by "Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion" (herrquattro)
Published 02/18/2017 at 15:28
by "Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion" (herrquattro)
Published 02/18/2017 at 15:28
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STARS: 1
So for Christmas this year, I got a set of 20mm wheel spacers from ECS, with properly sized bolts.
Prior to this, I had extensively researched into wheel spacers, and nearly everywhere I looked everyone seemed to say wheel spacers had zero impact on performance.
So jump forward 2 months, and my car was in the shop because the suspension was in desperate need of overhaul, and my parents are not comfortable with me fixing the suspension with hand tools, elbow grease, the full mechanical knowledge of 17 year old, and a forum of strangers backing me.
Anyway, after picking it up, the head mechanic told me that I shouldn’t mess with wheel spacers. He mentioned something about ride quality on the highway, but I don’t remember the specifics. Regardless I have huge amounts of respect and trust in this mechanic and the shop. (Free ad for Park Manor Automotive in Allentown PA. Seriously, I fully believe these guys are the best in the Lehigh valley, with service and honestly exceeding some dealers.)
I don’t know if the problem is wheel spacers themselves, or the size for which I went. I also don’t know if the wheel spacers are only really fine for normal driving, where as I fully admit I enjoy spirited drives in the back roads. I also know 20 mm is a bit of a dramatic increase. However, this is what Passatworld forums recommended would best fit my rims (VW Classix from a newer Jetta).
I really don’t want to take them off because my car had an awful gap before, and they really fill out the wheel wells better.
Anyway, any personal experience and opinion would be greatly appreciated.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
02/18/2017 at 15:53, STARS: 1
My Mustang has some 25mm wheel spacers on it. A previous owner put them on, presumably when they fitted it with the S197 wheels. I think it’s to correct a backspacing issue, but I’ve never bothered to look into it. It looks good with the spacers; the wheels don’t stick out excessively, and I have no fitment issues. I’ve had these wheels as long as I’ve had the car, and I’ve never tried putting the wheels back on without those spacers in place.
"Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen" (distraxi)
02/18/2017 at 16:02, STARS: 0
It definitely has an impact. Think about the geometry: if it’s (say) 200mm horizontally between where your A arm pivots on the chassis and the centre of the tyre contact patch, then by adding a 20mm spacer you’ve changed that by 10%. So now road forces thru the tyres have 10% more leverage on your springs, shocks, and bushes. I’m oversimplifying wildly, but you get the point.
It may not be enough to noticeably affect ride, it’s more likely to affect handling, and more likely still to affect suspension durability. Up to you if that’s a worthwhile trade off against looks - depending on how you use the car it may well be.
Don’t use them if you have really shitty roads though - they put a lot more stress on the wheelstuds, and you really don’t want those breaking.
"Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion" (herrquattro)
02/18/2017 at 16:22, STARS: 0
Would a wider rim/tire, with a large offset have the same effect?
I think under heavy driving, say autocross, I’ll ditch them. And I think I’ll leave them on for the year, but I’m hoping to use the OEM 15in wheels as snow tires next year, so I’ll leave put the spacers back on in the summer.
The roads around me are fairly decent actually, but regardless I think I’ll still leave them off after winter ends and the roads are still crap with potholes.
"JGrabowMSt" (jgrabowmst)
02/18/2017 at 16:55, STARS: 2
Dont talk about wheel spacers with Bandit. I think the wounds are still to fresh with regards to Emma.
My opinion, as validated by a friend of mine that sets up race cars is this...
Up to 12mm is passable. Not ideal, just passable. You put a load of stress on the wheel bearings and bushings because youre changing the angle in which they are designed to perform due to the changed offset of the wheel, especially if you arent moving to a wider wheel.
A wider wheel with the correct offset for your car will not have this problem, but what youre experiencing is directly related to the wheel spacers.
I know its aesthetic, but I would remove them. The HEMIWagon will be getting bigger brakes soon, but the answer is that if the wheels need more than 8mm of wheel spacing to clear, its not going to happen. It isnt worth the safety risk, even if I have poly bushings holding the car together.
Long story short, spacers change the track and the suspension geometry significantly, the wider the spacer, the more drastic the changes. You have to approach this very carefully, because it can absolutely affect how the car will react in an emergency situation, and you dont want aesthetics coming between walking away or not.
"Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion" (herrquattro)
02/18/2017 at 17:34, STARS: 0
Well, I do want to specify many of the issues had been known for a while, and the repairs were just being neglected. I highly doubt that much of it was related that much to the spacers, as I’ve only had them on for a month.
So far, I am under the impression that I should take them off for the winter, and spring while the roads are still crap. If I decide to track or autocross the car I should take them off.
However, it seems like besides slightly changed suspension geometry, and slightly increased wear on suspension components, they’re not good, they do not make a massive difference in daily driving?
I should also probably specify that the rims I have on their now have an offset of 54mm, while the originals have an offset of 37mm... Does that mean I have double the offset of the stock wheel...?
Then again, a lot of my driving is spirited hilly back road driving... So I don’t know.
At the very least, I think I’ll keep them on for the rest of the school year, just because I’m vain like that.
"Chuckles" (chucklesw37)
02/18/2017 at 17:57, STARS: 1
I grew up a few miles away from that mechanic’s shop, so I’m familiar with the hilly back roads that you’re referring to (unless you traveled from far away just to go to this mechanic). Truthfully, the back roads in that area are shitty all of the time. PA roads are full of pot holes and cracks, and I don’t think it’s worth screwing up my car’s suspension just to make it arguably look nicer. I’d ditch the spacers.
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
02/18/2017 at 19:33, STARS: 0
You’re welcome.
"merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc" (merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc)
02/18/2017 at 21:44, STARS: 0
The ECS spacers are nice and they are likely hubcentric so that takes the stress off the lug bolts, but the folks on here are correct, if it’s just for appearances, then you should get rid of them.
"Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion" (herrquattro)
02/21/2017 at 10:24, STARS: 0
Well, I’m a student nearby, and my commute is maybe 10-15 minutes. I have pretty much got the back roads around the school down to a science, and I know where all the potholes are.
Regardless, I think I’ll be removing them after I graduate... I still need to look good ish.
"Chuckles" (chucklesw37)
02/21/2017 at 10:56, STARS: 0
I graduated from the nearby high school a while ago. There are certainly some good backroads in that area, if you know how to drive on them. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, and you can dismiss it as the ramblings of an old man, but at the end of the day, nobody else cares about the appearance of your car as much as you do. 99% of the people you interact with won’t even notice wheel spacers. Of course you notice them, and maybe some car enthusiast friends will, but it’s not like people will like you more because your wheels fill out the wheel wells better. And if wheel spacers do negatively impact your car’s performance, than your enthusiast buddies should understand removing them.
"Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion" (herrquattro)
02/22/2017 at 08:03, STARS: 0
ugh... They were $200 though... and it makes the car look so much better... I guess I need to get over myself, and just take them off.
If anything, Ill just put them on my car when I want to go take pictures, or go to Cars and Coffee. Not that anyone would notice them there either, but at least I feel like it’s better haha..
Thanks for your feedback, I just wanted to make sure I knew exactly what I was dealing with with spacers, considering my mechanics feedback.