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11-13-2009, 04:09 PM | #1 |
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pros and cons of wheel spacers
Hi, I'm deciding to get larger wheels or using OEM M roadster wheels with spacers to give it the flush look. So I see the difference between the stock wheels vs. what others are running 275/285 in the rear and 235/245 in the front vs stock size isn't that much.
I'm not a wheel/tire person so I'm trying to learn...did the search thing and didn't get the info I needed on this forum. What's the downside of having a 10/20 mm spacer up front and 20 to 30 mm spacer in the back? I'm not tracking the car, so is it really worth it to spend $2K plus more for a little size increase? This is more aesthetics, but I don't have the knowledge of the downsides of spacers and how that will affect alignment and handling? Be nice if someone can share some more information. So any experienced tire/wheel person can comment please. Thanks! |
11-14-2009, 05:55 AM | #2 |
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It could lead to vibration, and you'll obviously you need longer bolts when doing spacers. Otherwise I think the general consensus is that the larger the spacer, the riskier it is to run. Spacers are a band-aid, a temporary fix till you can get wheels that fit the car correctly.
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11-14-2009, 06:22 AM | #3 |
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If spacers are installed correctly, they'll be issue-free. Many race folks run spacers to get that wider stance/track and tweak wheel fitment so I wouldn't be scared off from using them. But you MUST make sure that they are mated up to a clean hub face on the wheel and rotor side. If the spacer is installed with a gunked up surface on the hub or wheel, you'll get vibration.
Running a big spacer versus a small spacer shouldn't introduce any additional troubles so long as they're hubcentric and mated to a clean hub face, as mentioned. I've run spacers on my 3er and my Z without issue. I've always run a stud/nut kit with studs long enough for the spacers to be run which makes getting everything lined up a lot easier...
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11-15-2009, 02:08 AM | #5 |
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I've used spacers 10 mm Macht Schnell from EAS and no issues at all...
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11-15-2009, 02:30 PM | #6 |
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the only negative i see is added unsprung weight and the need to buy longer bolts which isn't cheap. i was in the same boat as you got just found wheels with a more aggressive offset. this gave the flush look w/o the need to run spacers.
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11-18-2009, 09:12 PM | #7 | |
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Plenty of track cars run spacers for wider stances or to accommodate large rubber.
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11-18-2009, 09:13 PM | #8 |
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a 5mm spacer probably weighs very little. But I guess that is a 'negative'.
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11-18-2009, 09:48 PM | #9 | |
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Unsprung weight thing is moot, you would add the weight with the change in offset anyway.
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I think he more meant you should have the proper offset wheel instead of the spacers, which ultimately you should, less fumbling about. But if you're trying to fit something big under your fender it makes more sense to go with a higher numbered offset and space it out with a spacer instead.
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11-25-2009, 06:47 PM | #10 |
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If you want to widen the track of your Z4 M roadster using the stock wheels and original tire sizes (225 front and 255 rear) you will get best results with 12 mm spacers in the back and 15mm spacers in the front. You will need correspondingly longer wheel bolts. The most common problem is corrosion of the spacer to the wheel hub, making it difficult to remove. So be sure and coat the contact surface between the wheel hub and the spacer with some anti seize compound. If your are not using stock tire sizes, these spacer sizes will not be correct.
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11-25-2009, 07:08 PM | #11 |
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Car62,
How did you come up with number for the wheel space size? Something you have tried? I kinda like the OEM fish hook wheels in the matte black or gun metal... so I thought it might be a nice solution to use spacers. Would any larger spacer cause problems in your experience? Why 15mm in front and why only 12mm in back? Thanks for answering. |
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11-26-2009, 04:35 AM | #12 | |
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11-28-2009, 07:20 PM | #14 |
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