What Is The Clearance Between The Tires On The Wheel Wells?

[Jeff Porter]

Hey Edward, as someone that lived in Denver for 15 yrs, and living in KS now had to drive in blowing and drifting snow this morning at 0 degrees F, I like your question.

I think it will be a question of temp and snow for the Elio. That stinks that the loaner you have, had the snow get caught under the fender so easily. But if the temp is below 10 degrees and there's snow on the road, any car can get ice and snow on the inside of the wheel. And that's a bit different than what you got with the loaner.

In Fort Collins, hopefully this will happen with the Elio once every 3-4 yrs, where it's super cold and there's snow on the roads.

 

[Jay3wheel]

We will all need little stickers that say, "Hey don't sit on my fends!"

Oops, I forgot the er, I also forgot dumba##!

 

[jdkeats]

Snow pack in the wheel wells is a given for any car but I've never had this much of a problem with her Nissan Versa, my Chrysler Cirrus (largest car I've owned), the Prizm, Camry, Corolla, or Beetle. I've also never seen a tire with so little clearance. Even with the snow cleared out, I couldn't fit my hand in there!

I am not sure why this would be a problem. It is not like the accumulation stops the wheel from turning. "Wheel well pack" happens on any car if the right snow conditions are present. The clearance should not stop anything. The pack gets worn off with the moving tire. I have had my Ram 2500 diesel 4x4 packed to the point that there is just enough room for the tire. Nothing changes, just keep plugging along.

 

[Edward]

Hey Edward, as someone that lived in Denver for 15 yrs, and living in KS now had to drive in blowing and drifting snow this morning at 0 degrees F, I like your question.

I think it will be a question of temp and snow for the Elio. That stinks that the loaner you have, had the snow get caught under the fender so easily. But if the temp is below 10 degrees and there's snow on the road, any car can get ice and snow on the inside of the wheel. And that's a bit different than what you got with the loaner.

In Fort Collins, hopefully this will happen with the Elio once every 3-4 yrs, where it's super cold and there's snow on the roads.

3-4 years? <10 with snow on the road is 3-4 times per winter!

I am not sure why this would be a problem. It is not like the accumulation stops the wheel from turning. "Wheel well pack" happens on any car if the right snow conditions are present. The clearance should not stop anything. The pack gets worn off with the moving tire. I have had my Ram 2500 diesel 4x4 packed to the point that there is just enough room for the tire. Nothing changes, just keep plugging along.

That's the theory. However, in the Accent, it did wind up blocking the tire.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

quick change fenders -saw mentioned 4 bolts and off it comes- so I see no problem, but then again I keep asking what is snow??, Sorry gotta go in and get my jacket it's a bit chilly (@70 ) down here in South Florida and loving it!!
Stay warm!!

 

[jdkeats]

3-4 years? <10 with snow on the road is 3-4 times per winter!

That's the theory. However, in the Accent, it did wind up blocking the tire.

blocking it to the point it would not move?

 

[Bert]

Yup, stay off the fenders!!

I think Edward has a point. This last snow here in Colorado was very wet. I also noticed it packed heavily into the front fender wells on my POS, and in fact when I got off work noticed the "slush" had oozed from the fenders to the tires. I spent about five minutes prying, kicking and turning the steering wheel, after finding my tires were frozen into place. The rear fender wells are fairly open in the back, but the ice loaded up behind my rear fender. A well placed kick broke it free, but I was amazed by the more than foot thick, five foot long, ice log!

 

[Jay3wheel]

quick change fenders -saw mentioned 4 bolts and off it comes- so I see no problem, but then again I keep asking what is snow??, Sorry gotta go in and get my jacket it's a bit chilly (@70 ) down here in South Florida and loving it!!
Stay warm!!

Is that four per fender? I plan on having both, one for local one for long distance. Luckily it is supposed to get back to the 80's by Saturday, I feel your pain.

 

[Bert]

AND, this tread just made a decision for me. I will get a set of P3 fenders to use in the Winter.

 

[jdkeats]

Who needs Stinkin fenders?