gassman

Just installed new custom made hub/wheel-centric spacers, 12mm front and 17mm rear. I am starting to hear negative feedback on spacers wearing out the bearings and such. Also that they are unsafe. I also have extend studs(ARP). I am starting to worry about warrenty/safety issuses if something drastic happens. I am thinking about going back to stock, yet I don't want to. Any one have any different feedback on spacers?

PNice972

iTrader: (6)

I have custom spacers with ARP extended studs are they are fine. As long as your spacers are hub and wheel centric and have no play when put on, you are fine.

gassman

Right, they are top quality custom hub and wheel-centric, no play what so ever. Jut wanted to know the true affect on the bearings and scrub radius, and if this is a true problem?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Yes, they are true problems. Bearing wear is the most problematic. Scrub radius is more of a feel problem, but can also have some issues with handling making the car feel spooky. However, spacers can be great for correcting offset on a set of wheels that would otherwise not fit (for all the reasons spacers are not good with stock offset wheels.)

taylorjste

bringing this one back to life...

so do you guys think it's a waste to run spacers on OEM g-spyders (stock offsets)? i'm planning on getting the eibach pro kit pretty soon.. i just don't know if it's worth spending a few hundred dollars on spacers.. i guess i'll just wait and see how the drop looks before i decide.. any thoughts?

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

It was most definitely worth it for me - I got tons of compliments on the fitment of my wheels + Eibach springs. Handling was also a bit improved (ask T-Rex 06... ) More importantly, I loved the way they looked.

Oh, by the way, if you're interested in buying some custom spacers with the most perfect offset you've ever seen for your IS, let me know - I'm getting ready to sell mine in the classified forum for MUCH less money and work than new. I'm even including the ARP wheel studs, already cut to the perfect length so you can still use your stock lug nuts...

Javier

projectdna

iTrader: (56)

javy> if you are (and seeing as to how you have a new set of shoes, it's highly likely), i'll be interested in taking them off your hands... for the right amount, of course.

Wai

Wheel spacers are very good tuning tool. Many people use it as a "corrective device" to make up for the wrong offset wheels that they bought, which is fine, but it actually has a lot more use to it.

Benefit:
Track width will be increased. Primary components that affect grip are ride height and track width. So increasing track width means more grip. Grip is ALWAYS good. This is the cheapest and most effective way of increasing grip.

Side Effect:
Suspension motion ratio will be retarded, which means that the car will feel softer. So wider track usually needs to accompany with stiffer springs. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just something that needs to be aware of.

Negative Effect:
As mentioned, it puts more stress on the wheel bearings. But any low offset wheels without spacers will have the same problem also.
Scrub radius will be increased. It makes the steering less responsive.

So it's all about compromise for having more grip (and better look).

kilo6_one

iTrader: (2)

my experience with spacers is this: they look good, and i doubt any negative effects will be noticed in the short run (under 60k) but alot of shops will not work on your brakes, wheels or tires if you have them installed.

other then that i like them, and as long as they are from a reputable manfucture like kics, eibach or H&R i think they are a great tuning tool.

r100s

As long as you dont extend too much you should be fine. 10~20mm should be fine....

Make sure to go with high quality spacers. Dont be cheap by getting no name brand spacers off ebay. Yes, they are cheap and you will get what you pay for.

I have used both H&R and Kics Project's spacers and I highly recomend Kics Project's spacers.





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Benjamin T

iTrader: (2)

noob question:

i've seen spacers that bolt onto your hubs using your existing wheel studs, and the spacers themselves have studs already in them... what exactly are those? are they good/bad?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

They're not good or bad. They're different. Guys who like to pick flyshyte from pepper will argue one is better than the other, but as long as the studs are good quality hardened steel, you'll not have a problem with either of them. The one caveat is, thicker spacers are a LOT easier to deal with when they are bolted on to the hub and have their own studs installed. Thinner spacers (<10mm) typically don't have the option of having their own studs because they're too thin to provide enough strength.

I know some of you guys are saying no worries about the wheel bearings, but keep in mind, the Supra's real Achille's heel is the rear wheel bearings - ask both the guys who finished top six or better in their Supras at One Lap. Keep an eye on those rear wheel bearings if you are running spacers in the rear!

al503

Here's another opinion:

Imagine a positive 50 offset (very tucked in), the center of the contact patch is actually further inward than the mounting point. On a car with perfect 25/25/25/25 weight distribution and a weight of 16000N, this would create a moment of 4000N*.050m = 200 N/m clockwise at the hub of a left wheel when looking from the front of the car to the back. That is the moment on the hub/bearing.

Now figure the car is accelerating at 1g laterally to the right. Assume the inside (right) wheels of the car are ever so slightly off the ground (which is possible at 1g in a car that is not lowered). Now the moment is equal to 200 N/m + 8000N(half the weight of the car on each left wheel accelerated at 1g)*.3m(the radius of the tire) = 2600 N/m. That's the moment that the hub/bearing see at full load in a turn.

Now if we figured in a 0 offset, we would have a moment of 0 N/m at rest, and a moment of 2400 N/m in a 1g turn with the entire load on the outside wheels. Lower.

With a -50mm offset (pushed out), the moment at rest is now -200 N/m according to how we defined the positive moment. Since a bearing is symmetrical, it doesn't care which direction the moment occurs, so this -200 N/m moment is no more stressful than the +200 N/m moment. And, when in that same turn, the moment has been reduced to -200 N/m + 2400 N/m = 2200 N/m. Even lower.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Offset relative to the hub surface is academic when calculating bearing loading, and wheel offsets are the difference between the wheel centerline and the plane of the hub surface. Offset of the wheel centerline relative to the bearing centerline is everything in determining bearing loading. The sign of the offset is also inconsequential because it is entirely arbitrary, so the real issue is the absolute value of the difference between the bearing centerline and the wheel centerline. The greater the difference, the greater the side load on the bearing. The greater the side load, the shorter the bearing life. How short, no one here can say because we don't have the design specs for the wheel bearings, but even relatively small errors in concentricity yield large changes in the loading on the bearings.

Gernby

iTrader: (1)

What kind of tires were those Supras running, and how much were their effective offsets changed? I will be surprised if 5~15 mm spacers cause much of a problem on a street driven car. If so, I wouldn't even consider it "safe" to run on a track with R compounds at any offset.