Stock Size Tire Rubbing on 22" Denali Wheels

[Josh_Denali]

Would like to post an awesome into post, but my wife just purchased a 2016 Denali and we put Michelin LTX Defender tires on it. An All season highway tire, so nothing with too aggressive of a profile in stock size.

Now on the (front) passenger side in reverse (and sometimes in drive) the tire rubs near full lock. Rubs on the factory mud flap, and the mud flap doesn't appear to be loose.

I'm starting to wonder if the car we just bought has been in some sort of accident, but I spent years in the car business and can typically tell if a car's had paintwork just looking at it (especially a black car) and there's no visible paint work on this car and clean car fax and it's never left the state, so it'd be highly unlikely to be hiding a major wreck.

Car alignment from feel, feels fine, old tires on it didn't rub and were near the end of their life, and didn't show any unusual wear.

So I'm a bit at odds as to why a stock size tire would rub, and hoping you guys might be able to shed some light.

 

[CMoore711]

2015 Yukon XL Denali. Stock OEM 22” x 9” +24 Offset wheels with OEM 285/45/22 Bridgestones, never rubbed at all at any point.

Once my stock Bridgestones were shot I too replaced with 285/45/22 Michelin Defender LTX’s. Mine too occasionally rub up front primarily in reverse at full lock. Hardly ever in drive at full lock, but has before on certain incline angles. I don’t even have mud flaps up front and tires have still rubbed slightly. Enough for me to hear it and enough to wear a hole through my front fender liners.

Not all 285/45/22 size tires are created equal in regards to size between different tire manufacturers.

 

[Josh_Denali]

2015 Yukon XL Denali. Stock OEM 22” x 9” +24 Offset wheels with OEM 285/45/22 Bridgestones, never rubbed at all at any point.

Once my stock Bridgestones were shot I too replaced with 285/45/22 Michelin Defender LTX’s. Mine too occasionally rub up front primarily in reverse at full lock. Hardly ever in drive at full lock, but has before on certain incline angles. I don’t even have mud flaps up front and tires have still rubbed slightly. Enough for me to hear it and enough to wear a hole through my front fender liners.

Not all 285/45/22 size tires are created equal in regards to size between different tire manufacturers.

So did I just draw the short stick with regards to the tires I picked?
I shouldn't say full lock, just like they point out in this video it's really 3/4 lock or so. So basically EVERY time you back out of a parking spot. This video shows where it rubs. But this is just a flaw with the design of the vehicle at the end of the day??

 

[TexasDave]

I have a 2017 Tahoe Premier with 22” rims and original owner. Replaced the original Bridgestone tires when they got worn with the same Michelin’s you did. The same rubbing started when backing out of the driveway and turning the wheel. I’m just careful and try not to cut as sharp.


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[Josh_Denali]

I have a 2017 Tahoe Premier with 22” rims and original owner. Replaced the original Bridgestone tires when they got worn with the same Michelin’s you did. The same rubbing started when backing out of the driveway and turning the wheel. I’m just careful and try not to cut as sharp.


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This sucks... we just bought the car and the tires rub and the trans has the common 1-2 clunk. Not a good start, going to call the dealership in the morning and see if the trans fluid TSB has been done.

The mud flaps seem pretty solid so I'm not sure I could bend them in. I guess it's time for a little hammer work, and/or the die grinder.
I'm pretty handy but I have a rule about not touching my dailies. Hopefully this is simple

 

[CMoore711]

It’s commonly called the “NorCal Front Fender Mod”.

There are a few videos out there. Mostly of the mod being done in a Silverado/Sierra.

 

[TexasDave]

This sucks... we just bought the car and the tires rub and the trans has the common 1-2 clunk. Not a good start, going to call the dealership in the morning and see if the trans fluid TSB has been done.

The mud flaps seem pretty solid so I'm not sure I could bend them in. I guess it's time for a little hammer work, and/or the die grinder.
I'm pretty handy but I have a rule about not touching my dailies. Hopefully this is simple

I don't have any clunking when shifting. At least not at this point.

 

[RTrud203]

Would like to post an awesome into post, but my wife just purchased a 2016 Denali and we put Michelin LTX Defender tires on it. An All season highway tire, so nothing with too aggressive of a profile in stock size.

Now on the (front) passenger side in reverse (and sometimes in drive) the tire rubs near full lock. Rubs on the factory mud flap, and the mud flap doesn't appear to be loose.

I'm starting to wonder if the car we just bought has been in some sort of accident, but I spent years in the car business and can typically tell if a car's had paintwork just looking at it (especially a black car) and there's no visible paint work on this car and clean car fax and it's never left the state, so it'd be highly unlikely to be hiding a major wreck.

Car alignment from feel, feels fine, old tires on it didn't rub and were near the end of their life, and didn't show any unusual wear.

So I'm a bit at odds as to why a stock size tire would rub, and hoping you guys might be able to shed some light.

I don't have any clunking when shifting. At least not at this point.

I recently bought a 2018 Suburban and noticed this same behavior when I added Weathertech mud flaps. My truck has 22 inch wheels. After I installed the flaps, the right front wheel rubs when I am in a full right turn and reversing.

What I discovered is that the wheel well has a defect from when the metal was stamped. The lip on which the two bottom attachments points reside sticks forward. This is contrast to the drivers side which is perpendicular to the ground. The result is that the bottom lip juts out about 3/8-1/2 of an inch. I used a rubber mallet to flatten this area - from the inner most area and about 5-6 inches towards the outside of the wheel well.

I ended up hitting it a little too much but the mud flap still lined up on all the holes and I was able to reattach it as before with no fuss. Take your time and do more taps rather than whacking it as hard as you can.

The rub when in reverse at full right turn is gone.

I was able to do this with the wheel turned full stop but it is much easier with the wheel off.