Wheel spacers.

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If you're going to get spacers those bolt on type are the best ones to get. However, if you do a lot of drag racing I would just get wider rims. If you just use the car normally then those would work fine.
 
There have been a lot of discussion elsewhere on spacers - and the consensus is that they are just trouble. The length of the thread posted is just another example of the magnitude of the problems.

If you can avoid using spacers, do so!
 
Originally Posted By: Zaedock
Make sure you check your local laws. In Mass, spacers are illegal.


So cops in Mass make you pull your wheels off to check for spacers? Or do they know the exact offset on all wheels and they go around measuring? :) J/K

The ones I'm looking to get bolt right on, I was just wondering if anyone has heard of any catastrophic failures.
 
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They overstress the wheel bearings.
Expect short wheel bearing life.
For any wheel bearing issues you'll be denied warranty.
 
How thick of spacer do you plan on using?

I've seen guys road race with bolt on spacers, and haven't heard of any issues.
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
They overstress the wheel bearings.
Expect short wheel bearing life.
For any wheel bearing issues you'll be denied warranty.


I don't see how as long as the alignment is within spec. And for wheelbearing warranty, I would just remove them before taking the car in :)

I'm looking to do 20mm front, and 25mm rear.
 
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Originally Posted By: vlado11
I don't see how as long as the alignment is within spec.......


Alignment has nothing to do with it. Moving the tire out increases the lever arm and that increases the force on the bearings.

Originally Posted By: vlado11
.......
And for wheelbearing warranty, I would just remove them before taking the car in :)......


No matter what you do, there will be some sort of evidence that something non-stock was mounted there. Once identified as someone who is trying to put something over on the warranty folks, you will always have trouble getting warranty.
 
"Moving the tire out increases the lever arm and that increases the force on the bearings"

Oh, now I see what you mean. But wouldn't wheels with agressive offset do the same?

thx
 
Originally Posted By: vlado11
"Moving the tire out increases the lever arm and that increases the force on the bearings"

Oh, now I see what you mean. But wouldn't wheels with agressive offset do the same?

thx


Yes.

I don't like spacers because they introduce new failure modes into a critical area. That said....if the spacers are of know good quality and properly designed for the job, and your car design doesn't have marginal wheel bearings, 20-25mm shouldn't be the end of the world.
 
Those bolt on spacers are much safer looking than the regular spacers that almost took my life a few years back.

I had them on a ford thunderbird. Bring a dumb kid, I wanted to put Jaguar S Type Wheels on the car. The offset needed a spacer in the front wheel. I put them on all 4 wheels so that it wouldn't look strange. The metal spacer cracked, and sent the wheel flying and the car sliding out of control about half a mile past the Grand Island bridge, at speeds of about 60mph.

I didn't hit anything, wasn't hurt, the car went right to the shoulder. I lost a rear wheel to a spacer. In short order it ripped all the studs out of the drum.
 
Those spacers should be OK, do not use spacers that does not comes with stud because many of it will not sit properly on the hub and cause a lot of vibration.
One caution is if your spacers are made from alloy (not steel), make sure only tighten using hand with proper torque, do not use the air gun.
 
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