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

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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.