factory fender gap on the front end?

[themadness]

i have about 2.5 inches of clearance on the front. is that factory spacing

[DTMAce]

Where are you measuring this at? What point to what point?

[themadness]

in the middle from the top of the tire to the fender. the superficial space

[Money pit Beretta]

Wheel size? Tire size? Those change everthing.
Not too sure what you are looking to find out. Springs that are worn out don't always make it lower. Mine sit just as high as stock but suck going around the turns.

[3X00-Modified]

worn springs don't cause sucky turning... Thats inadequate swaybars for what your doing and or blown/bad struts that aren't helping the springs.

[Money pit Beretta]

Shocks and struts are new. Sways are more than enough to turn on to another street(new outside bushings on the front too) . The springs are just weak.

[themadness]

tires are 205/65/16

i was trying to be sure my struts are shot and was thinking the gap would be an indicator. ride is rough as hell and i get what i would describe as a wobble when changing lanes, etc. especially when the reflectors are on the yellow lines

[3X00-Modified]

Shocks and struts are new. Sways are more than enough to turn on to another street(new outside bushings on the front too) . The springs are just weak.

Weak springs wont hold weight and will sag, if they don't droop any from stock then their age has nothing to do with how much your car sways as much as you want to think that. I know a thing or two about spring rates and sway when it comes to taking hard corners... I work on a circle track car and we were running 12yr old springs up front and still winning and the car handling never changed, if your springs are that worn they will show ride height changes.

tires are 205/65/16

i was trying to be sure my struts are shot and was thinking the gap would be an indicator. ride is rough as hell and i get what i would describe as a wobble when changing lanes, etc. especially when the reflectors are on the yellow lines

struts will not affect ride height since the "pressure" in a strut is no where near enough to force the weight of the car corner up or not. If you have wobbles like that or an extremely rough ride then yes the chances of the struts being bad are high. Do a bounce check, bounce the car pushing down on the front bumper and see how long it takes to settle down... it shouldn't bounce much more than once if even that.

[Money pit Beretta]

I understand what you have said. I would still bet that the stock Beretta springs are nothing close to circle track springs.

[2.2H8TA]

tires are 205/65/16

i was trying to be sure my struts are shot and was thinking the gap would be an indicator. ride is rough as @#!*% and i get what i would describe as a wobble when changing lanes, etc. especially when the reflectors are on the yellow lines

Why do you have 205/65's?

[themadness]

tires are 205/65/16

i was trying to be sure my struts are shot and was thinking the gap would be an indicator. ride is rough as @#!*% and i get what i would describe as a wobble when changing lanes, etc. especially when the reflectors are on the yellow lines

Why do you have 205/65's?

thats what was on the wheels when i bought them

[berettaboi]

yes if it is pretty rough when going over a reflector on the road, like it continues to rattle/bounce immediately following, then likely the struts and shocks may need to be replaced.

you can really notice if going around a bend with a pot hole or medium/large crack in the road... your car may bounce sideways a bit. i need new rears shocks... one side for sure has leaked out it's oil.

also key spots to look at, your front control arms, famous for rotting out. and also the stabilizer bar links. bushings worn out/rotting, and control arm bushings popping out.

[3X00-Modified]

I understand what you have said. I would still bet that the stock Beretta springs are nothing close to circle track springs.

Nevermind I give up.

[Money pit Beretta]

Good, this was going to be a long one.