ZoomZoomRx-8

Thanks for the input guys, and you are correct, it could go either way. We don't know the quality process for an un-branded (even sometimes branded) stuff. I was thinking of just getting a pair, intead of the whole set of 4, and checking it out, even if I have to get rid of it, its still cheaper than a branded set.

Ferg: to your point earlier, I am thinking of 15mm too, but I am concerned about the factory studs hitting the inside of the rim because the rim is not designed to accomodate spacers. Any ideas? and please correct me if I am wrong on this.

Thanks!
C

gh8st

iTrader: (10)

15mm won't work. trust me, i tried.. Might as well get a 25mm, but then you'll start rubbing. Pick your poison hahaha

ferg

ok, ill go try them out, you think 25mm in back and 15 in front? stock rims

ZoomZoomRx-8

Your going to put both in your car....? you have spacers lying around or something?

ZoomZoomRx-8

..so how about 20mm then? but i think factory studs are 25mm long ...i read it somewhere in the forum...man...they really do put you in a fix.

Anyway, so i am guessing that if your tire sticks out under the fender lip, its going to rub because there isnt enought distance between the tire and the fender.

So when people say the spacers make the tire sit flush with the fender, are the referring to the tire being just inside the fender but not under it? correct?

ZoomZoomRx-8

No offense gh8st, you are the same guy who called a non-hubcentric , hub centric when you were selling those cheapie ebay spacers. So I am not 100% certain on your feedback

gh8st

iTrader: (10)

LOL.. i bought those 10mm spacers cuz i made the mistake of buying the 15mm project kics spacers.There obviously was a gap, so in order to fill the gap, i bought some cheap spacers. I never called them hub-centric. Show me where i said it. All i said was i felt no vibrations.

krijpipudht

Does spacer with hub centric really cause over steer, or it's just a myth?
Can anyone prove this?

Will 1-2" hurt your performance? (I guess 4" one will....)




I'm interesting in putting 20-25mm in the front and 1.5" with build-in stud in the rear.
But if the above statement is true, then I won't.

rudi888

Get Eibach Pro spacer..
Those r of great quality & light weight..
no vibration at all coz those r hubcentric spacers..

I think the best is to get 20 mm front & 25 mm rear..

Mine is 19x8 +40
I put the 20 mm eibach spacers all around...
I reckon the front flush well w/ the fender.. the rear need 5 mm more...

I post few pics.. Hope it helps...

I8U

iTrader: (1)

I've never been a fan of wheel spacers. My thought is, if you want your wheels to look more flush with the fender, buy wider wheels and tires. I'm running 275/35's all the way around on a 18x9 +45 offset wheel. Hell and that gets it pretty damn close, I'm also running TEIN S-techs. Now if I really had my way I would bump up to a 18x9.5 +45 wheel and run 285/30's. I have never had an issue with rubbing, probably because of the camber I have on the car (-1.6F, -1.8R).

ZoomZoomRx-8

I understand all the comments about wheels, but the point in my case was to ask the opinion or advice on spacers ONLY. Because putting new wheels/tires is much higher expense and I prefer the OEM wheels to aftermarket one.

I have an off topic kind of question.

I looked the clearing of the tire with the fender yesterday, and it looks like the back of the car has less clearing with the fender than the front. (with a full tank of gas and no one inside the car), is this the case for everyone?

Also, Rudi, you put those spacers on an after market wheels/tires so I am concerned how it will be with the factory wheels? Any thoughts? expect any rubbing?

Rudi - do you have a photo of the front wheels with the spacers on it?

rudi888

Standard wheels r 18x8 +50
I think if u put 25mm & 30 mm rear would be perfect...
That won't rub for sure...
or else u measure urself w/ ruler how much more u need to fill the gap b/w ur tire & fender..

ZoomZoomRx-8

Thanks for the info, I was worried because I am running 245/40/18 on my factory rims, and when I measured the back, it's almost a 1" to the fender.

Now comes the dumb question. by any chance if the tire sticks out under the fender....I am going to get rubbing/damage aren't I?

coldnoodle

Just an update. I tried on a set of factory wheel with 245/40/18 tires with 25mm spacer today. Keep in mind my car is lowered with about 1" gap between the tire and fender. IMO, if you have 245 tires, 20mm spacer will be the perfect thickness.

If you have to use 25mm [so you don't have to trim the studs], the front is fine, no rubbing no turning clearance issue. As for the rear, I will have to roll the rear fender because the tire is rubbing it [just barely, but it's enough to have drivability issue]. Keep in mind, my car is lowered.

My advice, get a set of the 25mm, so you can check the rear fitment yourself, if it rubs, you could always use it on the front tires. And maybe get a 10mm or 15mm spacers for the rear. Now, if it works on your rear since your car is not lowered, you can always get another pair for the front. BTW, I really like my TCS spacers, I have them one for almost a year, hub centric, and no prob.
.

Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

You shouldn't need to trim the bolts with a 20mm spacer with the stock wheels because there are cavities between the bolt holes on the back side of the stockers. The depth of the cavity is about 10mm so that extra 5mm of bolt should fit in there fine.

My advice (what I was planning on doing before I decided to get new wheels) is go 20mm all around.

ZoomZoomRx-8

Thanks for the great info guys. I got a set of 25mm hubcentric from a friend, I will give those a shot as coldnoodle suggested, depending on the result I will get either 20mm or 25mm spacers.

Aipex8: thanks for the infor about the back of the stock wheel, I didn't know there was a cavity.

4D-Sport

I'd have to agree that negative camber increases the gap between the tire and fender lip under compression. Here's a pic of 285/30x18 DOT-R tires on 18x9.5 45 et wheels and the right rear (at -1.6 degrees) appears to have lots of room under maximum load (sure it's on the right rear bump stop and the OEM bushings are compressed).



I'd like a 9" wide wheel for a 265 tire that has the same track or a bit more but, when in the market, didn't find it and ended up with 255/40x17s on 17x9 et 45 (nicely priced for local STX competition).

Now, I'm looking to test out some wheel spacers, thinking a 20 mm would allow sufficient space between the tire and fender lip without rolling the fender (rolling is allowable in STX). As previously pointed out a 20 mm spacer requires cavities in the wheels, which I'm thinking I don't have based on a quick look at the dismounted 18s.

I've run H&R spacers before without incident but would prefer a wheel with the appropriate offset or extended studs with multiple sets of spacers for fine tuning.

Thanks,

ZoomZoomRx-8

So my experiment with 25mm in the back turned out to look great, perfectly flush with the "outside" edge of the fender.

I belive there is some amount of negative camber OEM in the car because the tire does not rub the fender under normal load. HOWEVER, under heavy load, 4 passengers, and full tank of gas, the tire does move up enough to rub its "fat" part agaist the inner edge of the fender lip. which is so slight that it does NOT leave a mark on the tire , or damage the fender lip.

I am considering moving into 20mm to avoid even this slight drivability issue., BUT when I looked at the cavities as pointed out by 4DSport, they are only about 3mm deep. Which can cause the studs to hit the OEM rim....maybe I should measure it more closely.

Any suggestions? Keep the 25mm all around with this ever so slight rubbing, or

Put 20mm in the back and possibly have the bolts hitting the rim? (won't even be able to tell if this is happening since its hidden, so I am worried about this option)

FYI - car looks amazingly aggressive with the spacers!

Thanks in advance for all your thoughts and advice!

4D-Sport

Thanks for sharing your test results (very useful) and crediting me for identifying the cavities in the OEM wheels but it wasn't me (can't tell a lie, after all, yesterday was Washington's birthday ).

Under no circumstances would I mount a set of wheels with studs impeding a flush fit (i.e. wheel mounting surface mating flush and solid to either hub or spacer). You could check out the issue with 20mm spacers by putting them on and some paint on the end of the OEM studs before mounting the wheels. If the paint transfers, then you have an issue. That said, this vendor seems to think the 20mm will work without modification, although I'd check with them first: http://www.ichibausa.com/rx803.html

For me, because I'm focused on performance/competitive driving with the 8; if I had the issue of contact between the tire and fender lip I'd rather roll the fender or, assuming no performance detraction, add negative camber. If those weren't options and I were using a similar product I might reduce the spacer width and trim the OEM studs. I'm also considering longer studs and non-hub-centric spacers like on a "full-time" race car. Your mileage may vary.

ZoomZoomRx-8

Good idea, I will try out the 20mm, or a "mock 20mm" spacer (made out of something) to see if an actual one would work.

I am thinking about rolling the back fenders ever so slightly to avoid the rubbing? can this be done easily? do i need to roll it in all the way?

Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

Hmm, that's interesting news on the cavities on the backside. There are two different manufacturers that make our wheels, I wonder if the casting is a little different. I no longer have my OEM wheels, but I'm fairly certain it was more than 3mm on mine.

4D-Sport

There's a tool and technique for the fender modification and several race/tuning/body shops here in the SF Bay area who offer the service. TireRack even sells the tool: http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/...PROLLER2&ID=52 Perhaps they can also recommend a service organization.

Another word of caution offered in earlier posts. The additional stress of increasing the track/wheel offset may cause premature wear of driveline components (bearings).

4D-Sport

For what it's worth, I just checked one of the 17x9 RP-F1s and there's a cavity of sufficient depth for the stud to protrude 5mm, or at least that what the ruler says.

Thanks,

coldnoodle

Glad to hear that 25mm worked well for you. I really don't think 20mm will work, because the cut-out behind our stock wheel is not deep enough. You might notice even with 25mm, the original studs is about 1mm longer than the spacer. I will just try to roll the fender just slightly.

For my car, i'm planning to put back those 25mm spacers in the rear once I roll my fenders.

ZoomZoomRx-8

That's very true. It is about 1mm longer than a 25mm, i was feeling it too, and then i saw the cut-out behind the stock wheel being able to accomodate that.

Well it worked out, but not 100% until i roll the fenders, but I might not do it now, as you said its a very slight roll that is needed, so I am going to shop around for someone who can do it around my area or get the tool rented sometim in the summer. But it doesn't cause any driveablity issues unless I have people in the back (which rarely ever happens).

Good luck with your car too, thanks again for the info, the 25mm made the car look very sweet.