Just noticed today that there only appears to be maybe 1/2" to 3/4" clearance between the inside tread area of the rear tires to the plastic inner fender wells on my hhr
I do have a new set of hankook Ipikes so I am assuming they are a little taller but not much seeing how a gps shows my speed to be right on with the speedo
of course without measuring maybe they are much taller
anyhow the passenger side if I remember correctley seems to be a little tighter than the driver side
surprised I never noticed this before

just a little concerned with the snow coming that there will not be much clearance here

I have had a few fwd cars around here in the winter when it gets real bad where it looks like there is no room for the tire to spin after the snow gets all packed up inside

anyone else notice how little clearance is in that area
its a 07 2lt with the polished 17" rims 215/50/17 tires

not sure why they built the hhr with that little of tire clearance there

 

Mine has even less room than that. I found when we were up in the Great White North my flaps helped with that, they stay flexible when loaded, just gave them a kick and it unloaded the wheel well, I learned to do this before going in the garage !!

 

Thanks I think mine.is.more towards 1/2" or less after looking at it
Makes me wonder why they made the clearance so fire when there is a ton of room behind the plastic

 

Yes, there is a snow/slush pack problem, but only noise as the tire will make it's own clearance. You will notice an odd sound or 2 in the snow, but no problems. Luckily rubber tires are harder than frozen slush, but the noise is alarming!

Front is worse!!!

 

anyone else notice how close the rear tires are to the plastic

 

FWIW. Maybe the plastic liner has warped a little and is a bit closer to your tires.
I spent 2 hrs the other day tightening up my rear wheel well liners. I added a couple screws on the inner wall and replaced some of the plastic retainers with nyloc nuts and bolts. I even put some foam strips between the liner and body,trying to eliminate the loose fit. Seems to have worked for me.