What size wheel spacers?

[Johnbmwz4]

Hi , thinking about fitting wheel spacers. What size looks best? Is it 20mm rear and 15mm front? Anyone got any before and after pics?
Cheers

 

[jgu80]

I was thinking about doing the same, but not sure what size to go for.

I also had a question about what the purpose is? Is it purely a cosmetic or does serve another purpose?

Will it affect the handling of the car?

 

[Marlon]

Purely cosmetic - no way a 20mm spacer can be felt at the wheel.
I went for 20mm rear 15mm front

Before and After:
(mine is on SE springs so the Sport will reduce that arch gap)

 

[Johnbmwz4]

Looks very good. Improves the stance. Where did you get them from Marlon?

 

[Ducklakeview]

Looks very good. Improves the stance. Where did you get them from Marlon?

I have a spare set of 20mm hubcentric one's sitting in my garage, complete with longer bolts if you are interested? £25 delivered..

Mike

 

[firebobby]

Looks very good. Improves the stance. Where did you get them from Marlon?

I have a spare set of 20mm hubcentric one's sitting in my garage, complete with longer bolts if you are interested? £25 delivered..

Mike

That's a bargain, I paid double that for the same

 

[Ducklakeview]

Looks very good. Improves the stance. Where did you get them from Marlon?

I have a spare set of 20mm hubcentric one's sitting in my garage, complete with longer bolts if you are interested? £25 delivered..

Mike

That's a bargain, I paid double that for the same

Cheers Fred, no longer needed on the rear as I have 224's now, but kept the 15mm ones for the fronts.

Mike

 

[firebobby]

I have a spare set of 20mm hubcentric one's sitting in my garage, complete with longer bolts if you are interested? £25 delivered..

Mike

That's a bargain, I paid double that for the same

Cheers Fred, no longer needed on the rear as I have 224's now, but kept the 15mm ones for the fronts.

Mike

I bought 4 x 20 mm spacers and the bolts Mike, they do make the car's stance look a bit meaner IMHO and no rubbing issues

 

[Steve84N]

Purely cosmetic - no way a 20mm spacer can be felt at the wheel.

Absolute rubbish, I can easily feel the difference with and without my 10mm spacers.

A wider track width can give more grip and if you change the relative track width by widening one end more than the other you will induce more understeer or oversteer. 20 rear and 15 front will understeer more.

 

[Ducklakeview]

Purely cosmetic - no way a 20mm spacer can be felt at the wheel.

Absolute rubbish, I can easily feel the difference with and without my 10mm spacers.

A wider track width can give more grip and if you change the relative track width by widening one end more than the other you will induce more understeer or oversteer. 20 rear and 15 front will understeer more.

I have to agree, the spacers DO make a discernible difference to the way the car drives...

Mike

 

[mr wilks]

Purely cosmetic - no way a 20mm spacer can be felt at the wheel.

Absolute rubbish, I can easily feel the difference with and without my 10mm spacers.

A wider track width can give more grip and if you change the relative track width by widening one end more than the other you will induce more understeer or oversteer. 20 rear and 15 front will understeer more.

Ive tried all sorts of wheel offset , sizes & spacer combinations on all manner of Zs , different tyre make , tread & sizes can be noticeably felt but different offsets & spacers ? No i can't say i have ever felt that , there are simply way too many variables to state categorically that you can tell the difference .

 

[ben g]

I have 20mm rear, 12mm front's on mine. I think if you are lowered more than the 'sport' setting', you'll get contact between tyre and inner wheel arch liner on the fronts if you stick 15mm+ on the front axle.

 

[Steve84N]

Some folks are more in tune with the finer handling balance of their car than others but it is 100% noticeable.

If you think this is rubbish then just look at things like the performance models of ordinary cars. They typically add 10-50mm onto the track width to help improve the handling which is in the range of what people are doing with spacers.

 

[mr wilks]

Purely cosmetic - no way a 20mm spacer can be felt at the wheel.

Absolute rubbish, I can easily feel the difference with and without my 10mm spacers.

A wider track width can give more grip and if you change the relative track width by widening one end more than the other you will induce more understeer or oversteer. 20 rear and 15 front will understeer more.

I have to agree, the spacers DO make a discernible difference to the way the car drives...

Mike

At what speeds ? Run various set up ups on all my Zs with a range of offsets , spacers & rim widths , never felt any difference in feel from behind the wheel .
More recently i added 15mm spacers to the rear of my 35i on 9j 326s , absolutely zero change in feel whatsoever driving up to & maybe a little over the designated speedlimits :wink: i really can't see it unless you are max power into every twist + turn

 

[Ducklakeview]

20 rear/15 fronts won't give any rubbing on OEM size wheels and tyres, staggered or not, and will work with both SE and M Sport suspension.

Regarding the spacers making a difference, I can still feel that difference when pushing on, the rear is definitely less inclined to go into step out oversteer. When toddling, in the dry the difference isn't nearly as apparent, but when pressing on, or in the wet it definitely is.

Don't forget, by fitting spacers, you are moving the road contact patch further away from the centre of the car, as well as effectively lengthening the suspension arms at the rear, and the track control arms at the front. This is why when you add spacers, the car WILL always sit a couple of mm lower, yes I know people will say it doesn't, but you can't change physics..

Mike

 

[Johnbmwz4]

Looks very good. Improves the stance. Where did you get them from Marlon?

I have a spare set of 20mm hubcentric one's sitting in my garage, complete with longer bolts if you are interested? £25 delivered..

Mike

Yeah I'll buy them off you. They are for the rears aren't they? How do I pay you?

 

[mr wilks]

Some folks are more in tune with the finer handling balance of their car than others but it is 100% noticeable.

If you think this is rubbish then just look at things like the performance models of ordinary cars. They typically add 10-50mm onto the track width to help improve the handling which is in the range of what people are doing with spacers.

I'm not saying a wider track isn't beneficial to better handling but for everyday roadcars at everyday speed ?
Going from a 108 8.5j et50 to a 19inch 9.5j et 40 ? the actual track width increase is virtually impossible to notice & depending on tyre size , brand +pressures id wager a majority would never notice which set they were on if they didn't know beforehand

 

[Steve84N]

Doesn't have to be high speed to feel it. Something as simple as a 90 radius turn at 40mph gives ample demonstration of the difference.

 

[Ducklakeview]

Looks very good. Improves the stance. Where did you get them from Marlon?

I have a spare set of 20mm hubcentric one's sitting in my garage, complete with longer bolts if you are interested? £25 delivered..

Mike

Yeah I'll buy them off you. They are for the rears aren't they? How do I pay you?

I'll PM you details.

Mike

 

[Steve84N]

I wouldn't wager against most folks not noticing but the question was is it purely cosmetic and the answer is most definitely no.