opinion on wheel spacers
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Driver School Candidate
Joined: Sep 2008
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From: Florida
opinion on wheel spacers
i just bought new rims for my 01 gs 300, 20x8 1/2 with a 42 offset. the current wheels are the same but are 38 offset. when you jack up your car in the top of the front wheel well there is 2 bars that meet with a screw and a pin. right now i can not get my fingers through the current wheels/tires at the 38 offset. i know it is only 4mm but it seemd like there might not even be that much room between the current set up. would wheel spacers be an option or do they mess things up. does any one have this set up. car is lowered with l tunned springs. thanks...
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 211
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From: Wa
As an Assistant Manager at on of the largest independent Wheel and Tire retailer in the US, I feel obliged to inform you that wheel spacers are detrimental to the safety of the vehicle and its occupants.
However as a fellow GS driver, I can tell you that I will be putting spacers on the 19x9.5/10.5 SSR's I just purchased. You will very rarely have problems with spacers if you buy the correct spacers and install them properly.
I recommend H&R spacers (http://www.hrsprings.com/) as they are of exceptional quality and a great company to work with, they also come with extended studs on most/all applications. When I install my spacers, I will take the following precautions:
1) Install extended lug studs.
2) Clean mounting surfaces of the wheel and hub assembly to ensure metal/metal contact.
3) Torque assembly to recommended setting
4) Recheck Torque at 25/50/150 miles to ensure that the wheel/spacer is seated properly and has not been loosened by thermal expansion or other variables.
The 2 bars are called your Upper Control arm, the screw/pin is call your Upper Balljoint. I'm not 100% up to speed on the maximum backspacing (positive offset) allowable in a 20" size, so hopefully someone can interject here and let you know.
Hope I didn't come across as pompous,
-Jackson
However as a fellow GS driver, I can tell you that I will be putting spacers on the 19x9.5/10.5 SSR's I just purchased. You will very rarely have problems with spacers if you buy the correct spacers and install them properly.
I recommend H&R spacers (http://www.hrsprings.com/) as they are of exceptional quality and a great company to work with, they also come with extended studs on most/all applications. When I install my spacers, I will take the following precautions:
1) Install extended lug studs.
2) Clean mounting surfaces of the wheel and hub assembly to ensure metal/metal contact.
3) Torque assembly to recommended setting
4) Recheck Torque at 25/50/150 miles to ensure that the wheel/spacer is seated properly and has not been loosened by thermal expansion or other variables.
The 2 bars are called your Upper Control arm, the screw/pin is call your Upper Balljoint. I'm not 100% up to speed on the maximum backspacing (positive offset) allowable in a 20" size, so hopefully someone can interject here and let you know.
Hope I didn't come across as pompous,
-Jackson
Last edited by jacksonvp; Sep 30, 2008 at 10:50 PM.
I've got 20x8.5's with 44 offset and 245/35/ FK452's (from what I understand a slightly wide tire) and have no clearance issues. You should be fine as far as backspacing goes. I'm considering adding spacers at some point for appearance but you shouldn't need them for the wheels to fit.
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 384
Likes: 1
From: Arizona
i just bought new rims for my 01 gs 300, 20x8 1/2 with a 42 offset. the current wheels are the same but are 38 offset. when you jack up your car in the top of the front wheel well there is 2 bars that meet with a screw and a pin. right now i can not get my fingers through the current wheels/tires at the 38 offset. i know it is only 4mm but it seemd like there might not even be that much room between the current set up. would wheel spacers be an option or do they mess things up. does any one have this set up. car is lowered with l tunned springs. thanks...
Hey guys,
I'm getting ready to order a Tanabe DF210 kit and I have some concerns about clearance...
The stock front suspension setup has an arm coming out towards the inside of the front tire which has a bolt on the end of it shown in the below image...
Between this bolt and the top inner sidewall of the tire there is only about a one fingers worth of a gap.
If I lower my car 1.8" in the front I'm afraid the head of this bolt will hit my tire.
My offset on my 20x8.5" wheels is 40mm. Should I buy some spacers to pop the wheel out more so the bolt doesnt hit the tire?
What should I do?
Will be ok to drop it how it is?
I've never read of anyone else having this issue.
Here is a pic of my GS so you can see the 40mm offset I currently have and give me an opinion of what type of spacers to get if you think this will fix my clearance issue...
I'm getting ready to order a Tanabe DF210 kit and I have some concerns about clearance...
The stock front suspension setup has an arm coming out towards the inside of the front tire which has a bolt on the end of it shown in the below image...
Between this bolt and the top inner sidewall of the tire there is only about a one fingers worth of a gap.
If I lower my car 1.8" in the front I'm afraid the head of this bolt will hit my tire.
My offset on my 20x8.5" wheels is 40mm. Should I buy some spacers to pop the wheel out more so the bolt doesnt hit the tire?
What should I do?
Will be ok to drop it how it is?
I've never read of anyone else having this issue.
Here is a pic of my GS so you can see the 40mm offset I currently have and give me an opinion of what type of spacers to get if you think this will fix my clearance issue...
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