Wheel Spacers???

[turbocrazed]

Well I just installed my h&r springs today and while looking through the paperwork that came with them they had a flyer for their wheel spacer kits, which look really good on the mustang they had in the flyer. So I went to there website and looked for a set for the taurus which they did not list. The car looks great lowered but would look really nice if the wheels were moved out an inch or so. has anyone done this yet? if so what size spacer and where did they get them?

 

[First-SHO]

I use .500 wheel spacers in the front and .250 in the rear. 1 inch spacers in the front would cause the wheels to rub on the fenders. I have used 15 mm or .590" with no problems, but I would not go much more than that. The only thing with spacers you need to worry about is lug length.

 

[turbocrazed]

spacers

first-sho are your wheels the same back spacing as a stock 20" wheel? also it seems to me that the back wheels stick in more than the front wheels on my car. the spacers i was looking at bolt on and then you bolt your wheel to that spacer(after a certain size anyways) so it just depends on what size i use. where did you get yours and what brand were they? do you recall about what they cost? thanks for the picks..

 

[EcoBrick Bob]

Spacers SCARE me.... only because you have fewer threads holding the wheel on.... Also, it affects the Hubcentric design of the wheels and hubs.

 

[turbocrazed]

the spacers i was looking at were not a style that went behind the wheel using up some of your factory stud depth, they were bolt on style that went to your stock studs and gave you a new set to bolt the wheel on so no length or strength was lost.

also my cars rear wheel is further in than the front wheel so i would need a bigger one in the back. are your wheels backspacing the same as a stock 20" wheel? what brand did you use and what did they cost?

 

[First-SHO]

the spacers i was looking at were not a style that went behind the wheel using up some of your factory stud depth, they were bolt on style that went to your stock studs and gave you a new set to bolt the wheel on so no length or strength was lost.

also my cars rear wheel is further in than the front wheel so i would need a bigger one in the back. are your wheels backspacing the same as a stock 20" wheel? what brand did you use and what did they cost?

That's why I changed my front hubs to a longer ARP stud. I did have to machine the studs to the length I wanted, but it wasn't a problem. 1/4" spacer there are more than enough threads for contact, but 1/2" not at all with our stock wheels.

My car when measured, the rear wheels were 1" total wider than the fronts stock, so when I added the 1/2" in the front and the 1/4" in the rear, I gave the rear a slightly wider stance.

Spacers are not a problem when done right. The bolt on spacer I don't trust, but longer studs and the flat spacers I no problem with.

 

[EcoBrick Bob]

I agree longer studs and spacer plates are safe. You will lose Hub centering design of wheel though. Essentially you end up with Lug-centric wheels. They may not drive as good at high speeds. Suppose with extended "deeper" hub rings on custom wheels, you could keep the hub-centric design.

However, when one is looking at custom wheels, why not just go with a wheel that has "less" offset than the stock 38 mm 8" wide wheel.

Use an offset calculator to determine which offset is going to give you the desired wheel look. Mustang specific custom wheels offer many more styles and both wider sizes and wheels that stick out further 35-20 offset. Remember, that when they stick out further, you may have fender clearance issues. Don't believe our fenders can be rolled, at least they can't on Flex. I rolled my fenders on my 2 G8 GT's & a GTO. If it can be done, I have a Fender Roller (the good one).

 

[First-SHO]

No vibrations at high speeds for me, but had to use spacers to clear my Wilwood big brake system with stock and aftermarket wheels.

 

[turbocrazed]

well i think i might just wait for h&r setup. im not in a rush, just like the look of the wheels looking full in the wheel well.. I got my 93 octane tune from torrie in too and this thing rocks.. i think i see meth injection in my future!!!

 

[EcoBrick Bob]

They definitely look better when they are tracking wider. However, make sure they won't rub on the fenders.

I had this issue with both of my G8 GT's when I went to wider wheels and a staggered setup. The 275's with a 40 offset (9" wide wheels) - stock was 48 & 8") rubbed under hard acceleration, to the point that I cut the tire slightly and the inside fender lip actually got bent. Had to roll the fenders. Location of the rubbing was at about 20 degrees behind the top center.

Not sure the SHO can have fenders rolled. My brick has fender liners front and rear and fender design looks rolled from the factory. Haven't checked out the Taurus fender design.

My other G8 has 285's with 45 offset(9" wide Beyerns) and it only rubbed if I hit a sharp bump. Still, I ended up rolling fenders as I already owned the fender roller. Neither of my G8's is lowered.

 

[gipraw]

I have run H&R spacers on other cars in the past and been very pleased with the product. Definitely a better choice than spacer plates, imo.