Front Rubbing - Tires, Suspension or Wheels?
It sounds to me like you've got a stock A body rear axle. They varied a little bit in length, so if its just under the 57 1/8" mark that its supposed to be drum to drum that's what I would say it is.
As far as the rubbing issue you've got now, as you've said before it looks like your wheel is pretty well centered. It would definitely contact on both sides if you lowered the car down.
Assuming you have the backspace measured correctly on your current wheels, that is to say 15x10 with a 5" backspace, the 18x9.5" with 5" backspace with a 275/40/18 should fit, as it will leave room on both sides compared to your current set up.
This is a tire program that I use to check specs on tire and rim clearances. It isn't the end-all-be-all, as tire sizes vary from manufacturer, but it really helps, especially if you have data from a combination that you know fits.
http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp
So I used your current data, and this is what it comes up with...
So it tells you that the new combo will have space all the way around it. If you "swap" the data, it tells you that the old combo sticks out .2" further on the inside and .6" on the outside. Which also tells you that you should have an extra .2" of clearance on the inside and .6" on the outside with the new combo. Looking at your clearance, I think that's pretty close to right. You seem to have a little more room on the inside, on the outside you're already past the quarters with your current combo, it wouldn't even be close if you lowered the car.
As far as the spacers go, that's life. Obviously it would be better not to need them, but as long as you use quality spacers they're perfectly safe, all kinds of folks use them on everything from daily's to race cars. When you get within a 1/2" of the body with your tire clearances the body tolerances are a big factor, and spacers can become a necessity.
From what the calculator says, you shouldn't need the spacers. But that will depend on how much you lower the car, and how well centered the axle is with the body. Either way, the spacer you'd need would be less than a 1/4", and those are readily available even in generic form, in plenty of hubcentric options.
It sounds to me like you've got a stock A body rear axle. They varied a little bit in length, so if its just under the 57 1/8" mark that its supposed to be drum to drum that's what I would say it is.
As far as the rubbing issue you've got now, as you've said before it looks like your wheel is pretty well centered. It would definitely contact on both sides if you lowered the car down.
Assuming you have the backspace measured correctly on your current wheels, that is to say 15x10 with a 5" backspace, the 18x9.5" with 5" backspace with a 275/40/18 should fit, as it will leave room on both sides compared to your current set up.
This is a tire program that I use to check specs on tire and rim clearances. It isn't the end-all-be-all, as tire sizes vary from manufacturer, but it really helps, especially if you have data from a combination that you know fits.
http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp
So I used your current data, and this is what it comes up with...
So it tells you that the new combo will have space all the way around it. If you "swap" the data, it tells you that the old combo sticks out .2" further on the inside and .6" on the outside. Which also tells you that you should have an extra .2" of clearance on the inside and .6" on the outside with the new combo. Looking at your clearance, I think that's pretty close to right. You seem to have a little more room on the inside, on the outside you're already past the quarters with your current combo, it wouldn't even be close if you lowered the car.
As far as the spacers go, that's life. Obviously it would be better not to need them, but as long as you use quality spacers they're perfectly safe, all kinds of folks use them on everything from daily's to race cars. When you get within a 1/2" of the body with your tire clearances the body tolerances are a big factor, and spacers can become a necessity.
From what the calculator says, you shouldn't need the spacers. But that will depend on how much you lower the car, and how well centered the axle is with the body. Either way, the spacer you'd need would be less than a 1/4", and those are readily available even in generic form, in plenty of hubcentric options.
