Benefits of wheel spacers????

[mkinternet]

Well that sparked a few interesting views !!!! I agree that it can improve the visual appearance and stance but Im one of those who likes his cake and eats it wherever possible!

So it was impossible to get the correct offset for the fronts so I've compensated with adding a 5mm spacer (hardly seemed worth it but hey) and the rears are standard. So do we think then adding an additional 10mm each side to the rear and replacing the 5mm with 15mm on the fronts do we think Im going to see improvements or just more stress on the suspension and worse handling!

[B21]

Well that sparked a few interesting views !!!! I agree that it can improve the visual appearance and stance but Im one of those who likes his cake and its it wherever possible!

So it was impossible to get the correct offset for the fronts so I've compensated with adding a 5mm spacer (hardly seemed worth it but hey) and the rears are standard. So do we think then adding an additional 10mm each side to the rear and replacing the 5mm with 15mm on the fronts do we think Im going to see improvements or just more stress on the suspension and worse handling!

Personally on the E89 I'd keep the front offset close to stock..15mm IMHO is too far!

[enuff_zed]

Just aesthetics really.
I put 20mm on the rear of mine to fill the arches but left the front alone. They don't look too bad anyway and I thought it would add extra load to a hub that already has to deal with braking and turning.

Just double checked and need to make a correction.
I have 15mm on the rear and nothing on the front.

[LeeZ4MR]

I have 25mm spacers all round on my 370Z Roadster. It definitely improves the stance and I like how the wheels sit flush with the arches. The wheels look quite lost in the arches without them I reckon.

I quite fancy some on the M4 as well, because the wheels sit in the arches a bit on that as well.

Added a photo to show how it sits with 25mm all round.

20210908_112814.jpg (326.05 KiB) Viewed 232 times

[Chris_D]

20mm on the back of mine, nothing at the front and find it a perfect stance/aesthetic.
No detrimental effect on handling and not worried in the slightest about additional stresses on suspension components. They will be absolutely negligible at worst considering the mechanical coupling and dimensional increases involved.

IMG_20180418_201717_HHT.jpg (101.04 KiB) Viewed 249 times

[TomK]

TomK, are you stating that it’s okay for him to add spacers to widen the track, how thick should he go? 5, 10, 15 or perhaps 50mm is okay. Your argument that BMW does it so it’s okay, which it is for them because someone at BMW will have calculated it all out, have you?

My point was and remains so, that lowering the offset using spacers increases the stress on steering/suspension components, this is an indisputable fact

Yes, I understand what your point was and no doubt it is true to some extent, I was just trying to say it's a bit of a non-event when kept within relatively normal boundaries (50mm is not what most people would consider to be normal). Can you show me an instance for example on this forum of the no doubt many hundreds if not thousands of people who have run spacers and suffered a resultant mechanical failure?

[Roddy]

Don't show your significant other the credit card bill

do you ever?

Absolutely no problem with my credit card..... my phone on the other hand