Wheels and spacers.
Discussion
What are spacers for wheels and what are the dangers of running a set of wheels on spacers on the track?
The wheels I am looking at have an offset of 29mm so ideally I'd need 10 to 12mm spacers to get the offset down to ~16mm.
I've never dabbled with this before, so if somebody could please enlighten me that's be great!
The wheels I am looking at have an offset of 29mm so ideally I'd need 10 to 12mm spacers to get the offset down to ~16mm.
I've never dabbled with this before, so if somebody could please enlighten me that's be great!
'Generally' the wisdom on spacers is that they put more strain on wheel bearings, small 5mm etc spacers will do this less (same as lower ET wheels after all) but for track cars esp- FWD which take one heck of a beating on track anyway its an extra stain, = you need to then get longer wheel bolts- or preferably use studs.
Some cars- 911s for instance have massive wheel bearings & its no issue & big spacers are normal, but most cars have piddly little jobbies where it is.
I do know some folks who track very hard with small spacers in- ok wheel bearings go a bit, but I'd expect a track fwd car on sticky rubber to eat a set a yr anyway, but others take the cars track out by using wider wishbones/rack ends/driveshafts & spacer the hub out from the axle at rear, which is a much better way of doing it, but more expensive & may not be an availale option for many cars.
Some cars- 911s for instance have massive wheel bearings & its no issue & big spacers are normal, but most cars have piddly little jobbies where it is.
I do know some folks who track very hard with small spacers in- ok wheel bearings go a bit, but I'd expect a track fwd car on sticky rubber to eat a set a yr anyway, but others take the cars track out by using wider wishbones/rack ends/driveshafts & spacer the hub out from the axle at rear, which is a much better way of doing it, but more expensive & may not be an availale option for many cars.
theboyfold said:
What are spacers for wheels and what are the dangers of running a set of wheels on spacers on the track?
The wheels I am looking at have an offset of 29mm so ideally I'd need 10 to 12mm spacers to get the offset down to ~16mm.
I've never dabbled with this before, so if somebody could please enlighten me that's be great!
you can only increase the offset with spacers not reduce it unless you are replacing existing spacers with thinner ones.
bimsb6 said:Must correct you there. A rim with a 40mm offset plus a 5mm spacer is the same as a 35mm offset. Offsets measurements are the amount the centre line of the rim sits "in" towards the wheel arch. So a zero offset means the rim sits equally either side of the hub face, a 40mm offset sits 40mm into the arch hence a 5mm spacer will push it out of the arch i.e. away from the face of the hub and the same as a 35mm offset. Rich...
What are spacers for wheels and what are the dangers of running a set of wheels on spacers on the track?
The wheels I am looking at have an offset of 29mm so ideally I'd need 10 to 12mm spacers to get the offset down to ~16mm.
I've never dabbled with this before, so if somebody could please enlighten me that's be great!
>> Edited by richb on Friday 10th March 12:45
Correct, so if he sticks a 12mm spacer on a ET29 rim he will have an off-set of 17mm. 12mm is a big spacer and he will almost certainly need special spacers with a flange to engage with the centre bore of the rim which needs he also needs to get the centre bore diameter correct but that's another story. That's my lot on the subject. Rich...
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