wheel spacers??

93zder · 06-27-2002, 04:09 PM

I am posting this on different forums to get the most response on this.

I am considering using some on my rear wheels to have them sit flusher with the fender.

has anyone used these? I fugured on the rear they would be safe.

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1993 red M6 Z28; custom control arms; bushings; strut bar; Eibach Pro-kit;17" rims & 275 tires; Mac exhaust; K&N cold air; airfoil; TB bypass; 3.73 gears; KVR pads & rotors; -1 camber alignment

sgarnett · 06-27-2002, 06:20 PM

I had to use a set of 1/4" spacers last winter to make my winter wheels fit. They were 96 16x7.5 steel, and I didn't realize they wouldn't clear the LS1 front caliper. Doh!!

Anyway, the holes were pretty big, so I sliced 20 rings about 3/16" thick off the end of a piece of heater hose (went quick on a bandsaw). I pushed the rings onto the studs, which helped hold the spacers centered while I installed the wheels. Besides keeping everything balanced, you don't want an off-center spacer hitting the brakes.

I didn't see any evidence of melting when I took them off this spring, but that was from only normal street driving. I don't know if they would hold up to racing brake heat.

One thing to be careful of - with my steel wheels the stud length wasn't a problem, but it could be with alloys.

Bralgar · 06-28-2002, 07:48 AM

Quote:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by 93zder:
I am considering using some on my rear wheels to have them sit flusher with the fender.

has anyone used these? I fugured on the rear they would be safe.

</font>

I have a set of 5/16" spacers on order, they should be in today. I'm using them mainly because I so stupidly bought new rotors for the rear at Autozone and the cheap Autozone rotors had a paper thin "hat" compared to the stock rotors (which had about a 1/4" hat). Which in effect makes my wheels sit in farther. So in an effort to put my wheels back at stock spacing (plus a little extra

) I'm going to spacer the wheels. I'll post back about any problems if I run into any. I hope my studs are long enough.

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1993 Z28 A4
K&N air filter
Mod suggestions accepted

93zder · 06-28-2002, 11:04 AM

I won't be taking my car to the track / autocrossing. I just want a little more spacing - less than 1/4" if possible.

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1993 red M6 Z28; custom control arms; bushings; strut bar; Eibach Pro-kit;17" rims & 275 tires; Mac exhaust; K&N cold air; airfoil; TB bypass; 3.73 gears; KVR pads & rotors; -1 camber alignment

Wild1 · 10-16-2003, 01:25 AM

I was considering applying the brake anti-squeak to one side of the spacer to fix it to the wheel. That way it could be centered and add a frictional grip against shear. Also, the anti-squeak is designed to survive heat from brake pads and is very tacky without slipping.

rskrause · 10-16-2003, 06:05 AM

Relatively thin spacers are probably ok. They have been used for years. But they do put more load on the wheels studs. Be sure to torque them down properly (100-110ft-lbs) and check the torque a few times after use until you are sure there is no loosening. Some say a steel spacer is less likely to lead to loose lug nuts. As others have implied, you want to have a relatively high friction surface on the spacer, not something polished. Use of higher quality studs (ARP) isn't a bad idea either.

Rich Krause

Wild1 · 10-16-2003, 01:11 PM

Thanks for the great info...

I'd like to add that the wheel stud torque is a relative number. If they are dry, you will get a different read than if you dab them with 30 weight oil, anti-sieze compound, or moly-lube.

100#s dry lbs/ft
90#s 30 weight oil
75#s with anti-sieze
70#s with Moly-lube

I agree with the re-torque technique too!

By the way, those numbers are for 7/16" x 20 ARP Wheel Studs. Their tech line is 800/826-3045 or you can find most of the torque spec on-line.

bruecksteve · 10-16-2003, 06:05 PM

I use 1/4 spacers on my rear 17x11 wheels. I bought them from Fred Goeski at http://www.wheeladapter.com/ . 1/4" hub centric billet aluminum spacers. Mine were $40 each. I also was having problems stripping studs after I started using them. I finally replaced all the rear studs with the front studs (which are about 1/4" longer) and the problem went away. You don't have to pull the hub to put the studs in which makes it a quick swap. I now just leave the spacers on all the time, even with my 17x9.5 Borbet street wheels.