Wheel Spacers: Whats the limits?

[sr24det]

I have a s13 with a blister kit on it (90mm rear, 70mm front)
Right now I have 2 inch spacers in the rear and 1.25 inch in the front and i need a little more in the front (.5 inch) and I need a good bit in the back (1.25 inch).
So my question is : whats safe, how far can I go

[redsx13]

honestly, as long as you run bolt on spacers at the proper torque you can go as big as you want safely. Some offroad guys have been known to run up to 4" wide spacers.

dont mess around with extended studs (espically if your 4 lug), or you may loose a wheel like i did

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk141/redsx13/wheelfalloff.jpg

[IIIXziuR]

Perhaps it is time to invest in a set of "more aggressive" wheels?

[dawagarage]

if you were truly concerned with safety, perhaps you should save up for lower offset wheels. failing that, bolt on spacers > extended studs

[iLagX]

honestly, as long as you run bolt on spacers at the proper torque you can go as big as you want safely. Some offroad guys have been known to run up to 4" wide spacers.

dont mess around with extended studs (espically if your 4 lug), or you may loose a wheel like i did

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk141/redsx13/wheelfalloff.jpg


holy crap!! what kind of exhaust is that? HKS or buddly club?

[nathanong87]

DIY megaphone jawnt

[NINJASPY]

dont mess around with extended studs (espically if your 4 lug), or you may loose a wheel like i did


bolt on spacers > extended studs

you guys fail to mention WHY bolt on spacers are BETTER than extended studs....

redsx13= why did you lose a wheel from extended lugs? you can't just post pictures of your messed up car and blame them without any proof. Drag cars run extended studs ALL DAY with no problem.

[sr24det]

Thanks for the feedback guys and you are right i need to run more agressive wheels but this is a drift car and I cant afford to buy 3 or 4 pairs for the back. Thats why i want more spacer. And even with the spacers in the op Im gonna run 18x10 +15s in the rear and 18x9 +15 in the front just cuz I already have the wheels and 3 sets for the back.

Well I talked to a guy today at a custom wheel spacer place i googled up and he said that he makes 3.5 in ones for road race vettes all the time that they were fine so do you think that would have more or less stress than a drift car?

[xs042lol]

wait wait wait, i have extended studs on my car. is that not safe? your supposed to run extended studs when you get some rims, since it doesnt allow your studs to provide enough threading...

im scared now

please explain

[Slidin' Sam]

adding slip-on spacers with extended wheel studs can be bad because you run the risk of things comming loose/not being tightened up and they can snap easier. (you run this risk even if you use normal studs with slip on spacers). If you just have extended wheel studs with wheels only, and you tighten them, you will be fine.

NOTE: Always make sure when you put new studs and lug nuts on your car that you go through very frequently and re-torque them because them come loose fairly easy for the first good bit.

[Om1kron]

wait wait wait, i have extended studs on my car. is that not safe? your supposed to run extended studs when you get some rims, since it doesnt allow your studs to provide enough threading...

im scared now

please explain

extended studs are meant to give you more tread to thread lugnuts to your wheels just in case they may come loose while racing. However they are not meant to push in and throw in a spacer over them so you just have enough thread to properly seat a lugnut, because the tq transfer from your diff, to your hubs, to the wheel now is transfered through your lugnuts which is the only static reinforcement keeping the wheel on the car.

just grab some spagetti and give it an Indian burn. you'll see. lol

[sr24det]

honestly, as long as you run bolt on spacers at the proper torque you can go as big as you want safely. Some offroad guys have been known to run up to 4" wide spacers.

dont mess around with extended studs (espically if your 4 lug), or you may loose a wheel like i did

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk141/redsx13/wheelfalloff.jpg

Time to go WIDEBODY haha

[Om1kron]

you guys fail to mention WHY bolt on spacers are BETTER than extended studs....

redsx13= why did you lose a wheel from extended lugs? you can't just post pictures of your messed up car and blame them without any proof. Drag cars run extended studs ALL DAY with no problem.

Before you go spouting off uneducated shit. Do you drive a drag car? there is a reason they run extended studs, and they damn sure are not worried about wheel fitment. It's a safety measure why drag cars run extended studs.

WHEELS:
Must be automotive-type wheels suitable for street or racing use.
Minimum wheel size 13 inches unless originally equipped with
smaller wheels and vehicle is equipped with original engine. The
thread engagement on all wheel studs to the lug nut must be
equivalent to or greater than the diameter of the stud. Length of the
stud does not determine permissibility; length of the engagement
between the stud and lug determines permissibility. See General
Regulations 5:2.

EX: So what that pretty much means if the diameter of the stud is 1/2" it must stick out past the lug by 1/2".

The reason why BOLT ON spacers (hub-centric if possible) are better than just throwing a huge spacer over extended wheel studs. Is the spacer is designed to take the tq transfer of the car as if it were an extension of the hub itself. There is no wiggle room for it to rotate.

I explained why just putting a slide on spacer were no bueno on extended wheel studs. They freely rotate within the limits of the wheel studs, and if their stress rating is being exceeded by rotating mass, they will simply bend or snap off.

[LOUD240]

best spacer company i have ever delt with is Motorsport Technology in San Bernardino Ca ask for Lenny I have had a ton of custom spacers made by him , just got another set for a friend today
pm me i can get em done for ya

[SWAT Team S14]

limit? what limit?

[dawagarage]

Limit breaker!!!!!

[NINJASPY]

Before you go spouting off uneducated shit.
I didn't "spout" any uneducated "shit"... I just said drag cars run them all day...

YOU are the one "spouting off uneducated shit":mephfawk:
hence-
EX: So what that pretty much means if the diameter of the stud is 1/2" it must stick out past the lug by 1/2".
WRONG!!

What the nhra rule books means.... If its a 1/2inch stud... the THREADS of the lug must seat INTO the lug the same or more! NOT sticking out the lug...

From what I've read... 1.5 times the width of stud is how deep the lug should seat on the stud, which is considered safe.

[sr24det]

Dang what is all this smack talk I just asked a question everybody calm down

I planned on running bolton spacers anyways

just chill breathe in........breathe out hehe

[hb24drftr]

Common sense, as long as the lug is grabbing enough thread then it should be fine. when you start going really big, like 4 inch stated above, you might want to watch out for dirt droppin it hard or anything like that, because pushing the wheel out 4 inches is like adding more leverage, kind of like a pry bar. But honestly you shouldnt have any problem with that, that was just something that came to mind. Haha. But on the fronts, if youre gonna go to a large spacer, like a 2 inch, and are looking to run alot of angle, youre going to need to watch out for rubbing on the unibody/frame rail. Because you are pushing just the wheel out, and not the pivot point, so the wheel is going to want to swing around in somewhat of a half moon shape ( instead of just pivoting. Ive seen it happen a ton on guy who lift there trucks and throw big wheel spacers on.

[sr24det]

That makes since and is a very good point on the front but would running flush wheels instead of a spacer do the same thing

[NJs13_1993]

Sorry to bring back an old thread but are adjustable spacers like the pbm's not safe either?

[slideslidegnarslide]

How has no one brought up that diago saito runs 3 inches of spacers on his car to widen the wheel base. There is no limit just do it right

[usdm180sx]

Before you go spouting off uneducated shit. Do you drive a drag car? there is a reason they run extended studs, and they damn sure are not worried about wheel fitment. It's a safety measure why drag cars run extended studs.

The reason why BOLT ON spacers (hub-centric if possible) are better than just throwing a huge spacer over extended wheel studs. Is the spacer is designed to take the tq transfer of the car as if it were an extension of the hub itself. There is no wiggle room for it to rotate.

I explained why just putting a slide on spacer were no bueno on extended wheel studs. They freely rotate within the limits of the wheel studs, and if their stress rating is being exceeded by rotating mass, they will simply bend or snap off.

Thanks for the info I never knew that. I never researched spacers because I refuse to run them. Now I know why. I always thought that if I'm gonna spend money on wheels I'll get some that are on point. And with companies like vrwheels and wheelflip you can even do that with used refurbished wheels now.

[delado]

What if you're using hubcentric slip on spacers? I have a 10mm slip on hubcentric spacer on my ARP extended studs for about a month now and no issues.

[usdm180sx]

There is still wiggle room for the wheel to rotate because the spacer is a slip on. It isn't designed to take the torque transfer from the car as if it were an extension of the hub itself.

[Frank_Jaeger]

Extended studs work fine if the studs are of good quality and the spacer is hubcentric. You have twice as many points of failure when running bolt on spacers.

What if you're using hubcentric slip on spacers? I have a 10mm slip on hubcentric spacer on my ARP extended studs for about a month now and no issues.
Yes. Just make sure the spacer fits the hub and the wheel fits the spacer. If the wheel doesn't fit the spacer, you should get hubcentric rings.

[DennisC]

I was running extended studs in the rear with 15mm hubcentric spacers and I had all the studs snap on one side and my wheel came off.... I am also running a welded diff.

[az_240]

Quote taken from Bings website http://www.bings.ca/index.php?page=subsection&parent=2&child=18
"We highly recommend NOT using aftermarket bolt-on spacers that have built-in wheel studs. We've personally experienced at least 3 stud failures with H&R, Eibach and other brands. ONLY use ARP wheel studs and direct fit spacers like these ones. Everything else is dangerous."

I know plenty of people that use bolt on spacers such as PBM without an issue.

With that said I believe either one can be safe if done correctly. Which style you go with depends on how far you want to extend the wheel. Hubcentric slip-on style is good for up to 15mm. Bolt-on is good for anything above that.

I think so many people have issues with slip on spacers because they do not press the extended studs in all the way. I've witnessed this on two different cars that were snapping studs. Looked at the back of the hubs and found some of the studs were not pressed flat against the hub.
Either that or people are using cheap wheel studs or the wrong bore size spacer.