I just got my body repainted back to the VR. After the job, I noticed my 7's front fenders are bent. What I mean by that is that at the top of the front fenders, the lip of the fender from the underside is bending down. The right fender was like that prior to paint. The left fender started bending a month or so after the paint job. Any ideas?

 

"bending" like that comes from the tire rubbing the fender, usually whenthe car is lowered to much or the wrong size tires are used. it can be bent back into shape without damage to the paint if it is heated up correctly. you should address the problem first though.

 

You might as well roll them to what you can while you're bending them back

 

Everything is stock on the car. Ride height, suspension, and rims. Tires are not stock, only because I replaced them (10% treading is not smart in Los Angeles). I don't hear rubbing while driving (street driving; I can barely hear anything on the freeway obviously), and my tires don't show signs of rubbing.

I would roll the fenders, but I'm on stock rims. I'm trying to RESTORE the car, I'm not looking to modify it quite yet. I really enjoy the stock look. Any modifications thus far are to restore factory exterior/interior and increase reliability (i.e. re-enforce stock IC piping, R1 strut and lip, engine damper, tires). I'll eventually get a nice pair of rims (my goal is Works VS-XX 18x9 all four corners with the fenders rolled), but until then, I'll ride all stock

So if it's not rubbing, could it be that I'm taking turns hard enough to put stress on the fenders?!?!? I don't think the torque would do that to the 7. I don't go to the track often anymore (after the paint job, I'm afraid of scratches), nor do I drift/push through turns. I've been pretty good about where to push it and when. I've done touge and time attack, but like I said, not since before the paint job. I've been enjoying simply having/driving the car.

 

Just because everything is stock does not mean that you couldn't rub the front fenders.

If your springs sag, shocks are blown and top shock tower mounts are shot, then they could all potentially contribute to you rubbing (and catching) the fender as in your photos.

 

What size tires do you have? 225-50-16 is stock and anything else could rub. Even variations between tire brands and tread designs could possibly make stock size rub, especially now that the car is 15 years old and springs sag and shocks are worn.

 

you can see in the first picture where the tire has rubbed the fender. notice the darker/shiner section at about 11:30-1 o clock on the corner?

last time i had those issues was turning into a parking lot from a main street. id suggest a drive around with the windows down, although it seems as if the tire has already made clearance room itself.

 

tire is definitely rubbing.

 

I understand wear and tear on the suspension. i understand what stock is. I've had everything replaced with OEM parts. Unless both left/front and right/front suspension were bad when I bought it from Mazda, none of the replaced parts should have issues. Prior to paint, the right fender started doing that about 3 months after I purchased the car. The left one started after I re-painted and replaced suspension.

I do notice where the tire is rubbing. I did not notice that before. Thanks. So now I know it's my tire grabbing at the fender. I'm assuming it's pretty often too seeing that it'll grab whenever the car dips, which is almost always (gotta love LA freeways).
When I got the new paint job, I had the right fender bent back to place, but it re-appeared a month later. What is causing the car to dip so low then?!?!?