Wheel spacers - 3.0si

[craigbeal]

Car had been lowered when I bought it, not sure by how much but has springs and shocks and rides hard so rubbing shouldn’t be an issue, but wasn’t happy with how the wheels sat in the arches.

Bought a set of eBay 15mm & 20mm spacers and bolts for about £80 delivered.

Fitted 20mm to rear which looked to wide and upon removing the front wheels it already had Identical 15mm on the fronts anyway :|

So I’ve fitted the 15mm on the back and 20mm on the fronts which I think helps with its look certainly on the rear now.











BEFORE...


AFTER...

 

[Vijay]

Looks good. I thinking of this too; do u have link?....

 

[ben g]

20mm on the fronts may well cause rubbing issues. Mine certainly did when cornering. I'm lowered on eibach springs.

20mm on the rears are fine, as that's what I have fitted

 

[DaveD]

Interesting. I’ve fitted 15mm front and 20mm back and I too think the rear looks a bit too wide. I’ll try swapping them over to 20mm front / 15mm rear and take some pics.

Have you noticed and difference in handling or steering feel? When I put 15mms on the front I actually felt less tugging/tram lining, which is the opposite of what others have experienced it seems? Not sure if 20 front 15 rear unbalanced things a little?

 

[craigbeal]

This was the set.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F123387159863

I went for this kit because everyone recommends 20mm rear and 15mm fronts.

Seeing as it already had 15mm on the fronts and was a mile into the arch 20mm still doesn’t seem enough and could easy to 25mm with clearance. Not sure what going on but plenty of room still.

15mm on the rear seems perfect now as 20mm rear was a touch out past the arch and looked silly.

As for handling, taken it out and tbh seems better with the setup now as opposed to the nonspacer rear and 15mm on the front. Seems better balanced on an undulating a/b road with less tram lining for what I can feel.

 

[Torpalasse]

20mm on the fronts may well cause rubbing issues. Mine certainly did when cornering. I'm lowered on eibach springs.

20mm on the rears are fine, as that's what I have fitted

This depends of course. The et of the rim may differ and then you need others.
Is the rims on the car in this thread original z4? It looks wide in the back allready.

 

[craigbeal]

The rims are standard 18” that come with the ‘si’ albeit they have been re-finished in a darker colour.

 

[AveZ4coop]

I have 12mm spacers on the front with 18" 108's and standard suspension. I get rubbing at the front of the front wheel arches at full lock, which I can live with as it is usually at very slow parking speeds, so beware of 20mm on the front with standard wheels.

Have 16mm spacers on the rears, overall very happy with looks and handling.

 

[MACK]

It will also vary depending on how much camber your running both front and rear

 

[craigbeal]

If you see from the pictures the front wheel sits quite away from the edge of the outside arch even on 20mm.

Not sure what else it could run on....

As the comment above might have hit the nail on the head, the wheel is running quite a bit of camber on mine hence the extra clearance even in a 20mm

 

[DOOM]

The rims are standard 18” that come with the ‘si’ albeit they have been re-finished in a darker colour.

Like the wheels colour!!!
Do you mind me asking which one it is?
Thx!!

 

[Mr Tidy]

That looks much better, OP. And that colour finish on your MV2s really suits your car.

You might not get any rubbing on the front. My Coupe is on standard Sport springs as far as I know. I fitted a seet of E89 wheels and because they have different offsets they sit 18mm further out on the front and 10mm on the rear - no rubbing so far!

 

[MACK]

Not sure what tyres your running but as different brands have slightly different widths/shoulder shapes for a stated tyre width. That too could also be having a bearing

 

[craigbeal]

The rims are standard 18” that come with the ‘si’ albeit they have been re-finished in a darker colour.

Like the wheels colour!!!
Do you mind me asking which one it is?
Thx!!

They had just been re-finished before I bought the car so no idea on the colour sorry but they where like brand new alloys.

My dad drove the car the day I moved house to the new property for me 2 weeks after me getting the car and curbed the front wheel terribly

 

[DOOM]

gotta love dads!!

 

[kis]

The rims are standard 18” that come with the ‘si’ albeit they have been re-finished in a darker colour.

Like the wheels colour!!!
Do you mind me asking which one it is?
Thx!!

They had just been re-finished before I bought the car so no idea on the colour sorry but they where like brand new alloys.

My dad drove the car the day I moved house to the new property for me 2 weeks after me getting the car and curbed the front wheel terribly

I curbed the wifes car the other day. In my defense, I'm not as used to driving that car! Oh and all modifications I've done anyway... so any issues that arise I have to sort as well! :lol:

 

[craigbeal]

Drove the car 50 miles today. Certainly tracks less and feels a lot less twitchy and sure footed on uneaven roads. Really happy

 

[ben g]

Drove the car 50 miles today. Certainly tracks less and feels a lot less twitchy and sure footed on uneaven roads. Really happy

Did the front end feel OK? I recently removed my front spacers as the steering was very twitchy and a quick Google suggested the spacers on the front wheels could be the culprit.

It's still a bit twitchy, so it seems it's not those causing the issue. Next step is new tyres and a wheel balance for mine. Whether the spacers were causing any twitchiness in the steering is anyone's guess

 

[craigbeal]

No fronts felt fine although again because mine has new springs and shocks at some point as well as a lot of visual camber the setup could be at this point totally different to others and so give a different feel.

 

[DaveD]

I’ve swapped my 15mm fronts and 20mm rear spacers to 20mm front / 15mm rear.

Looks wide 15mm rear is much better for stock sport suspension. Perhaps 20mms are better for lowered on eibachs given a bit more negative camber?

Fronts - not sure if I prefer looks of 15mm or 20mm on the front wheels. 20mm does not rub (or hasn’t yet on some spirited bumpy road driving) but is right on the edge of acceptable for tyre vs fender edge.

In terms of tram lining I am certain 15mm had noticeably less twitching than no spacers. However going to 20mm I think it might be a bit more twitchy. I took it for a decent 20 mile drive and it’s still better than stock, but jury’s our on whether 15mm front would be best.

I’m getting alignment done next week with a bit more front camber, which will solve the visual problem of the wheels. Will make a call on 15mm vs 20mm after that