Upgraded to 18" Wheels, smelling burnt rubber?

[MreedBMWM3]

Hey guys please help me out here.

Last night I installed a set of ACS that I bought from a fellow member.
They are 18x8.5 and the tires are 235/40/18

Previously I had my stock 17 x 7.5 and 235/40/17

First off they look great, my only concern is after installing them last night and going only a mile I smelled burnt rubber. I pulled over and couldn't see any problems. After getting on the hwy the smell went away.
This morning on the way to work I decided to push the car and went 115 mph, immediately I smelled burnt rubber.
Do any of you know why this is happening? My suspension is stock except for Bilstein Sports.
Do I need to have the wheels aligned?
Thanks, Matt

[Richy Gonzalez]

I had a similar issue but it turned out to be that my alternator pulley had taken a crap and the it was rubbing the belt away. ...Sorry if this wasn't the answer you where looking for but you never know!

[Daved]

If they're rubbing, you should hear some noise...

[VaTechE36]

^^ That would be my guess as well. Can you tell where the smell is coming from?

Could be a bunch of different things, but if this problem recently started happening, it sounds wheel related.

I'd check the tires and see if you can see anything that might seem suspicious

[pelotudo]

stock suspension shouldn't be rubbing with that wheel/tire size, unless offset is somehow wrong. Do u hear any noises or can u tell where the smell is originating from?

[Theodore]

Take em off and look for rub marks inside the wheel well.

[MreedBMWM3]

Thanks guys,

I'm not hearing any noise, that's why I didn't think it was rubbing.

I will dismount and look for rub marks.

Thanks again.

[318daily]

What kind of tires ? I have a set of cheap Kumho 712's that smell after i've been pushing them through corners. They might just wear easily ?

[E36 Maniac]

I would refrain from 115MPH pushes until you know whats going wrong completly.

[MreedBMWM3]

Ok I've just come back from doing an inspection of the car. The front left tire is rubbing on the strut, why would this be happening?

It's the inside of the tire rubbing against the bottom of the strut housing with the spring resting on top of the housing.

[E36 Maniac]

Its due to the offset of the wheels probably. Sounds like you need a set of spacers to make clearance. Also....115 with tire on strut=your lucky you didnt blow a tire depending on how bad it is rubbing.

[biggafigga]

you went from a 7.5" rim to an 8.5" rim. If the offset is the same, that's 0.5" on each side. Most guys who run 8.5" fronts use a small spacer.

[hc1001]

u need spacers for the front. i had 3mm spacers in the front and that fixed it back when i had ACS type 3 wheels...

[Stück]

You need spacers, and should also determine which strut housing is bent. If only one side is rubbing there is a good chance one of them is.

[MreedBMWM3]

Thanks guys, I got spacers on all four.

[biggafigga]

Thanks guys, I got spacers on all four.

You might not want spacers on the rear. It all depends on the offset of the rim. If the offset of your new rims are the same as the stock ones, your spacers just pushed the rim closer to the panel... and closer to rubbing.

[Dave95M3]

You need spacers, and should also determine which strut housing is bent. If only one side is rubbing there is a good chance one of them is.

:clap:clap:clap

I promise that you are the only person here who would have thought of that!

BRAVO!