Losiracer2

So I've tracked down some nice chrome SC430 wheels and decided to sell my 20s and install these on my 97 LS400 for a better ride. I know they won't bolt up in front out of the box due to the caliper clearance, so that'll require spacers.

What I'm planning on doing after researching threads other members have made are to install 15mm bolt on, hubcentric spacers in front and 25mm bolt-on, hubcentric in rear. This seller had the best warranty and it looked like a lot of people had purchased these even though they weren't the least expensive on there.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUBCENTRIC-W...FVEk9W&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-HUBCE...gAAOSwg3FUjUEz

I have a question with those that have gone with the 15mm in front, did you need to cut/modify the factory studs due to not mounting flush with the spacer and interfering with the wheel sitting against the spacer? Or would I be OK? OR would I need to get slightly thicker spacers (ie: 20mm) to not have to cut the factory studs?

It looks like the SC430 wheels have a cavity that would take at least some of the factory studs before needing to modify, but I haven't test fit anything yet due to not knowing which spacer I need.

8055y

On some wheels you will find they have an open space/pocket/cutout on the mounting area in between the lug bolt holes. Sometimes with the hub centric spacers the OEM studs (the part that still sticks out above the spacer face) will fit into those.

Have you thought about running a spacer and longer studs instead of the spacer with studs built in?

Losiracer2

I considered it but after researching the cost for the spacer (22.95) plus the cost of extended studs and the additional labor it takes to install those, it seemed like an easier option to simply bolt the 15mm spacers on. I'm crossing my fingers that the pockets in the SC430 wheels will give enough clearance for the OE studs.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

The clearance pocket on the factory LS 400 wheels (MY '98 style) is about 3/8". If there is 10mm wheel stud sticking out, it will be close. Taking the 1-2mm off the end is minimal. Just making sure that the lug does have full engagement on the adapter.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

I would not have touched those spacers with a 10 foot pole. Well-made studs alone would cost more than those..... H&R, Eibach, and Project Kik's would probably be the only ones I would be comfortable using for adapters. Maybe adapt-it. Not these no-name units.

Your money and your risk. Good luck.

Losiracer2

I received the spacers in the mail yesterday and got them installed today. The quality is nothing to complain about I'm not wasting 200+ for spacers when all it is is a piece of machined aluminum and studs. The studs are grade 10.9 hardware and machined nicely out of aluminum. I had no issues with them at all.

I did have to cut the non-threaded ends of the factory studs off by about a 1/4" due to the 15mm being not thick enough, but I didn't get into the threaded part of the stud, just the ends. Took about 5 min with a 4.5" cutoff wheel with an angle grinder for each corner.

After installing, I torqued the spacer nuts to 80 ft-lbs, same as the factory nuts and then put the wheel on and torqued those to 80 as well. I've got zero vibrations on the highway after mounting them on the fronts. The 15mm spacer is perfect for these SC430 wheels, completely flush with the fender with no rubbing and clears the 4 piston calipers fine. In about 100 miles, I'm going to retorque the spacer nuts to ensure they're securely on there due to being new and to allow for break in.

Spacers:





Car with the SC430 wheels mounted:

8055y

Looks good man. A little drop and it will be slick.

Glad it worked out.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

if drifters run adapters like those all day, I don't see why you can't. of course their cars aren't as nice as yours so go figure haha!

danzafar

Thank you for this post - this helped immensely. Update on the wheels - still good? Any long-term issues after running a few thousand miles (hopefully) after you mounted these?

Losiracer2

No problems whatsoever with running these wheels. I put them on at 275k and now have 284k. I recently relocated to MI from AZ and drove the 2000 miles cross country and the car drove straight as an arrow on the long stretches of interstate with no vibrations.

I know that people have said that the wheel bearings go bad after a certain amount of time with running spacers but I think that's only with extreme cases and running >1" spacers. I thought I heard a slightly noisy front right wheel bearing after driving on these for about 5-6 months, but I have a feeling it was more due to the car being 20yrs old and having 275k miles vs. the wheel spacer causing the noise. I replaced them with KOYO wheel bearings just due to them having almost 280k miles at the time, but I feel that I could've easily gone longer with no issues, it was all in my head.

I still have them on my car today, and am now driving around on Michigan roads and the car drives perfectly fine, no rattles, pulls or noises of any kind to be heard.

I'm thinking about getting a 25mm spacer for the rear to make the rear wheels sit more flush with the fenders since the fronts are perfect, just to balance out the aesthetics a bit.

The only thing I've noticed, having removed these spacers a couple times to test fit some other wheels, is the nuts they provide to secure them to the car are pretty cheap quality and are pretty shallow, they could've gone thicker on the part that your 19mm socket tightens them with. Make sure you use a Craftsman socket, or one that the flat sides of the 19mm socket go all the way to the edge to get the most gripping power when torquing, otherwise it'll have a tendency to round off the nuts. I initially tried using my harbor freight impact sockets and the hex portion of the socket seems to start about a 1/4" away from the end, not allowing to fully grip the shallow 19mm nuts they provide with these spacers.

The studs the spacers came with are good quality and I've had no issues with my wheels getting stuck on the raised hub portion of the spacer where it seats inside the wheel center, but back then I was also living in AZ, so there are really no corrosion issues or typical wheels getting stuck on hubs there. I'll report back after a MI winter with road salt exposure and see how these hold up. But so far so good.