So I have decided, at least for now, to keep my stock wheels. They do look good anyway. Plus I can plasti dip to improve the looks and make them more unique.  But I want my stock wheels to stick out a little further like if I got wider wheels.  So what is everyone's thoughts on spacers to get me to stick out like a 1/4 to 1/2 inch. How much,  pros, cons, etc. Thanks.


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I thought about 1/4's. I think a half might be a bit much.

Not another WHEEL SPACER THREAD....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?? OMG   Do I have to post the pix of the car losing both rear wheels on the strip again??

Wheel spacers work fine if you have 2" lugs and enough threads to be SAFE...

I'm always a fan of buying wheels that fit.

Tire Rack says 3mm spacers are max on our SHO's and FLEX ( and Lincoln clones...)

Wheel spacers work and are safe if you run a hub centric spacer. No extra stress on the studs since the weight is being transferred to the hubs as it should be. The best are those that are large thick enough where you bolt the spacer on your factory studs and the spacer has its own set of studs. Any reputable company will make them like this, ex. H&R. With our cars you can't run one thick enough to do this so it would be safe to run extended studs to maintain the same amount of thread contact with the lugs.

It's ALWAYS best though to achieve by using a different offset wheel and no spacers all together.


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I've been running 5/16 front and 7/16 rear spacers for almost 10k miles now, on stock studs. Plenty of engagement, from my understanding of the rule, I still meet nhra requirements.

I still have 7 threads engaged on the rear

Thread engagement is important but more so is having a lip left of the hub for the wheel to sit on. That is where your load is being transferred.


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I disagree... all the load is handled through the friction from clamping force. For load to be transferred into the spacer/hub lip or side loading the studs slippage must occur. In which case clamling force has been lost.
http://www.maximummotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=tech_wheels_spacers

Second to last bullet point*

A lot of tuner wheels don't even have a center bore equivalent to the car they are made for. In these cases they have a different lug bore and you would use tuner lugs to center the wheel as each lug is tightened. Factory wheels aren't designed like this though, they do rely on the center bore to make everything align properly. I wouldn't run spacers on factory wheels unless they were hub centric.

2011 ISM SHO; Airaid Intake

Yes, to align the wheels correctly... nothing to do with load transfer.

Quote from: SHODYOU on October 07, 2013, 09:00:43 PM
Yes, to align the wheels correctly... nothing to do with load transfer.

Yeah I agree with you. I had spacers on my mazdaspeed with the stockers. The install process required you to retorque the lugs at 25 50 and 100 miles. Seems like every time I parked the lugs were loose. Got some new wheels with different lugs and it was a one and done deal.

2011 ISM SHO; Airaid Intake

Not a fan of loose wheels!  Have you ever been hit by one?