Anyone using rear wheel spacers to give more aggressive look?

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Bob O

I have 7 mm front and 15 mm rear. I think they definitely improve the looks, and, according to a couple of knowledgeable folks, SHOULD improve things on the track. We'll see, since I'm going to a DE next Sat.

I have 17" wheels on my 01. How would adding these spacers increase any suspension stress over what increasing the wheel size to 18's and the tire size accordingly? Or what additional stress would simply increasing the width of the tire do???. I could put on 18's, which was an available size from the factory, and be at approximately the same relative position in the wheel well as putting on the spacers. I'm not convinced that any additional stress results over what the factory has allowed for in the design.

Now if we're talking about 50 MM spacers.. that's another matter! but the 7 and 15's are actually pretty small.

Just my .02

Bob

When you look at the stress on the wheel bearings, you typically want the tire to overhang the bearings by an equal amount on both sides. This minimizes the moment in the axial direction of the axle. It basically reduces the force that wants to twist the bearing out of the race.

Assuming the tire is centered on the bearings stock, when you add a spacer, you add to this load. It will slowly wear more on the wheel bearings. The larger the spacer, the larger this load.

Is it significant? Probably not, but it is real.

[thenavarro]

Eomak,

I have a 2001 986 lowered with HR springs and my rear wheels are 18 x 10 et 65 and I run 21mm spacers in the rear.

I tried 15mm and 18mm first and I had issues with the strut hitting with those, the 21 work great for me. You will also need longer wheel bolts.

The wheel spacers can be both used aesthetically and necessary depending on the wheel you run. Aesthetically, they will push your wheels further out from the car and I think that looks better as it gives the appearance of filling up the wheel wells better. By necessary, my aftermarket Carrera lightweights have a different offset than stock Boxster wheels, so in order to get them pushed out far enough that the wheel doesn't hit a strut or anything else, I had to use spacers.

The long term effects on the suspension for me are yet to be determined.

Mike

[skinns101]

Mike,

What tire size are you running with these wheels? I just puchased a set of 18x10" turbo twist's ET65 but am planning on running a 265/35/18 and am wondering what spacer I will need.

Steve

[der Geist]

I have 7mm in the front and 20mm in the back. Have tracked my car at 6 DE's and 1 AX with no problems. I use the H&R hubcentric on the back and really wouldn't trust anything else with that width. On my 911 I have 2" spacers on the front and 3" on the back, no problems so far. This was necesarry because of the wide body kit on the car. Strictly speaking spacers should make your car more stable on the track and in corners as the stance will be slightly wider.

Skinns101-I don't think you will have any problem at all with the 10's. I am pretty sure you can get by with 12mm spacers but I would get 15's to be sure. The car looks perfect with 15mm on the back in my opinion. I originally had 18" turbo twists with 15mm spacers and it worked fine, not sure what the offset is though. When I got my coilovers I went to 20mm as the tire only cleared the coilover by about 2mm.

[Benny986]

i have 15mm up front w/ a 9.5" wheel.

i have 2 spacers in the back, 15mm on the outside, and a 5mm on the inside of the rotor. also a 9.5" wheel.

do spacers put extra wear on various parts? yes, but about as much as getting different wider wheels. it makes no difference if the wheel had the "spacer" built in or not. image if the spacer was a part of the wheel, vs. being a separate piece. same diff.

anything bigger than 5mm, and i would make sure it was hubcentric. not just for stability and making sure you get no road vibrations, but so that its easier to put wheels on the car.

ohh you will need longer bolts. OR. i put long studs on my car, so i have studs with bolts. similar to Japanese cars.