catback vs. tire clearance?

I currently have a unknown brand of tailpipe on my car, and my tires' sidewalls rub on them. The pics attached are what it looks like. Starting from the exit of the pipe, the tube runs straight back (towards the engine), without any bends until it gets even with the tires sidewalls. This is on both sides. There is only about 5/8" clearance between the sidewall and the pipe.

See next post for more info.

These 2 pics are of my old 94, that had a flowmaster stainless catback. Centered in the yellow circles are where the pipe bends in toward the middle of the car before it gets to the tire. This allows more clearance.

My issue is with putting on wider tires. A lot of people run wider tires with more backspacing which would put the tire closer to the pipe. Obviously, there pipes bend in before getting to the wheel (starting from the exit working forward), allowing more clearance and the option of tucking the wheel in more. Currently, I couldn't run any more backspacing.

Does your tailpipes have clearance issues like my current black GT, or do they bend in before getting to the tire, like my previous Rio Red? What brand do you have?

I am considering getting a 2.5" Mac catback, and don't want to buy them only to find out that they are like my current setup with minimal clearance.

Thanks,
Rick

Does anyone with a MAC catback (2.5 true fit w/ chrome tips - part #TK509400) know what kind of clearance there is with 245/45-17's (or whatever size you have). If someone would take a look at theirs and let me know, I would be eternally grateful!

Thanks,
Rick

I am not specifically wanting to know how MAC pipes fit around wider tires, just how they fit with stock sized tires.

It all comes down to where the pipe makes it's final bend, straightening out to the rear. My poor clearance pipes make their final bend right next to the tire, and thus is close to the tire for it's straight shot out the rear. A pipe with more clearance would make it's final bend farther back to the rear of the car, and follow the lines of the gas tank more closely.

I guess I just want to know if the MAC pipes are like the ones I have, or if they have more space. Perhaps my pipes are mac, and they are an older style that had poor clearance, and they have changed the design since adding more clearance.

Thanks,
Rick

KingDiamond said:

My 2.5" MAC pipes fit fine with the 245's and with 275's now there is still about 3/4" of space. But sometimes the tailpipe hits the tire, I can tell because the dust on the tailpipe is removed at one point sometimes.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Does it make it's last bend right next to the sidewall? Do you have the true fit setup? What size wheel and backspacing with those 275's? Do you think that they look like they're bent like my pipes on the black car (in post 1)?

Thanks,
Rick