BMW E46 rubbing on rears.

[Rolls604]

Hey guys. I'm new to the community and could use some advice on getting flush rears on my BMW 325CI. I recently put in 12mm spacers to push out my 265s and I would like to know how other e46 owners avoided rubbing against the bumper when they pushed out. I rolled the lip as best I could (still not enough so I'm going to shave them) so that's one issue solved. The plastic brackets I can remove and cut, so that's another issue solved. It's the rubbing on the rear bumper edge that I could use some help with. I don't want to stretch and go hellaflush. Just semi-flush. The pic below shows the points I'm rubbing. The bottom circle is the part where I'm hitting the bumper. Any tips?

[Khalil]

My plastic tab melted itself off.

I cut my fenders so that edge wasn't a problem, but before I cut them I think I pulled it slightly so it stopped rubbing.

[Kielan]

I just cut the bumper tabs and then let it rub to fit..

[Rolls604]

The edge in question for me is the edge on the bumper portion of that well (the edge I circled on the bottom of the pic), not the edge on the fender, which I can cut off. Did you guys get any rubbing on that bumper edge? I see so many slammed e46's and their tires look very close to the bumper edge. I am riding on close to the stiffest damping on my coilovers but on hard turns and big bumps I hit the bumper edge even though the fender lip clears just fine.

edit: I guess the difference for me is I'm not looking for the tucked look. I'm trying to get flush without stretching tires or crazy camber.

BTW: splits, lovin the TiAg. looks nice.

[Vilius]

I think 5mm narrower spacers would do the trick

[Byron]

It's the height of your tires coupled with the square sidewall that is making them rub. The bumper narrows towards the ground when viewed from the rear, so as far as your bumper is concerned you have poke. Stretching them would get them to fit inside the bumper better, shorter sidewalls would let them travel up more before hitting.

[Rolls604]

I'm going to try 10mm on the rear. maybe use the 12mm to the front instead. I'm assuming that the 2mm wider front won't affect handling but I could be wrong?

[Anonymoose]

I trimmed the plastic parts slightly on mine, removed that tab bolt and replaced it with a flat fastener clip and rolled the arches (even on the very edge that you've circled). Then went lower and wider so I slotted the bumper tab that's behind the plastic splash guard in your picture and pulled the bumper end out slightly then tightened the bolt again. I did that so my bumper lined up with the pulled arches but it solved the rubbing issue aswell.

Your tyre and unrolled arch combo need a little work but it's very doable, good luck