Purpose of Wheel Spacers?
 

What is the purpose the wheel spacers people are putting on. It's an added tequipment. I mean it adds 5mm on each side to a total of 1 cm combined, I can hardly see how that affects performance. Is this just a looks thing?

a bit of each
 

I would venture to say that it is mostly a looks thing, however, as you observed, the overall track is a bit wider with the spacers. Some might argue that the slight change in suspension geometry is not as much of a 'negative' as the addeded track width is a 'positive'.

As for your recitation about the spacers being 5mm - while those are likely the most popular, and the least likely to cause any adverse effects, significantly larger spacers are available.

search the forum, and read some more...


in a nutshell, looks, and handling. and to fit wheels that otherwise wouldn't clear your shocks/brakes.