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Wheelspacers - yeah or nay?

24K views 47 replies 11 participants last post by  ballsy 
#1 ·
There has been a lot of discussion on every level of this forum but it seems you can't get a good answer. So here we go again.

Should / can I use Wheelspacers without paying a heavy toll in the end?

It seems that everyone that puts them out uses 15mm for the front and 20mm on the back.

Now I also see a lot of the threads pointing towards eBay - but I don't see a lot of long term reports?

So here are my questions:

1) Wheelspacers - yeah or nay?
2) Wheelspacers from Amazon or eBay (30-50 bucks per pair) - yeah or nay?
3) What are your recommendations / feedback on Wheelspacers?

So in case of Wheelspacers I saw also the following options:

1) Slip-ons Wheel spacers - probably limited by the size of the lugs but
2) Bolt on Wheel spacers
3) Extending the lugs ...

It seems that a combination of 1 and 3 seems to be the right direction - but I am not quite sure.
 
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#2 ·
1) yay
2/3) amazon or ebay? yay, just shoot for some lug-centric ones. also, extended studs are best. shop around, if the 50 dollar ones look exactly the same and share the same specs (material) then they're probably the same. So just save yourself the twenty bucks.
On another note, there are some ebay sellers/brands that are essentially ichiba (or other name brand) but just aren't labeled as so. I can't remember which.

......................................

1) don't use slip on wheel spacers unless you have extended lugs. kinda just common sense.
2)bolt on spacers. I think the smallest spec i've seen was 15mm, most start at 25mm..you could go with a brand like Powered By Max that sells adjustable ones. They're actually a really reputable company.
3)extended lugs....yes...if at all possible, get them.

.....................................
just speaking from personal experience. i've never had a problem with ebay wheel spacers or any spacer for that matter. I've done a few track days, hit some shit, and tracked again and never had a problem. Do they throw off steering geometry? mmmmh probably. Will they prematurely wear other pieces of your car? mmmmh idk.....
I'm sure some members here will tell you otherwise and swear that they're super dangerous. While there are some horror stories, I can't say that mine is one of them.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I got some really well made hubcentric spacers from ebay. These in particular:

(2) 5x114.3mm billet HubCentric Wheel Spacers 15mm thickness 67.1mm hub bore

(2) 5x114.3mm billet HubCentric Wheel Spacers 20mm thickness 67.1mm hub bore

I have since changed wheels and don't use them anymore, but they were excellent when I had them installed with these ARP studs:

http://www.jegs.com/i/ARP/070/100-7708/10002/-1

I still have the extended studs installed because they're significantly better quality than the stock ones, so I don't have to worry about them getting damaged with how often I rotate the tires.

Also, if anyone wants those spacers for a fair price I can box them up tonight. I have no use for them now.
 
#10 ·
1) Wheelspacers - yeah or nay? Depends... like the stock wheels? If yes and want a more flush look, then go get them. If you have your heart set on an aftermarket set, than no.
2) Wheelspacers from Amazon or eBay (30-50 bucks per pair) - yeah or nay? NO. Especially eBay crap. Anything safety related, don't go cheap. Go reputable brands like Ichiba or H&R. Yes, they are a little bit more, but there is more confidence that they won't fall apart like cheap China crap.
3) What are your recommendations / feedback on Wheelspacers? 15mm Front, slip on spacers. You can go either slip-on spacers or bolt on for rear 20mm.

Another good question is, are you going to lower your car? If so, you want to take that into account as well. After running spacers on my lowered 6, I came to the conclusion, that yeah, it looks good, but a aftermarket set of wheels really make a difference.
 
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#14 ·
Yeah see thats kinda where im at. There is no freakin way...even with a discount tire card that has a high limit would my wife let me get wheels. (Saving for a down on a house).

So id say im 6months (optimistically) to a year out from wheels....so thats why im thinking spacers because now that i lowered it...it all just feels too tucked. I only used tanabes so its not a drastic lowering job but i keep seeing bmw's and lexus and that almost flush look looks good
 
#16 ·
The stock wheels are much better than we give them credit for here. They're heavy, but a lot of that weight is close to the axis of rotation, so it has an almost negligible effect on acceleration/braking. The Mazda engineers also did a fine job of designing them for highway aerodynamics without looking like this:



I noticed zero difference (both in feel and from data logs) in acceleration/braking when going from the stock 30.5lb wheels with spacers to some 22lb 19x8.5 wheels and even lost a little in highway mpg due to the change in aerodynamics.
 
#18 ·
It doesn't list our cars as being compatible, which is probably due to the stud size. You want to make sure you're getting the right studs since they need to be a tight press fit into the hub. I can't recommend the ARP's that I linked enough. They're top quality and cheap since they're a GM fitment. I swap my wheels with an impact drill now since I don't have to worry about the OE studs getting mucked up.
 
#19 ·
Yeah .. I ordered separate ARP studs :) which arrived today.

Waiting for the spacers.. Hope they are not junk.

I read a lot of reviews and it seems that they actually pretty well working ones with people reporting no issues after driving 40k+ miles. Heck one guy even put them on an RC-F without issues.
 
#25 ·
Wheelspacers arrived today.

They look solid quality but definitely go with ARP studs. The studs it came with look ok - very similar to the ARP and have 10`9 markings on it (which I assume indicates the strength) but better safe than sorry.

Stud on the left is ARP and the right is the one that came with the Wheelspacers.
 

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#27 ·
Wheelspacers and extended ARP lugs installed.
 

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#29 ·
They are good so far. Still not enough miles to get really a feel but I drive to/from San Diego from Orange County - Roughly 50 miles each way and there were no vibrations, or any weird noises coming from the rear (only installed in the rear).

I noticed that there is a slight wobble sometimes in the rear but that could be very well from our nasty streets here in SoCal because I don't feel it if I drive on new pavement.

Also my bigger issue right now is that every wheel is perfectly aligned except the rear passenger side which is -2.2 degrees .. really weird but I went to JustTires to get the alignment done. I am getting another check from my dealer this week.

Overall happy so far.
 
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