wassaiii fellow 8 lovers! Long time reader first time posting! Please keep up sharing the knowledge- this forum is the greatest thing next to the 8!!

Posting hoping to get some insight from some of the gurus here. i am trying to mount a set of Works Emotion Cr Kai wheels on my 8. After patiently waiting for shipment this problem came up: my mechanic called asking where the spacers are. I had no clue what he was talking about but he told me I should use them to protect my wheels. I did a search here and understand that spacers are a preference thing? I don’t completely understand what their purpose is or even if I really should use them. Do i really need them and where to get em’? Many thanks in advance for your input.

Here are the specs:
Front: 18x8.5 38mm Tires: 245/40ZR-18
Rear: 18x9.5 38mm Tires: 275/35ZR-18

 

I am by no means a guru, so someone straighten me out if I am not correct on this:
Okay, here's the deal. Spacers are used if the calipers or something else won't clear the rims. They basically go on the lug bolts to put a space between the rotor cap(if you will) and the rim...this moves the rim outward. Now.........I have +38 offset and I have no issues with clearance at all, but we most likely have different rims, so you could be needing them. Good news is they are cheap, but don't use them unless you must. I also have the same size rims as you, I'm just 255 wide in the rear for tire width.

 

Yeah. what Mazurfer said was right. My wheels didnt clear my calipers so i had to get spacers. works fine for me. very cheap and they just slide right on.

 

And any auto parts store would have them and most likely any decent tire shop.

 

Thanks for your quick responses!

Mazurfer thanks for breaking it down nicely for the rookie. btws Titanium Grey is the color man!

So basically what you are saying is that when the rims go on and it clears and doesn’t touch anything- don’t use spacers?

My mechanic hasn’t yet attempted to mount the rims to the car, just unpacked and didn't see any spacers so he called asking. He said that if I don’t use spacers I ran the risk of damage to the rims and the vehicle. He also said that whomever I got the rims from should have addressed this with me and supplied the appropriately sized spacers for my install. Is this a legitimate claim? I don’t understand how he could have determined I would need spacers without attempting to mount them first. I am wrong?

 

Before I even attempt to answer this time.....what are your new rims? What make? We got the sizes down.


"So basically what you are saying is that when the rims go on and it clears and doesn’t touch anything- don’t use spacers?" <---- yes, I would not use them if no clearance issues. At +38 mine are close to not clearing the calipers, but they clear.

 

They are Work Emotion CR Kai:

 

Okay.......not familiar with them as I have HP Racing Lightning Darks, so hopefully someone else will jump in or you can just buy some just in case. They are dirt cheap and you may not even need them. Sorry I can't answer 100%, but don't want to give you false info.

 

I would hope that you wouldn't need spacers for those wheels, if you add say a 10mm spacer it's essentially changing your offset to +28 and you're going to start running into rubbing issues. There are quite a few people on the forum with those wheels and I don't remember hearing anyone talk about spacers. Maybe your mechanic meant hub-centric rings or center caps or something.

 

Yeah, I'll bet he's just fine and the mechanic(who hasn't seen it yet) was just being cautious(ya know, "oh you are putting on aftermarket rims")....... Now..........if he doesn't put them on and charge him if not really needed, then he'll be a good bloke!

 

I think your mechanic probably means the hub rings, not spacers.

 

The rims are on- zero spacers and zero rubbing or clearance problems. The dude was talking about the gapping whole that’s now in the middle which exposes rusted bolts in the back and two random rusted circles in the front. He said that the car should vibrate at highway speeds, but fortunately that has not happened up to sustained 100mph.

 

Yeah turns out that’s exactly what he was talking about. Apparently most wheel manufacturers include them when you get a set but Works failed to do this with CR Kais. They don't look bad without any but a small attempt at this would have been nice.

 

hey i was ready up on your situation. it's good everything is ok. just to let you know thought, i don't think your rims come with the center cap. i had some volks gtp on my 240 and it didn't come with any, they were extra. works are a big company, they probubly don't send in the caps, unless you order them or ask. if you did want to get spacers, they help on widening your stance, it can help, your corning. some people get them cheaper then getting wider rims and tires. but be careful, there are cheap ones you can get, but they break easy. thought i let you know. later.
.... oh your works are nice!

 

without the center caps

 

they still look gd without the wheel caps, I didn't put caps on my wheels either =p

 

They look good without the center caps... i got the works emotions XT7 and i dont like the work center caps at all.. good looking rims.