Westfield Rear Wheel Arch & Type Approval

[RingSpanner]

I have been helping a neighbour with paperwork for the MoT & type approval malarky.

I found the rear wheel arch has been catching against the rear tyre, scrubbing a bit of rubber off the sidewall. This is occurring on the offside arch, when the car is under full cornering load, with just driver in the vehicle.

I believe this would be a "FAIL" point.
Am I correct?

The next burning question is - has anyone had any experience of this happening after assembling their car.
I'm told the correct rims with correct offset have been used, and the tyres are, too.

Any offers....
TIA

[Avocet]

Should be an SVA fail under the "General Design and Construction" section. it contains a catch-all that allows the tester to knock it back on anything he thinks is unsafe. Obviously, something like that could indeed be unsafe. Of course he might not spot it if the tyre is new but it is probably worth sorting anyway.

[Justin S]

Is it a fixed wheel arch,as the removeable ones are usually longer and clear the tyres? I have trimmed the inside of the wheel arch to clear the problem,although changing the ride height can also help by pre-loading the spring a bit more.You could also get the inside face of the wheel flanged milled off a couple of mm.

[RingSpanner]

Thanks guys, the response & help is appreciated.

Justin_S – yep, it is a fixed wheel arch type.
I thought about trimming the wheel arch, but wanted to explore other remedies, and I think your suggestion of adjusting the ride height with the spring preload is worth looking into.