31 replies to this topic

[scotsco]

Will putting spacers on my wheels put extra stresses/ strains on my wheel hubs? Are they safe? Or only safe if you use a spacer which is a maxium of Xmm wide?

Cheers in advance

Tom

[maccers]

Its probably been answered on here before I suspect. I guess as long as you fit new wheel studs that are as long as the spacer width. Fitting spacers will extend the track width of the car, so going beyond what the car was designed for will put extra stress on the bit its attached to, the wheel bearing will suffer mostly here I guess.

Why are you going to use spacers? Is it to extend the wheel so it fits the wheel arch better for look? Or are you trying to clear a new/bigger brake caliper? You may have to nibble some metal off the front wheel arch if you extend too far on already wide wheels. Or raise the suspension up / combination of both.

I used wheel spacers on my 4.5 * 10 wheels to clear the caliper. They are hub centric and are machined so the sleeved wheel nut locates into them, for maximum thread grip. The wheels/spaces and sleeved nuts come as a set.

[james.c94]

It depends on what you plan on doing with spacers, if your wanting an inch spacer or larger to clear some brakes or full your arches then your going to put a lot of stress on the wheel bearings. But if you only plan on putting a 3, 5 or 9.5 mm spacer on you will reduce the life of the bearing but it's not going to instantly fail as a massive spacer could, the bearing will just not last quite as long as it would of without

[AVV IT]

Large spacers will cause premature wear and failure of wheel bearings and therefore really are best avoided. But if you are going to fit them, then fit good quality items with extra long wheel studs. It's those kits with those awful barrel nut wheel stud extensions, that you screw onto your existing wheel studs, that are unsafe.

Edited by AVV IT, 10 December 2012 - 12:02 PM.

[Cooperman]

A spacer up to around 3/8" is not really an issue if it's being used to give tyre or brake clearance so long as the wheel nuts still have 1.5 x stud diameter engagement onto the threads. Beyond that then beware as the loadings on the studs increases as does the offset loadings on the wheel bearings. A better bet is to buy wheels which sit normally and give the required clearances.
When you see a set of sheared wheel studs where 1" thick spacers have been fitted (seen it myself) then it kinda puts one off spacers altogether.
I have fitted 5 mm spacers to the rear of rally Minis to get the clearance for 165/70 x 10 forest/gravel knobbly tyres with re-inforced sidewalls which were rubbing on the radius arms.

[ado15]

If you are increasing the track by adding spacers, it will, as other have said, reduce the life of the bearings. However, if you are fitting them so that you can fit 'inset' wheels that currently won't fit, then it's less of a problem since you are ending up with the same offset as before potentially.

Ultimately, if you add offset by any means (that means spacers or deep dish wheels) you will reduce bearing life.

[Ethel]

It's not as bad as it might appear, the wheel is supported by the road and the same weight of Mini (much heavier) is resting on them via the bearings. Mucking up the offsets is the real problem.

[Tommyboy12]

Ive got 3/8" spacers on discs and spaced drums so my 12x5.5s fill my Sportspack arches. Rear studs need to be 80mm for this setup which I was a little wary of but so far so good and theyve been on for 3 years and done about 20,000 miles.

Probably worth noting that my offside rear wheel still has its original ball bearing wheel bearings!

Edited by Tommyboy12, 10 December 2012 - 02:54 PM.

[Cooperman]

3/8" wide specers are not really an issue. What has given spacers a bad name is the 1"+ wide ones which have caused studs to fail with calamitous results.

[Bungle]

that and the screw on stud extenders

[scotsco]

Ok well i was thinking of quite large spacers around the inch mark. One to clear my calliper better as they are very close, and secondly because wider track looks the mutts nuts on a mini.
Are these any good? Or have you got any suggestions on good sets?
http://www.minisport...fo_GRASP31.html

[Cooperman]

Really there are no 'good' sets at that sort of width, they all add an element of reduced strength to the wheel fixings.
Wider track, in itself, does nothing to improve either road-holding or handling. Wider wheels with top quality 165 section tyres, however, can improve dry road performance.
It's hard to see how the vendors can call them 'Competition...' since most scrutineers would not allow a car to compete with spacers that size on safety grounds.

[scotsco]

Ok, thank you. Will be giving them a miss then and just get some smaller ones to clear my calipers better.

[racingenglishcars]

Nobody mentioned the extreme bump steer that comes with wide spacers, and also the added load to ball joints.

[Cooperman]

Nobody mentioned the extreme bump steer that comes with wide spacers, and also the added load to ball joints.

I think you just did .