender and most recently the body itself.
Click to expand...
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/linear-expansion-coefficients-d_95.html
This site has coefficients of thermal expansion for many materials, including different types of steel. The site also has a calculator to find the expansion.
Using random numbers, a length of 36 inches for the spring, temp change of 100*F, and the highest coefficient of expansion for steel they had, gave an expansion of .0346" which is roughly 69/2000 of an inch. This is also linear expansion, the expansion would follow the shape and pitch of the spring.
The actual height difference of the spring would be the vertical component of the additional length which will be so small that having a hair between the spring and spring perch would have a larger impact on the ride height than the thermal expansion would.
So yes, technically the length of the spring and ride height of the car do change, but the amount of that change is completely negligible.

The issue is more likely a result from the fender liner sagging, worn out bushings, a poor alignment of parts, or damage somewhere on the car.
 

ka0ticnight

New Member
Merlins Beard said:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/linear-expansion-coefficients-d_95.html
This site has coefficients of thermal expansion for many materials, including different types of steel. The site also has a calculator to find the expansion.
Using random numbers, a length of 36 inches for the spring, temp change of 100*F, and the highest coefficient of expansion for steel they had, gave an expansion of .0346" which is roughly 69/2000 of an inch. This is also linear expansion, the expansion would follow the shape and pitch of the spring.
The actual height difference of the spring would be the vertical component of the additional length which will be so small that having a hair between the spring and spring perch would have a larger impact on the ride height than the thermal expansion would.
So yes, technically the length of the spring and ride height of the car do change, but the amount of that change is completely negligible.

The issue is more likely a result from the fender liner sagging, worn out bushings, a poor alignment of parts, or damage somewhere on the car.
Click to expand...
Alright, thank you very much, I'm gonna see if repositioning the liner helps. My right fender liner has always been messed up and misaligned so it's probably time I fix it.
 

Swerve

Shawn
Merlins Beard said:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/linear-expansion-coefficients-d_95.html
This site has coefficients of thermal expansion for many materials, including different types of steel. The site also has a calculator to find the expansion.
Using random numbers, a length of 36 inches for the spring, temp change of 100*F, and the highest coefficient of expansion for steel they had, gave an expansion of .0346" which is roughly 69/2000 of an inch. This is also linear expansion, the expansion would follow the shape and pitch of the spring.
The actual height difference of the spring would be the vertical component of the additional length which will be so small that having a hair between the spring and spring perch would have a larger impact on the ride height than the thermal expansion would.
So yes, technically the length of the spring and ride height of the car do change, but the amount of that change is completely negligible.

The issue is more likely a result from the fender liner sagging, worn out bushings, a poor alignment of parts, or damage somewhere on the car.
Click to expand...
Holy shit merlin. Nice post and post some more miata pics somewhere asap.
 
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