Tire rubbing issue on new Bronco OBX

BroncoNewOwner

If you're dead right then spacers should solve the problem. I've sent the dealership an email with the Bora spacers from 0.25 to 1 inch and asked to have their mechanic pick the best option but not at all confident they'll get that right. I'd probably want to go with the minimum needed to clear the sway bar and avoid tire poke on the fender flares at the same time but WTH do I know. Any advice on that?

Measure or eyeball how far in your current tires sit inside the fender flares. That will give you an idea on spacer width.

I have 1.75" Bora spacers on mine but I wanted some poke for a more aggressive look. I also have DV8 Fender Flares on mine that are wider than the stock flares. My DV8 flares are about in-between stock flares and Sas flares, width wise..

This image of mine might give you an idea on the amount of poke I now have. It's not drastic, but it does give a bit more of an aggressive look.

1.75" Bora spacers with stock sized 17x8 wheels, 35x11.5R17 tires and DV8 fender flares.

raqball

Measure or eyeball how far in your current tires sit inside the fender flares. That will give you an idea on spacer width.

I have 1.75" Bora spacers on mine but I wanted some poke for a more aggressive look. I also have DV8 Fender Flares on mine that are wider than the stock flares. My DV8 flares are about in-between stock flares and Sas flares, width wise..

This image of mine might give you an idea on the amount of poke I now have. It's not drastic, but it does give a bit more of an aggressive look.

1.75" Bora spacers with stock sized 17x8 wheels, 35x11.5R17 tires and DV8 fender flares.

That's a good approach but the tires are already pretty close to the edge of the stock flares so that's why I would aim for the minimum spacer width to solve the rubbing issue. I went with significant poke on one of my previous 4x4s and it looked great but it was also really good at shooting mud and gravel up the sides of my truck when off-road. Nice ride btw.

BroncoNewOwner

That's a good approach but the tires are already pretty close to the edge of the stock flares so that's why I would aim for the minimum spacer width to solve the rubbing issue. I went with significant poke on one of my previous 4x4s and it looked great but it was also really good at shooting mud and gravel up the sides of my truck when off-road. Nice ride btw.

My entire body, hardtop and wheels are pinstriped, scratched and dinged up from Washington States tight deep forest trails so I am not really worried about that part of having poke.

Can you guesstimate how much clearance you'd need to clear the sway bar where the rubbing is happening? I looked at your photo from post 12 again and it's kinda hard to gauge from it but it looks like you'd need a bit to clear the bar. The photo might be deceptive though..

I assume that if you go the spacer route that you are going to have some poke. How much poke will depend on the spacer width needed to clear the bar..

The only other options would be new wheels, but those are going to run a lot more cash than spacers would. You could also do spacers and find someone, or a junk yard, that has Sasquatch fender flares for sale.. I believe the Sasquatch flares are 2" wider than stock. That might help eliminate any poke that the use of spacers would introduce.

Good luck, I hope you get it sorted..

raqball

My entire body, hardtop and wheels are pinstriped, scratched and dinged up from Washington States tight deep forest trails so I am not really worried about that part of having poke.

Can you guesstimate how much clearance you'd need to clear the sway bar where the rubbing is happening? I looked at your photo from post 12 again and it's kinda hard to gauge from it but it looks like you'd need a bit to clear the bar. The photo might be deceptive though..

I assume that if you go the spacer route that you are going to have some poke. How much poke will depend on the spacer width needed to clear the bar..

The only other options would be new wheels, but those are going to run a lot more cash than spacers would. You could also do spacers and find someone, or a junk yard, that has Sasquatch fender flares for sale.. I believe the Sasquatch flares are 2" wider than stock. That might help eliminate any poke that the use of spacers would introduce.

Good luck, I hope you get it sorted..

I would say 1/2 inch is probably enough and would only be the tiniest bit of poke that wouldn't matter but I want the Ford mechanic to tell me what he thinks will do. He's the guy who should know but I don't have a lot of faith. At least it would be a starting point.
The Ford dealer sold it to me as configured and they need to fix it, not me.
Thanks.

BroncoNewOwner

This is really helpful, thanks! You guessed right...they changed nothing, just slapped those tires on the stock rims. When they offered the 35s as an upgrade I asked if there could be any issues with that and they told me no worries, and that they had put these tires on "tons" of non SAS Broncos. I also came to the conclusion that the dealership is clueless and didn't do their homework, which is why I came here. The only thing that still concerns me some is that a hard rub left and a half inch clear right seems like a bit more than a slight offset on the sway bar. Why only the driver's side rubs is what puzzles me. If you're dead right then spacers should solve the problem. I've sent the dealership an email with the Bora spacers from 0.25 to 1 inch and asked to have their mechanic pick the best option but not at all confident they'll get that right. I'd probably want to go with the minimum needed to clear the sway bar and avoid tire poke on the fender flares at the same time but WTH do I know. Any advice on that?

With the stock flairs(painted)? You will get poke. I would look on line for people selling their Sasquatch flairs. That will take care of any poke

This is exactly what I was thinking, i.e. you don't have enough offset. As has been mentioned you can't add 35's to a non-SAS Bronco without removing the crash bars and/or modifying them. Somewhere I saw someone who has modified their crash bars to fit 35's rather than just removing them. Since my Badlands SAS came without them, I don't know how much sense that makes.

I won't start up the "spacers yes or no" argument again. But I will say this, if you go that route get quality spacers like @raqball uses, and re-torque them at every tire rotation, and every time you come back from an off-roading trip just to be safe.

JoergH

This is exactly what I was thinking, i.e. you don't have enough offset. As has been mentioned you can't add 35's to a non-SAS Bronco without removing the crash bars and/or modifying them. Somewhere I saw someone who has modified their crash bars to fit 35's rather than just removing them. Since my Badlands SAS came without them, I don't know how much sense that makes.

I won't start up the "spacers yes or no" argument again. But I will say this, if you go that route get quality spacers like @raqball uses, and re-torque them at every tire rotation, and every time you come back from an off-roading trip just to be safe.

Thanks for the input. I hear you about the crash bars and it's good advice for the off-roading aspect but that's not my problem. I've checked and the tires clear the fronts by over 1/4" and about half that on the rears at closest approach. I can see that as an issue off-road and plan to at least drop the rear crash bars but that won't fix the sway bar rub. That occurs whenever I crank left to pull into a parking spot at the mall or wherever.

The spacers seem to be my only reasonable option for that issue and I've picked Bora for those but the dealer mechanic can't explain why the left rubs hard on the sway bar at full stop and the right clears the sway bar by a half inch at full stop. To me that indicates an asymmetry between the two sides that shouldn't be there. It's the kind of thing that even a slight glitch in the factory set up or centering could account for but I don't know enough to say. I'm a good distance from being knowledgeable about this stuff but I'm convinced there's something else going on besides just the tire size.