Wheel Spacers

[snchin]

I'm temtped to use some wheel spacers on my car to give it a 'wider' look. This would mean that the rims would sit further out and it also means that the wheel nuts will have less thread to grip on. Is this something that I should be concerned about? Or is it just minimal with no effect? Hope to get some additional info. Thanks.

 

[theCROW]

would like to know too
just got spacers yesterday and planning to install this saturday
what i heard if too thick u can feel vibration during high speed
btw, what is your measurement for spacers? 8mm?

 

[snchin]

i havent bought the spacers yet.
heard a set from eibach will be bout rm400.
maybe need to change the type of nuts we use to accomodate the spacers?

 

[theCROW]

maybe u should measure 1st before u buy
just to make sure how much clearance u need

 

[snchin]

i know lah....of course cannot get massive spacers...
but whatever the side, the wheel nuts will definetely have less thread to hold as the rims are sitting further out. so does this mean we need to change the wheel nuts?

 

[Equalizer]

Guys - I am using 15mm spacers on my rear wheels and there are no problems at all with vibration. And yes, the nuts were changed ..... Only problem is I wish I had gone for 20mm

 

[snchin]

this is for E36?

 

[Strider]

Guys - I am using 15mm spacers on my rear wheels and there are no problems at all with vibration. And yes, the nuts were changed ..... Only problem is I wish I had gone for 20mm

Photo are very much appreciated. tq

 

[Equalizer]

SNChin - no, mine is a E90.

Strider - I do not have "before & after" pictures, so in order to spot the difference, you will actually need to look at a standard version for comparison ..... there are some pictures in an earlier post here - http://bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7638&page=13

Enjoy!!

 

[E28driver]

The key words here are: "Hubcentric Spacers".

 

[KL2DC]

Aren't we talking about bolts?

I cannot stress how important it is to have the correct hardware i.e. bolts when using spacers, the last thing you want to have is your wheels flying off at high speed.

I have 15mm spacers on with the proper bolts. The ones I got are the Rogue engineering brand and they come with special bolts.

Some reference:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17358&highlight=spacers

Some pics:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41182

 

[Equalizer]

Aren't we talking about bolts?

Oh yeah, bolts, KL2DC - looks like I'm the nut here ......

 

[David Yong]

Hey Equalizer, with the 15mm spacers installed to your e90, apart from better look, pls share with us on the performance in terms of handling, etc ? Is it better ? Or is there any other effect ?

 

[KL2DC]

David, my experience: there was actually a tad more understeer. I guess it makes sense, a wider rear track means more grip at the back. But then I played around with the front air pressures and brought it back to a more neutral setting.

 

[David Yong]

Good.

Are you on 18" or 19" rims now ?

 

[KL2DC]

Good.

Are you on 18" or 19" rims now ?

18x8.5 rear, 18 x 8 front...its the OEM 197 staggered. I have tons of grip now and with the 15mm spacers, the wheels are nice and flush with the body, very aggressive. The E92's offset is less agressive than the E90 as the E92 has less space in the rear fender so the spacers help even out things and then some.

Not sure if I'll get rubbing though once I lower it with eibach pro-kit (coming, taking so darn long ), might have to go with 12mm spacers.

 

[David Yong]

I am thinking whether to go with 18" or 19" and I will definitely go for 15mm spacers. The only thing that is holding me back from changing rims is the RFT. Price for RFT is extremely high. If we were to change to normal tires, would it affect the run flat indicator ? Or it's no longer functioning ?

 

[KL2DC]

David, lol I see you haven't been paying attention to the few FTM discussions we've had (yes you were there!). I'm gonna have to give you a 'C'.

Anyways, our cars have rudimentary Flat Tire Monitor( FTM ) not true a Tire Pressumre Monitoring System (TPMS).

In a nutshell the carlooks out for a flat tire condition by continuously monitoring the rotational speeds at each corner through the existing ABS/DSC sensors. The idea is that a flat tire will rotate at a slower speed than an inflated tire. There is no hardware involved so changing out the wheels/tires does not negate the FTM.

Just to remember to always reinitialize the FTM at every top up, wheel changes etc.

The E92s and E93s have a TPMS. There is a sensor screwed into each wheel. The sensors communicate with the car through RFID. Funny, because I have these sensors in my wheels...I really should take them out and sell them.

 

[David Yong]

okie okie.....

 

[Equalizer]

Hey Equalizer, with the 15mm spacers installed to your e90, apart from better look, pls share with us on the performance in terms of handling, etc ?

David - I had the spacers fitted after merely 4-5 drives in the original setting so I really cannot tell the difference but please do take our guru's word for it!! My car is now 8 months old and I have only clocked 5300km ....