The whys and wherefore's of Spacers.

[helimeddaz]

Hi All,

 

Feel free to move, Techy questions. Done search and FAQ. No Joy.

 

So Spacers. I have read many threads on the Z should have looked like this and how much better it looks and sits, but what are the +'s and

-'s of spacers?

 

With spacers fitted obviously the car has a wider stance, but from an engineering point of view, does this put more pressure on the bearings and shafts by moving the supports (wheels) further apart?

 

Does this have any effect on the handling, steering and braking?

 

And lastly would the need for spacers be negated by fitting wheels with a different ofset to achive the same result?

 

I await answers form our resident learned tome's of Z knowledge.

 

I thank you.

[Cragus]

Spacers are not required if you get wheels with the 'right' offset. They are used predominately to line the wheel at with the arches so they don't look quite so sunk in. Most people push rach wheel out 20mm (so 40mm on each axle) and happy are with the results it produces. No reports (that I know of) that claim handling, steering or braking is impacted negatively.

[rtbiscuit]

if i was getting new wheels i would have got ones that were the correct offset,

 

but as i have kept the rays i used the 20mm spacers all round.

 

haven't noticed any difference in handling or braking, car sits very well planted on the road.

[gunmetalzgt]

I don't see why it would make any difference to the load on the bearings. If you buy wheels with the low offsets then they are simply wheels designed with spacers built in. (theoretically).

 

I understand what you mean about the pressures being higher because of increased distance though. but i doubt that 40mm overall will make it much harder on the components of the car.

[helimeddaz]

I don't see why it would make any difference to the load on the bearings. If you buy wheels with the low offsets then they are simply wheels designed with spacers built in. (theoretically).

 

I understand what you mean about the pressures being higher because of increased distance though. but i doubt that 40mm overall will make it much harder on the components of the car.

 

I totally agree that the difference is not alot, But I would have thought the tolerances were a calculated amount. Before I do this I just thought I'd try to be logical first. If the aesthetic looks great, but everything else is off then it's not worth the expense later if the bearings are knackered or the cars reacts badly.

 

If you see where I'm coming from...

[MattG]

When I added spacers to my Rays the upside was better looks and slightly increased grip. At least I'm assuming grip was increased as I noticed the the TC was less likely to kick when cornering on borken tarmac.

 

The only downside I noticed was a very slight wobbling through the steering wheel on certain motorways, almost like the balancing was out by a tiny amount. I had the wheel balancing checked and it was fine and the effect went away again after removing the spacers. I wouldn't advise against fitting them based on that though, the effect was very small and didn't bother me at all.

 

The upsides definitely outweigh the downsides. Just make sure you put a dab of blue loctite on the spacer nuts and torque them up properly (114lbft I think - but double check!). You don't want anything coming adrift! I did this to mine and they stayed rock solid yet were still easy enough to remove just over 6 months later when I changed my wheels.

[km002916]

Does fitting 20mm spacers on rear mean you have to cut stud in hub down a bit and if so would 15mm slip ons be a safe bet or is there too little thread left to put nuts on securely?

[rawbhp]

the stud just unscrews iirc

[Cragus]

There are two types of spacers.

 

With one type (the more difficult), you have to replace the existing hub studs with longers ones to accomodate the spacer.

 

With the other easier and more popular choice you simply put the existing studs though the spacer and bold these down with the provided bolts. The spacer itself has its own studs protruding from it to bolt the wheel to.

 

[km002916]

raw bhp- does this mean I'd need to purchase shorter studs or do you mean they are easier to cut when you take them out the hub?

 

Cragus- with regards to the 2nd type (bolt on I assume you mean) do the studs not stick out further than the spacer hence meaning the studs need cut down so as to allow the wheel to sit flush against the spacer?

[Ebized]

raw bhp- does this mean I'd need to purchase shorter studs or do you mean they are easier to cut when you take them out the hub?

 

Cragus- with regards to the 2nd type (bolt on I assume you mean) do the studs not stick out further than the spacer hence meaning the studs need cut down so as to allow the wheel to sit flush against the spacer?

 

It will depend on the depth of the recess between each of the stud holes in the wheel. So check that first - others on here can tell you if you say what wheels you have.

 

I recently had that issue with the 370 wheels. Whereas the recess in the GT rear wheels was probably in excess of 20mm deep and therefore readily accept the standard studs poking the 5mm through the 20mm spacer, the front wheels had less than a 5mm recess so the answer was to add a 3m slip spacer to ensure the wheel fitted tight on the spacer. Ended up with 23mm 'spacers' but 3mm is neither here nor there in terms of the overall effect.

 

 

 

3mm slip spacer used

 

 

The 20mm black spacers were supplied (and helpfully fitted) by Andy of Kudos Automotive

[km002916]

Having fitted 20mm eibach bolt on spacers to the rear Im now looking for 10mm spacers for the front which seem to be right between the bolt on and slip on sizes available/suggested, bolt on seem to start at 15mm and most say slip ons bigger than 5mm aren't a wise move. What's the biggest size of slip ons people have used and what was your experience?

[tez162003]

there is a third type of spacer some cars use.

 

These are spacers that fit behind the hubs. (not 100% sure how these work) but i do know its to reduce the extra stresses on bearings. Cars such as the racing ford puma's have them as standard.

 

That means that adding spacers onto the front of the hub does and can add extra stress to bearings, most the time not enough to worry about. just imagine some of these show cars with 6" spacers to fit the wheels in monster arches. just imagine how short a wheel bearings life would be on that!

[Husky]

you want the spacer system where the studs are swapped out for longer ones then a slip on spacer(supplied) is used