Wheel Spacers

[Anonymous]

Hi guys and gals,

Wheel spacers - I'm toying with buying wheel spacers from RCZ Performance to nudge my wheels out a bit so they are flush to outside of the arches. What are the pros and cons of doing this? Would they affect tyre wear etc? Are they easy to install and could I take it down to my local tyre and brakes place to have them install them?

Many thanks!

 

[Abzynthe]

If you get some, you will need longer wheels nuts also. You could do it yourself if you have a jack and a wheel brace, but yes, a tyre place would be able to do it for you.
There arent really any cons if fitted correctly, you are only making the track of the car wider by changing the offset of the wheel.
Too big wheel spacers will cause the wheels to rub on the arches when the suspension is under pressure or cause the front wheels to rub on full lock.
There have been a few people that have installed them with the standard wheel. So they can advise you on how big they are.
I have them, but I also have aftermarket wheels.

The advantages are that the car looks wider, it looks more flush down the side, and there would be a slight difference in handling. But possibly not enough to notice.

 

[Anonymous]

Be aware of the issues some on the forum have had with their jacking points folding/collapsing, if you go down the DIY or tyre fitter route.

Also check your insurance policy, it will almost certainly have a clause stating you must notify any changes from manufactures standard spec.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

 

[RCZ-Performance]

Adding spacers is a definite improvement to looks of the car. You can go with 10-12mm front and 12-15mm rear if using stock wheels. Longer wheel bolts, which we sell as well, are needed. The Pro's is looks. The Con's, can't think of any. 5mm spacers cannot be used on the front:

http://shop.rczperformance.com/category.sc?categoryId=63

 

[JvdBosch]

Your wheel bearings will suffer a lot more and will fail sooner, to name one of the cons.

 

[RCZ-Performance]

Your wheel bearings will suffer a lot more and will fail sooner, to name one of the cons.

Good point, but wheels with more or less offset, tyre widths with more or less tread, smaller or larger wheel diameters, all of these could cause more wear on factory parts if different to the original car setup from the factory. But these are the risks we all take when changing the factory setup of any car.

It is most important to understand that any modification to a vehicle could cause issues if not using the correct hardware, not installed properly, and not maintained.

But even then if you do nothing to the car it will still wear items and some more than others, as many other factors play a role in life expectancy of parts.

If it wasn't for people taking risks and wanting to customize their cars, there would be no need for after-market manufacturers.