bigbramble Posted August 19, 2010 Author Share Posted August 19, 2010 i think its fair to say most people dont track the car and for most zeds a play down a country road is the only "hard" work they will ever see. People shouldnt be scared of purchasing spacers at all. I can understand if you want every millisecond on a track but for normal driving who cares.Im not disagreeing with any of what you are saying but people shouldnt be thinking their zed will drive like a corsa afterward as this is not the case. on the note of my wide tyres, i'd be interested to have a direct comparison with another zed actually as mine corners rediculously well now with all the rubber on. For me its got nothing to do with outright pace. If I wanted that I would have kept my RX7 as it was MUCH quicker than the Z. For me its about the thrill of driving, steering feel, purity and comfort all of these are in my opinion kept to an optimum by keeping stock 18" wheels without spacers and the standard offset. Now to be fair fitting the spacers did not turn the Zed into a turd, it was still a decent car but it really lost its edge and I bought the car for driving not posing. While I think for example the 350z look utterly stunning in a set of 20" GTR rims I 100% believe the driving experience will be totally compromised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 i wonder if its becasue you work in the area it makes you more tuned to feeling the differences than most? also perhaps the roadster feels the difference more? just thinking because on mine when i put spacers on the rays for a very short time it didnt feel hugely different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted August 19, 2010 Author Share Posted August 19, 2010 i wonder if its becasue you work in the area it makes you more tuned to feeling the differences than most? also perhaps the roadster feels the difference more? just thinking because on mine when i put spacers on the rays for a very short time it didnt feel hugely different. It might make some difference, I certainly was very used to going out and attempting to find suspension/steering faults on road tests etc. I haven't really had to do that for 3 years though although I still do track days where I suppose you are very in tune with the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zugara Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 go on paul buy them you know you want too!! After reading the threads. I think i will stick to stock setup. However i do admit that the car has a better stance with spacers on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 most people on here are looks based not track based. i think there was a thread a while back asking why people bought the car. and most said it was for the looks. if you run a car with the right offsets and widths then different wheels with a wider track will have their benefits. 18's are definitely recommended for track work though. play around with the geo and suspension and you can dial out some of the qualities the spacers add. but to be honest the difference with spacers is marginal. and the majority of people who buy them will get them for the looks and to be fair i would say most don't have the driving expereince to notice the difference with and without them fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 go on paul buy them you know you want too!! After reading the threads. I think i will stick to stock setup. However i do admit that the car has a better stance with spacers on. The difference is not as great as the OP is making out IMO. He works in this area and therefore has a better 'feel' for this kind of thing. He notices every slight difference in this area, I probably wouldn't notice if someone pinched a wheel and replaced it with my spacesaver I would get them, if you notice a difference and you don't like it you will easily sell them on without losing much The difference in looks is huge that's for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 go on paul buy them you know you want too!! After reading the threads. I think i will stick to stock setup. However i do admit that the car has a better stance with spacers on. The difference is not as great as the OP is making out IMO. He works in this area and therefore has a better 'feel' for this kind of thing. He notices every slight difference in this area, I probably wouldn't notice if someone pinched a wheel and replaced it with my spacesaver I would get them, if you notice a difference and you don't like it you will easily sell them on without losing much Ive got to disagree with you there SMDave (cracking handle BTW) Ive driven Skylines and S12/13/14/15 200SX's with and without spacers (Im running spacers on both of my S13's) and the difference really isnt noticable, but with my Z33 it really took the edge off a great handling car for me. I didnt ever look into it enough to find out why though, but it does seem the Z suffers a lot more. I think you are right on the advice though - if you fancy them, try them and if you dont like just sell them on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 but its so pretty when they arent in caves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Aye, its the old function/form argument. I keep getting told my car nmeeds to be lower to the ground by extreme modification types, but as it stands it wont go over speedbumps without much teeth clenching. Like that So I have the choice of being a hero to a load of keyboard warriors who probably drive Fiesta diesels, or actually being able to drive the car. Tricky one that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 So I have the choice of being a hero to a load of keyboard warriors who probably drive Fiesta diesels, or actually being able to drive the car. Tricky one that. thats f**king hilarious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK350Z Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Must say that I've never been a fan of spacers for engineering reasons too, but having never bought them I've never felt the difference myself. Glad to know it's not just my imagination! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathfinder123 Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Fitted 20mm spacers front and back on my 08 Coupe about 2months ago. The only change I have noticed is a slight increase in understeer, but I can live with that given the way it now looks... S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bodyboarder Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 I did notice a slight difference in the way the car drove when i put my spacers on , but to be honest i could never go back to standard as they really do make a massve difference to the way the car looks, worth every penny i reckon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 I did notice a slight difference in the way the car drove when i put my spacers on , but to be honest i could never go back to standard as they really do make a massve difference to the way the car looks, worth every penny i reckon Always judge a book by it's cover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350zStephen Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 I taken my rear spacers off the zed tonight, and the zed now handles as it should. It no longer tram lines, and the steering wheel is straight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 spacers made your steering wheel sit squint.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350zStephen Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Yup, the steering wheel sat at 1 o'clock after fitting them, and the car also felt unstable taking corners at speed. The car now handles spot on, as it did before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted August 25, 2010 Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 spacers made your steering wheel sit squint.. He only had spacers on the back so it could have magnified any crabbing caused by a difference in toe from the front to the rear... ...I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 how bizzare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattMe Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 Interesting thread, this one. I fitted my 20mm spacers all round a few months ago. The only difference I noticed was the steering feel, but to be perfectly honest I now prefer the feel of my steering, almost heavier and feels like the car rolls slightly less. I can see where you're coming from technically everythign you say makes sense but realistically I doubt many people would find the changes even noticable. I wouldn't have thought the un-sprung weight of the alloy would make any more difference than allowing your wheels to get dirty tbh It's definitely one of those things that would suit some folk, and not others. Something like horses on swings and roubabouts on different courses, or something. It does make the car look better, for sure, and I would never advise anyone who was looking to purchase a set to do any more than consider the points you've raised. Then consider if they think they'll notice. Like someone already said, you can sell them on very easily around these parts. Whether you have spacers or not there is only one thing to do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I will try some spacers and if I dont like them they arent hard to sell on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGR Posted August 31, 2010 Share Posted August 31, 2010 I've just taken 25mm spacers off my car. I bought it with them on and thought the car was crap, didn't realise it was largely down to the spacers. I took them off for safety reasons as I plan to use the car on track at least a few times a year. The suspension on my car is all stock UK stuff. The car now drives more like I was expecting, steering and ride are much better and the balance front to rear is much better. Its now possible (just) to use the throttle to steer the car or at least adjust the line of the car where it wasn't really before as you just got loads of understeer. Before the car had the feel of an aftermarket kit that had been set up all wrong. Now it drives much better. Its still not perfect, the diff could be improved a lot - you can still go round a corner with front wheels understeering and the inside rear spinning away but the balance is better before the limit of grip now. The only negative impacts for me are looks and also there is more body roll but as handling has been improved its not the issue it might be. I suspect it is possible to adjust the suspension geometry using some more aftermarket parts to get it working correctly with spacers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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