S2 + OEM Wheel Frushhnesss
 

Before
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...20338591_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...17732694_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...67596344_n.jpg

After
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...05000582_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...94608277_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...88120866_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...01855843_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...33519793_n.jpg

Looks good what did you use wheel spacers.

Oops, forgot to mention that lol, yea 25mm

about bloody time! :bigok:

Much, much, much better. Every stock 8 should run 25mm spacers and coilovers. Handles just the same doesn't it ;)

Sure does, did some aggressive driving up the street to check for rubbing and I think I am ok. Will really find out when I go to work tomorrow

The year before last I did the whole Texas8 event right after installing my 25mm spacers with stock wheels and she handled as good as ever, it never effected handling one bit.

sweet deal! Thanks for your thread btw, it inspired me

Are you thinking of getting aftermarket rims? Or just stick with stock?

Eventually going to go aftermarket. But I just couldn't bear looking at the super sunken S2 look too much longer.

Btw, wire brushed the wheel hub to get rid of any surface garbaaaadge, and sprayed some lithium grease on there to prevent seizing (read it is better to use than antiseize, not much of a difference i would think)

what are the wheel sizes / offsets of the OEM Series II wheels?

looking good btw. :cool:

Man that looks so much better!
Quick request could you take a pic directly from behind kinda like the 'before" shot.

thanks

Did you use hubcentric spacers?

9krpmrx8, should that much be a concern with stock lug studs? Because, when I used to have the stock wheels, I used 10 mm spacers for a week. I drove 800 miles from LA to SF and back. Out of curiousity, I checked the studs and three of the studs in the left rear, two in the right rear broke :eyetwitch

Well with 10mm spacers usually you have to cut the studs or replace them with longer ones depending on which type you go with and depending on how much space your wheels have between the holes.

With 25mm bolt on spacers the factory lugs are swallowed up by the spacers and it's never been and issue for anyone that has run them from what I know. I was also very careful to not cross thread them and to torque both the spacers and the wheels to 100ft/lbs.

I have helped a couple of guys running really aggressive wheels and extreme drops with stud problems, the threads get stretched and they that eventually leads to cross threading so you just have to be really careful.

But what I did on my current wheel setup (18x9.5 +40 wheels) was go with Project Kics longer studs with Project Kics 10mm spacers.

Now with the added power of forced induction I plan on bucking out for some ARP wheel studs so I can have the security of never worrying about wheels studs.

But overall, I have never really heard of anyone having problems with spacers unless they were installed wrong. Most who talk shit about the use of them have never ran them. I had a few people tell me it would effect the handling of the car and it did not at all even when pushed as hard as I could push it.

My only advice is that I have used the generic ones from wheeladaptors.com and they worked fine and the quality seemed good but they were no where on the level of the Project Kics I have. So if you plan on driving hard on a regular basis, buck out for high quality spacers like Kics, Eibach, H&R, etc.

So driving to work today, I went across bumpy roads, crummy roads, speed platforms, with no rubbing at all :). Drive seems to be just like before, if not better because it actually gave me a chance to realign my endlinks once the car was planted on the ground heh.

I will have to check the offset when I get home from work, but I know that the wheels are 18x8

Sure thing, when I get home I will post one up

Yes sir, hubcentric.

I have always thought the wheels looked way to sunken in, after seeing these pics I really want to get spacers. Please post if you do rub at all, I have (and plan to keep) the stock wheels myself so it would be some good info.

Will do, I dont expect there to be any rubbing as I have about an inch in the rear between the widest part of the tire and the inner fender tab, and about 1/2 between the front tire and the inner lining. If there is any rubbing i expect it to be insignificant, and just enough to shave off some of the plastic lining to form to the wheel. The true test will be when I go back to my parents house and go up the steep driveway as I usually need to go up at an angle so I dont scrape the front.

The S2's 18x8 should be +50mm, same as S1.
The R3's 19x8 is +47mm.

At least that is what I have written down in my notes. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Looks good Paimon. What brand spacer did you use and how much $$$? I've been looking for a set for awhile but the RX-7 keeps eating too much of my budget.

The S2 wheels are a +50 offset as well so you are at an 18 x 8 +25 right now. The real test of rubbing will be when you are off camber dropping off a driveway at an angle with people or weight in all four seats.

Hoss-05 bought a R3 as a daily and I should have the spacers for that soon to install, I think the R3 wheels will look sick spaced out.

Probably gunna get flamed for it but whatever, just a temporary solution till i get rims: I got a set from OptionSelects from ebay. Heard a lot of good things from them on the S2k and 350z forums. Paid 160ish.

If my only rubbing comes when coming down a driveway I am fine with that, i very rarely am in a position where i need to go up an angular driveway except when i go home. As long as it doesn't blow out a fender i am fine lol

Well like I said, most non brand name ones I have seen were okay quality wise. Plus you weren't sure how it would look so now that you like it, you can save for some good ones and sell yours :)

The good thing about spacers is that you almost always get your money back when selling them.

Yea exactly, some people on the z forum and s2k forum have been autocrossing with them too and no reports of stress fractures or cracking or anything, so I am pretty confident they will hold up for DD

Done. Progress Sport springs and 15mm Eibach spacers.

Before:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24069356@N05/4028693828/After:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24069356@N05/6130542428/

Ooo i like! Looks like 15mm is probably the best bet if you want the safest spacing without having to worry about rubbing at all. 25mm is still doable, but there is a good chance of rubbing depending on how far you are lowered.

Looks good, Hoss-05 is going 25mm, i think it will be perfect with a slight drop.

Yeah, I didn't want to go too extreme. The more I look at it, the more I think I should have gone a bit bigger with the spacers. But I like how it sits, no worry of rubbing and looks better than stock.

Yes it definitely looks awesome.

The 15mm bolt on spacer may not work with the S2's 18s because there is practically zero space in between the lug holes and some stud length will be sticking out. On R3 wheels I'm sure it's fine because there is additional room there.

i thought the back was hollowed out on the 18's or am i imagining things

Here's a pic of the back of one of my 18s. Probably just enough to clear the 25mm spacer that covers the stock stud length. I don't know about a 15mm bolt spacer as more of the stock stud will be sticking out. Unless someone wants to just grind a little metal out or trim their stock studs?

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1297908720



And the R3 wheel:
https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1297908721











Originally from this thread:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...00#post3884000

Paimon I just reread the whole thread and see you posted in there as well. Are yours really hollow between the lugs? Maybe there is a difference between 2009 and 2010?

Maybe i am just imagining things .... i doubt they would have changed between 2009 - 2010... and i am far too lazy to go take off a wheel to check lol

btw, really crummy pic i took this morning. I will get better ones as I will be washing the car this weekend.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...70508781_n.jpg

Yes, I measured my studs and measured the recess in the back of my R3 wheel and determined that the minimum spacer you can use is 13 mm (if you use the bolt-on style that I did). So 10mm would not work, but 15 mm would. I think in the S1 thread they mentioned that 20 or 25 mm is the minimum spacer thickness you can use on the OEM S1 wheels because of the shallow recess.

Nice man.

Either I blacked out installing the spacers, or it's just the lugs on the spacers settling, but the torque on the lugs were WAYYYY off today, and on top of that I realized that I cant find the god damn key to my wheel locks, i was just using the damn things, unless I did the retarded thing of leaving it on the lock and driving away with it.

edit: just found the key ... at the top of the street..... my the curb .... yep, im an idiot and drove away with it on.

^ :lol:

What did you torque them too? Just so you know the torque spec was increased in a TSB so torque them to 100ft/lb.

Well I had them at 85 since I have been running that torque without noise, but when i went to check they were a lot lower all of a sudden. I have a new torque wrench coming in a few days so I can torque down to 100 if I need to

Yeah and make sure you don't store your torque wrench torqued.

Yup ;). My TW is a 3/8 drive that only runs up to 85ft*lb and my new one is a 1/2 drive that goes to like 200 or something so i should be able to get a more accurate torque at 80-100

Oh well that is your problem then, for lugs a 1/2" is definitely needed.

Sorry for the late post...

Yes, Mazda have changed the Wheels on the Series II's, Both 18" and 19", WHY?...

I have yet to find out, they look the same..I think, but the parts do not supersede...yet

There is no difference in the hubs or anything else that the wheel fixes to..

So, IMO it could be, and possibly is a OEM supplier change with some very slight differences...later 18" are also $130 cheaper to buy each...19" unchanged $$ wise.

18" from Nov 25th 2010 Production
19" from Dec 2nd 2010 Production

Project Kic's makes two 25mm spaces in 5x114.3

25mm / 12x1.25mm / 5 x 114.3 and 25mm / 12x1.5mm / 5 x 114.3

Which one? I'm having a hard time figuring out what that middle measurement relates to.

you want 1.5

that measurement is for the length and diameter of the studs on the spacer

BTW: The plastic Center Wheel Caps with Mazda logo are also different, don't come with any new rim.

4 different cap parts for the 4 different S2 Wheels..so there must be a structural or colour, vendor change for 2011MY.

FYI i took my wheels off today to double check the torque on the spacers to make sure all was good...as I was doing that i took a peek, and my wheels look just like yours in the back. Sorry for the confusion (my winter wheels are hollowed out in the back so i must have gotten confused)

well heres something unsettling. Lots of knocking noise coming from mostly the rear end over small repetitive bumps (like the crappy parkinglot at work). Almost sounds like my endlinks are loose, but I gave those a good check and they are torqued down, and double checked on the spacers and teh wheels, and those are torqued down as well ... hrrmmm...

What are they torqued too?

The spacers are torqued to 80 (there is a label on them that says no more than 80 :uhh:

Wheels are up to 95

Wheels were at 80 because i never had a problem in the past, took it up to 95 yesterday to see if it remotely helped, but negative.

Hmmm. I always did mine to 100ft/lbs both the spacers and the wheels.

Hrmm, the spacers are T-6061 grade, and they are indeed hubcentric with absolutely no play in the center so i dont see why i cant go higher than 80, you think it is safe for me to try that high? Maybe i should shoot these guys an email.