Going to try wheel spacers....reluctantly

[BrianK]

I think I have read every post on the forum about this and can't really come to a good conclusion?? However, it’s cheap so I think I’ll try it out and see, but would appreciate and advice/tips if this is a BAD idea…

The wheels are just too far set in for my taste. It is the only thing that bugs me about my new purchase.

Thanks guys!!

 

[brfatal]

Running spacers is always a bad idea unless they are smaller ones (3-5mm) for brake clearance. You're potentially adding more room for play in your steering and wheels which can be dangerous. You're also increasing the scrub radius and throwing off your suspension geometry. The car will tramline more and you'll make your steering less responsive and increasing needed steering effort (making it seem heavier).

 

[QuantumRift]

what, you want the tires sticking out past the fender wells? Yikes.

I think I have read every post on the forum about this and can't really come to a good conclusion?? However, it’s cheap so I think I’ll try it out and see, but would appreciate and advice/tips if this is a BAD idea…

The wheels are just too far set in for my taste. It is the only thing that bugs me about my new purchase.

Thanks guys!!

 

[BrianK]

what, you want the tires sticking out past the fender wells? Yikes.

Hahaha... Not at all QuantumRift!!! LOL!! I would just like them to be flush or just barely set in, not sticking out at all... That would definitely be a YIKES moment!!!

But seriously, 90% of luxury/sports sedans have nice big wheels that are flush with the body. Ours are definitely good looking and big enough, just a little too far set in, gives it a narrow look from behind.

Brfatal makes a lot of good points against the spacers which I am in agreement with, it’s just that I’ve seen a couple of posts on here saying that people have been using them without any problems.

I may just need to save my pennies for some new wheels.

 

[j0nblayz]

spacers are perfectly safe to use. I wouldn't recommend 30mm+ spacers, but 30mm and under should have no issues. If you want more then 30mm, i would get different offset wheels. I have ran spacers on all my previous cars with no issues at all. Infact, on my previous x5 i ran 30mm in the rear with no issues. One thing i recommend is make sure they are hubcentric, and a trustful brand name like eibach or h&r's, do not buy any from ebay, especially the universal spacers. I ran h&r's and highly recommend them.

I too just picked up a genesis last week, and planning to run some aggressive stance on them, however waiting to lower them first to see how much clearance i have before buying spacers.

From what i gather, people ran 12-15mm in front and 20mm in the back with no issues, but i think those are without lowering the car. I will let you know after i lower my car.

 

[Skywagon]

Ran spacers on my R-Spec for 8000 miles. Car since traded. Zero problems. I had 9 inch wide wheels on car as well. That moved them out some too.

 

[OneFunGenesis]

So I guess this thread begs the question...what size spacers are best for the V8 wheels? The V6?

 

[QuantumRift]

+10

:d hahaha... Not at all quantumrift!!! Lol!! I would just like them to be flush or just barely set in, not sticking out at all... That would definitely be a yikes moment!!!

But seriously, 90% of luxury/sports sedans have nice big wheels that are flush with the body. Ours are definitely good looking and big enough, just a little too far set in, gives it a narrow look from behind.

Brfatal makes a lot of good points against the spacers which i am in agreement with, it’s just that i’ve seen a couple of posts on here saying that people have been using them without any problems.

I may just need to save my pennies for some new wheels.

 

[krazyfiend]

I ran h&r's and highly recommend them.

Agreed, I ran 20f/25r w/ a used set of HRE's that I sacrificed a bit on offset and my desire to run staggered because of the deal I snagged on them for my e39 m5 I drove a few years ago. The H&R Trak II w/ integrated studs and a hub-centric core that was not a separate piece (one solid piece of aluminum, rather than a removable ring type of hub that allows those cheaper manufactures to simply 'trade' out that ring and sell it as bore specific). When comparing my H&R's to a buddies Ichiba's (which he nearly paid the same price) there was a vast difference in quality. De Germans know their stuff.

Some valid points are brought up by the second poster in this thread, but I understood the changes, was prepared to remove them if the feel was too off for me..and I never raced/tracked my car. Just a DD that I wanted to flush out the 3-pc rims a bit for a bit more aggressive of a look from the rear. I always hand torque my lugs and when dealing with spacers, would make should to torque those again 25-30 miles later after application in the Spring. Put wheels/tires back on, and do the same thing for them 25-30 miles later. I never encountered any looseness in the spacer lugs over the few years of application... I have read the stories and seen the resulting pics that scared me a first, but was quickly calmed after speaking to some BMW enthusiasts having run H&R spacers on various e30 and e36 track cars, as well as on their respective dailies.

 

[BrianK]

Agreed, I ran 20f/25r w/ a used set of HRE's that I sacrificed a bit on offset and my desire to run staggered because of the deal I snagged on them for my e39 m5 I drove a few years ago. The H&R Trak II w/ integrated studs and a hub-centric core that was not a separate piece (one solid piece of aluminum, rather than a removable ring type of hub that allows those cheaper manufactures to simply 'trade' out that ring and sell it as bore specific). When comparing my H&R's to a buddies Ichiba's (which he nearly paid the same price) there was a vast difference in quality. De Germans know their stuff.

Some valid points are brought up by the second poster in this thread, but I understood the changes, was prepared to remove them if the feel was too off for me..and I never raced/tracked my car. Just a DD that I wanted to flush out the 3-pc rims a bit for a bit more aggressive of a look from the rear. I always hand torque my lugs and when dealing with spacers, would make should to torque those again 25-30 miles later after application in the Spring. Put wheels/tires back on, and do the same thing for them 25-30 miles later. I never encountered any looseness in the spacer lugs over the few years of application... I have read the stories and seen the resulting pics that scared me a first, but was quickly calmed after speaking to some BMW enthusiasts having run H&R spacers on various e30 and e36 track cars, as well as on their respective dailies.

Thank you! I will definitely look into the H&R's! My only problem is when reading about all these different offsets I don't really know what any of it means.

One other thing I was wondering, if I go with different offsets for the front & back I'm assuming I can I still rotate my tires as usual right?

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[jnc2000]

No spacers.... proper offset and wheel width.

 

[krazyfiend]

One other thing I was wondering, if I go with different offsets for the front & back I'm assuming I can I still rotate my tires as usual right?

Correct

No spacers.... proper offset and wheel width.

Sweet! Definitely the best route to go with when it comes down to it...I don't run spacers w/ my Vossens because I ordered the right offsets, but I did run the H&Rs on my stocks when I was saving up for the Vossens. When it comes down to it, it's a hassle having to check and recheck spacers, but for the sake of safety it's a must when running them..I don't miss monkeying around with them when switching out from summer to winter and vice-avers.

It would be nice if OEM's (a few do) started applying 'proper' offsets to their respective stock rim offerings, instead of pushing them in and making a semi large car look chicken legged from the rear. No need to go hella flush, I'm just saying sticking within stock camber tolerances and being slightly more aggressive with offsets.

If the stock R-spec 19's had that offset as seen on your rims jnc2000, they'd be a lovely set out of the gate.

 

[BrianK]

No spacers.... proper offset and wheel width.

That looks great!! That's exactly what I'm looking for... Does anyone know what offsets (spacers) will get me that look?

 

[OneFunGenesis]

^ That

 

[mikec]

Most cars sold today have the wheels tucked inside the bodywork for legislation or corporate design requirements:

* in some states (and some countries) it's illegal for part of the tire to poke outside the bodywork... that way snow/sludge/mud/whatever picked up and tossed by the tire will end up in your own wheel well rather than getting flung into the windshield of the car behind you. That's why trucks have mud flaps. In jnc2000's pic the top of the tire is legal, the portion at 7 o'clock where the bodywork rolls inwards would likely flunk in these states unless extra mud guards were added. Even if the car doesn't actually fling junk behind it - the way most of the laws are written it's "you can't have the tire exposed" instead of "you can't fling debris onto a following vehicle." Wording of the law vs. intent of the law. jnc2000: I happen to like the look you've obtained by the way... and I've seen similar setups all over Cali where it is theoretically illegal - just as it's illegal to tint driver & passenger door glass but many folks do it anyway because it's rarely enforced. It's also illegal to have an exposed trailer hitch ball since that can "hook" another car in an accident but I see those all the time too... even though it's trivially easy to undo the hitch from the square receiver part. What an owner can do to their car - and "get away with" even if it technically isn't legal - is far more than a manufacturer can attempt.

* snow chain clearance. Most manufacturers have their own design rules about clearance for snow chains or other equipment. GM's requirements are particularly onerous which is why many GM cars have huge gaps between the tires and wheel well edges. Manufacturers generally want to design "for the lowest common denominator" owner (i.e. stupid ones). So they leave space for sloppy fitting chains even for cars sold in desert climates.

mike c.

 

[jnc2000]

That looks great!! That's exactly what I'm looking for... Does anyone know what offsets (spacers) will get me that look?

Those are 19x9 +32 wrapped with 275/40 series rubber.

OEM is 19x8 or 18x8

Adding in the offset difference the only way you'll get close to flush is with a 30mm or more spacer with OEM fitment (tires and rims). IMO that is extremely unsafe.

Save some time, effort, and heartache and buy the right setup. These will be for sale once my Advan's get made.

Also of note I'm running -2.5 camber in the rear now and -1.5 up front.

 

[krazyfiend]

Thanks for the info jnc2000, that helps a lot for myself down the road.

Does anyone happen to know the offset of the 18x8 and 19x8 OEM rims ? I'm guessing around +45 ish...

TIA!

 

[jnc2000]

Krazy,

Missed your question sorry...

OEM R-spec 19's on the sedan are a +39