spacers cause vibration?

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by 23109VC

i'm noticing a vibration in my steering wheel at 75mph or so. at certain speeds it comes, then it seems to go..butm ostly the faster I go.

I hae the maxspeed motorsports spacers on my car - 7mm front `14mm rear. I think I had some vibration before htey went on, but honestly don't remember.

i had my car aligned/balanced 3000 miles ago. that was a year ago.

i could spend an hour or so, remove spacers, then drive...

or leave the spacers on, get it balanced....

just curious if there is any general consensus if wheel spacers tend to cause vibration or if that is rare?

Assuming that there are no issues concerning your wheels and tires, I can think of two possible reasons why you might be experiencing a vibration relative to the use of spacers.

1. Correct me if I am wrong, but judging by the photos, that brand of 7 mm spacers
does not appear to be hubcentric. Meaning the design of the spacer does not
incorporate a hubcentric ring. Beyond a 5mm spacer the wheel can no longer make
contact with the "shoulders" of the hub. Therefore, a hubcentric ring with the same
bore specifications must be designed into the spacer in order to replicate the actual
hub itself. Without that, the spacer is more or less "sandwiched" between the wheel
and hub. Therefore, creating a loss of "centricity" between the wheel and the hub.

2. Again, correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that brand of spacers is supplied with
lug bolt that utilizes a different type of ball seat along with a 17 mm head.
If that is the case, and you are using them in conjunction with your oem wheels,
you have created an extremely dangerous situation for yourself.

[Flavor 987S]

I hope you are using longer wheel bolts with those 7mm spacers.

[23109VC]

the spacers do have a hubcentric ring built into them... at least I think that's what you call it. teh spacer has a little lip/ring along it that the wheel then goes onto... it's not just a flat spacer, it has some kind of ring built into it to guide the wheel onto it...

the bolts are extended, but I do agree they are different. IIRC, my OEM bolts had an extra thing on them, not sure what you call it, but it was like two piece bolt..ther was somethign somewhat loose near the head that probably helped them seat into the wheel perfectly flat. the new extended bolts just look lke bit long cheap bolts.

I found this pic on the H&R site...the spacers I got from maxspeed look simila to these..

[IMG]http://www.************************************************************/images/Porsche/Large/l_P910262.jpg[/IMG]

but teh bolts are more basic looking..

one option is to just try and remove/reinstall/retorque my wheels as-is and see how it works. if the shimmy is still there, then pull the spacers off totally, retorque and see if it goes away.

if I can get the vibration to go away w/out the spacers, that solves my problem..and I didn' thave to pay for rebalancing.

if the problem persists, I can then pursue rebalancing all four wheels.

i have seen quite a few people here who run spacers...so I was sort of hoping to find out if in general - spacers are considered a bad idea, or if they are fine.

i only did them b/c I thought the car looked better with them on, but I'm not opposed to removin them.

i'm not going to upgrade wheels and buy widers wheels..I have OEM turbo twist 18s and I like how they look. my only issue was they dind't fill out the wheel wells quite enouhg...but if spacers are in general - a bad idea and creat problems, i'll pull them off and sell them.

thanks.

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by 23109VC

the spacers do have a hubcentric ring built into them... at least I think that's what you call it. teh spacer has a little lip/ring along it that the wheel then goes onto... it's not just a flat spacer, it has some kind of ring built into it to guide the wheel onto it...

the bolts are extended, but I do agree they are different. IIRC, my OEM bolts had an extra thing on them, not sure what you call it, but it was like two piece bolt..ther was somethign somewhat loose near the head that probably helped them seat into the wheel perfectly flat. the new extended bolts just look lke bit long cheap bolts.

I found this pic on the H&R site...the spacers I got from maxspeed look simila to these..

[IMG]http://www.************************************************************/images/Porsche/Large/l_P910262.jpg[/IMG]

but teh bolts are more basic looking..

one option is to just try and remove/reinstall/retorque my wheels as-is and see how it works. if the shimmy is still there, then pull the spacers off totally, retorque and see if it goes away.

if I can get the vibration to go away w/out the spacers, that solves my problem..and I didn' thave to pay for rebalancing.

if the problem persists, I can then pursue rebalancing all four wheels.

i have seen quite a few people here who run spacers...so I was sort of hoping to find out if in general - spacers are considered a bad idea, or if they are fine.

i only did them b/c I thought the car looked better with them on, but I'm not opposed to removin them.

i'm not going to upgrade wheels and buy widers wheels..I have OEM turbo twist 18s and I like how they look. my only issue was they dind't fill out the wheel wells quite enouhg...but if spacers are in general - a bad idea and creat problems, i'll pull them off and sell them.

thanks.

The spacers that you are pointing out, are precisely the kind that I was referring to, wherein the design incorporates a "hubcentric ring". However, one involves the use of studs whereby the other simply utilizes longer lug bolts (that's a separate discussion). And, yes, spacers can play a vital role when it comes to certain wheel applications and fitment provided they are design properly and used correctly. Again, I am in the opinion that the spacers that you are using (particularly the front ones) are not suitable for the reasons previously discussed. Furthermore, I believe that you are likely using the wrong type of lug bolt (i.e ball seat and head). Lastly, if you are inclined to have your wheels re-balanced, I strongly suggest having them "road forced" balanced rather than having them simply "dynamically" balanced. I encourage you to do some research on line regarding the benefits of "road force" balancing.

p.s Check your 7 mm spacers again. I don't believe that they incorporate the hubcentric ring.