Strut Tower Brace Rub

**Sarge** · 10-13-2005, 09:49 AM

...My pals down at the Pontiac dealership aligned her with positive camber this morning...no more rub (it only did it in reverse with a hard left hand turn)....but anyway it worked....rides good also.....Service writer told me Pontiac doesn't have a recall but have been told the new specs and are not charging for the alignment....here is the statement.............
"History: The 2004-2005 Pontiac GTO is an imported version of the Australia Holden Monaro. The Holden Manaro comes from the factory with 235/45R17 tires, tires that are generally 235mm (9.25") wide. However, when Pontiac spec'd the GTO for the US, they finally decided on a 10mm wider tire, a 245/45R17 BF Goodrich G-Force KDWS tire. No changes were made to the suspension of the vehicle for US import though.

Current Problem: The larger tire causes rubbing on the front strut, namely and more commonly the passenger side strut. This is evidenced by a rubbing mark on the strut body and many times wear marks on the tires themselves. In some cases, front suspension binding has occurred. In other cases, tire replacement was necessary. This is due, in fact, to the increase in size of the tire that Pontiac has chosen to put on the imported version. Several Pontiac dealerships are aware of this problem, and it has been speculated that Pontiac is aware as well.

Future Problems: Tires are not all the same size. One 245/45R17 tire can be smaller or larger depending on the manufacturer of the tire. There is a strong posibility that when a consumer replaces his/her worn factory tires with another set of tires, of the same "size", that they would be even larger and could cause serious problems.

**'99 SLP#24** · 10-13-2005, 10:37 AM

So is this on the front wheels? I ask because my dad has an 04 and he had to replace his rear right tire because the inside was worn.

**Rob** · 10-13-2005, 12:09 PM

Yep, only the fronts. I have a very minor mark on my strut, so I'm not going to take it back to the dealer for that. If it was causing some tire wear, most definitely though. Some are so bad the tire gets shreaded after a few thousand miles.

**Sarge** · 10-14-2005, 03:06 PM

We had the Goat up in the air today welding the cats(gutted of course...clamps dont hold shit)
Damn...even though it doesnt rub now....I'm still thinking about getting a couple of 235/45/17's just for peace of mind.....I run Nitto's on the back...so it's just the front....