Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

I have just picked up a sweet set of tires with rims. The dimensions are 31.5x10.5 as to the 30.5x9.5s that were on there previously. However, that little increase now has them rubbing when I turn, more so on one side than the other, which is curious.

So I have a couple questions.
1. I have read that cranking torsion bars up front, and a little trimming of the molding behind the front tire will fix this. So not sure what that entails exactly, if someone can specify this a little more clearly. And if you think that would work.
2. I need to get to Whistler tomorrow from Salt Spring for an interview for the Olympics and if I am not able to fix the turning, can I put on 2 of the smaller tires on the front for this trip without risking my life on the Sea to Die Highway.

thank you for any advice.

peace

Dewy wrote:I have just picked up a sweet set of tires with rims. The dimensions are 31.5x10.5 as to the 30.5x9.5s that were on there previously. However, that little increase now has them rubbing when I turn, more so on one side than the other, which is curious.

So I have a couple questions.
1. I have read that cranking torsion bars up front, and a little trimming of the molding behind the front tire will fix this. So not sure what that entails exactly, if someone can specify this a little more clearly. And if you think that would work.
2. I need to get to Whistler tomorrow from Salt Spring for an interview for the Olympics and if I am not able to fix the turning, can I put on 2 of the smaller tires on the front for this trip without risking my life on the Sea to Die Highway.

thank you for any advice.

peace

most if not all the trimming I did when I went to that size was actually to the rubber mud flaps in the wheel well, take a look in under there and you should be able to see where the tires have been rubbing and cut those sections away or bend parts to push away from the tire, then test it out (it will rub differently in reverse than forward btw)

i will take a look
thanks

Dewy, people angle grind the area away on the body of the van, ie on the rolling door side, see where the back edge of the wheel arch ends, then it runs straight along twards the sliding door. This arch is covered by a plastic decorative strip (directly below the gas cap, at ground level). Pry off plastic strip (dont crack it), angle grind or fold the metal edge under, trim the plastic bit to same curve, reglue plastic bit. Lots of work to make it look pretty again. Soem people find it is worst rub when hard braking and turning, so maybe keep your speed down to reduce the braking effort. So try to just remove the mudflap for now. Don't air down the tire, might not hold the bead seal between the tire and rim very well. Christine.

TardisDeli wrote:Dewy, people angle grind the area away on the body of the van, ie on the rolling door side, see where the back edge of the wheel arch ends, then it runs straight along twards the sliding door. This arch is covered by a plastic decorative strip (directly below the gas cap, at ground level). Pry off plastic strip (dont crack it), angle grind or fold the metal edge under, trim the plastic bit to same curve, reglue plastic bit. Lots of work to make it look pretty again. Soem people find it is worst rub when hard braking and turning, so maybe keep your speed down to reduce the braking effort. So try to just remove the mudflap for now. Don't air down the tire, might not hold the bead seal between the tire and rim very well. Christine.

I trick a hardcore offroad let me know is the plastic trim can be bent out of the way after or instead of trimming (depending on how much more room you need) with a heat gun and drywall mud knife or similar tool

To fit 31x10.5x15 you have to lift the front end via torsion bars about 1-2" inches depending on whether or not your front end was sagging and lower than stock.

Then you have to trim like Tardisdeli said above. Remove the front steps/guards and mudflaps. Then bend or hammer the vertical seam that sticks out 1" from the wheelwell on the rear side.

Test fit and turn the wheels and check both sides for rubbing.

Lift and trim more where required.

What rims are you using ?

Bare minimum width is 6.5" for 10.5 tire. If you have them on 6" wide rims, there is a very good chance the bead will pop and the tire will blow out when cornering.

The offset/backspacing will also dictate how much you need to trim off the body.

Once all of that is done get a proper laser/wheel alignment otherwise you will kill your tires as they will look like this / \ from the front of the vehicle.

Dewy wrote:2. I need to get to Whistler tomorrow from Salt Spring for an interview for the Olympics and if I am not able to fix the turning, can I put on 2 of the smaller tires on the front for this trip without risking my life on the Sea to Die Highway.

thank you for any advice.

peace

you can run that setup without any problems.

So long as the wheels/tires match on both sides, then you can run larger or smaller diameter tires front to back. It will just look a little hotrod'ish

i just noticed i can't even spell tires let alone put them on.

So i have banged around a little on the worst side, literally and after taking the tire off and on again a few times it is better but still looks like it would need along way to go.

To fit 31x10.5x15 you have to lift the front end via torsion bars about 1-2" inches depending on whether or not your front end was sagging and lower than stock.

That sounds a little like french to me, so to do that I may just wait until I take Dewy up to see Glenn next week, when he looks at the root of why i needed tires in the first place.

What rims are you using ?

good question.

I may just put the best 2 tires on the front and let the experts in Coombs play with it.

Thanks for your help.

Here are some pics.

Put the best two 30's on the front (rotate cross from back to front) and put the best 31's on the rear.

Don't put 31's on the front. You'll rip the Delica and the tires to shreds.

jfarsang wrote:Put the best two 30's on the front (rotate cross from back to front) and put the best 31's on the rear.

Don't put 31's on the front. You'll rip the Delica and the tires to shreds.

And don't put it in 4wd mode until you get it sorted out with 4 equal tires!

thats what i have done.
thanks for the advice.
peace