For those of you who like to run larger and/or wider tires under minimal lift, here's an easy little way to gain some tire clearance. The pinch weld mod is probably one of the more common fixes for minor tire rub. When I refer to "pinch weld," it isn't exactly a "pinch weld" per say, but in fact a protruding body seam that is "pinched" together and spot-welded.

When you mount your new tires and crank the wheel, the initial rubbing you feel and hear is actually the plastic inner-fender that covers the pinch weld. So, that is the first thing that needs to go.

Starting with the front driver's side, looking at the wheel, take a look at the inner-fender plastic behind the wheel, near the floorboard of the truck. You'll notice that the plastic has a slight hump protruding out, which is obviously a source of rubbing. The first thing to do is cut out the plastic around the hump.

With the plastic cut away, you will see the spot-welded body seam, which was the reason for the hump. This is what is being referred to as the pinch weld.

Here's the fun part - you get to whip out your hammer for this one. Simply tap (or pound) the body seam flat, so that it doesn't protrude anymore. For some fellas, they just whack the daylights out of it until it is flat. But for others, like me, who prefer something less unsightly, you can be a little more gentle with it and simply tap it over flat. I even went to the extent of wrapping my hammer head with an old cloth to keep from scratching the paint.

Repeat this process for the other side. That's it. Pretty simple, huh? This completely cured my rubbing issues. But each setup is going to be different - you might have tire rub elsewhere.