I am trying to identify what this part of my steering suspension is called? I have circled it in green. Its the gap between the top of my tyre and the top section of this (where the bolt and nut thread through) seems very close to my tyre….like I cant fit my finger between it and the inner edge of my tyre.
See image here https://www.rurallink.com.au/images/whatsthiscalled.jpg
In order for me to research this topic I need to know what the actual part is called. If anyone knows ?
So thats the strut tower ? I'd say there is around 10mm. However the placard for 17's says 245/45/17 (odd size I know). Its running 235/50/17s (previous owner has fitted those). Now, by my cals 235/50/17 has a bigger side wall so could possibly be causing my scrubbing of the inner edge of the tyres. A 245 would be a better choice anyway as its wider….dunno why previous owner decided to change the size…..
Thats what I got too…I think the sidewall height might be causing scrubbing
Wouldn’t a wider tyre be more likely to scrub?
Well maybe not as I think its scubbing on the underside of that top part as opposed to the side of it if that makes sense
@awdavgds: Check a tyres size calculator, but my calculator says 245/45 should have 110mm sidewall and 235/50 could have 117mm sidewall. The diameter seem bigger on the narrower tyre.
@Euphemistic: yes thats what lead me to think it could be that 7mm which makes a difference. I guess my question would be does that 10mm gap remain constant or can it decrease when I go over bumps/ speed humps ? If not then its not the cause of scrubbing.
No, that is not the Strut Tower.
I mean most Porsches run MacPherson strut suspension, and a lot of non performance cars run double wishbone
Every Ford Falcon had a double wishbone front end. Others that come to mind are rear drive Lexus models and the more off-road orientated IFS 4wds.
XR6 FG Falcon - thats the image of the front end from Nolathene's website for that model vehicle. Thats not a wishbone on the bottom thats the lower radius arms
Lol. Yeah I see that now.
I just got excited for a moment.
Yeah! I wish….although carting my ladders on the GT3RS would be a bugger to do
Always handy to throw that info in the original post
Invisible car has still got someway to go
Huh ?
I'd refer to it as the knuckle though I'm not 100% certain that's correct.
Spindle?
Steering knuckle? I googled ‘front suspension part names’ but has to scroll through a surprising number of images to find one that named it that.
Well I googled Steering Knuckle FG Falcon and Ebay shows that part so could be on the money. Yeah…I had the same issue as you though
Well thanks for everyone. Its concurred its a Steering Knuckle
That's a suspension upright. It's normal for it to be close to the tyre/wheel.
Knuckle, upright.
Plenty of names for it
Depending on wheel offset and width (and tire size) these can get pretty close.
Lower ball joints are a pretty common fail point on Falcons and that could potentially result in less clearance up top but its most likely just a normal gap
Johnson Rod.
Two ball joints?
Nah. Johnson rods don’t usually fail unless someone forgot to grease the nipples
Dunno anything about car parts, but that's a great porn star name!
With or without greased nipples.
Hub carrier.
Front hub/axle assembly.
Held in place by the upper control arm and the lower radius arm. Take your car to a tyre/wheel alignment specialist.
I did this morning and 2 of them are happy to sell and fit tyres of the placard size (245/45/17) but will not definitively say this would solve my scrub issues IF this was indeed the cause of the scrubbing. I really need to be really tiny microscopic human to be able to sit inside my gaurd while someone's driving so I can see if its scrubbing on it.
Us mechanics generally refer to them as stub axles.
That gap is very close on FGs as you have observed, this is normal. Also remember, there is no relative movement between the wheel and this suspension arm (unless your wheel bearing is flogged out), so if you're not touching when you look under the car, it wont scrub when you drive.
Thanks Joney. Ok so we were under the car the other day checking all bushes and ball joints as we'd just re-did all the Territory ones. This FG is actually in good knick front end wise. I just wasnt sure if that was a moving part. However I am going to swap over to the right sized tyre anyway as a wider but shorter tyre would proabbly sit better on the road anyway and I would like to comply. Possibly scrubbing is from toe in so an alignment when fitting the tyres might pay off.
If you suspect the clearance is insufficient, perhaps you could purchase a pair of wheel spacers to increase the clearance. The wheel track will be marginally wider though.
Are wheel spacers legal in any state/territory? If there's an issue you're far better off addressing the actual cause than trying to find a band aid solution.
According to the ADR it's illegal in Australia unless your car came fitted with it factory stock.
@skillet: Pretty much, but I couldn’t be bothered looking at all states, but low that the states do differ in some areas. (Obviously not this area)
Yep agree….thats my thought process too…fix the actual problem at hand rather than fudging the issue.
Update: - I got the 245/45/17s fitted new today. Now back to factory tyre placard spec. There definitely more room above the tyre and no change to the width really (although they are 5mm wider). Had a wheel alignment done too. Toe in was a few mm out so hopefully that fixes the issue too.
Certainly drives nicer (but that could all be in my head) but happy so far. Didn't go OTT with brand. I'll see how I go but went with Diamond Back Chinese but distributed by Goodyear Dunlop. Some good reviews so we will see how they fare. The trea pattern looks decent for water displacement. I spose 10,000ks will tell if this was a bad decision. Either way the major thing was to address the wrong size and the clearance issue which I have now done.
What sort of car do you drive with double wishbone suspension. 992 GT3RS?
In a normal car (probably what you drive) the coil spring rests on part of the strut tower which can be as close as 10mm from the tyre. This is normal. If you use larger tyres against the recommended placard dimensions then you may get scrubbing.