Spacers & Handling Performance
 

Hey All,

Question to everyone running wheel spacers. I'm looking at getting 20mm spacers for the front and 25mm spacers for the back wheels of my BRZ. Probably going with the H&R ones (or Perrin which are made by H&R)

I've read some people saying that the spacers make handling sluggish. Anyone can confirm this?

I don't track or autox my car, so take this with a grain of salt.. but installing those exact mm spacers gave a very minimal, if none, change in how I perceived handling characteristics of my 86.

What I can say, however, is that the spacers really tie the look together, along with lowering springs.

I'm lowered on sportlines, 20f/25r mm spacers, and SPC camber bolts up front.

http://i.imgur.com/jiS7MgT.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IZ441Gg.jpg

I had the same question in mind...and I drive a Series.Blue too. I want to keep the wheels, but they're so not flush it hurts my eyes.

I have the same exact spacers. H&R too. It feels a little different. My turns seem a little wider? Might be a placebo effect lol Im also lowered on some KWV3s.

I use 20/25 spacers on my stock wheels with winter tires on it because I get used to my 17x9+35 summer wheels.


I didn't notice a difference in handling on the stock setup. I wouldn't take it to the track or anything like that, but for driving around on the street, it's fine.

same.

Just got my winter tires swapped and the place wouldn't bolt the wheels onto spacers since they've stripped them in the past.

So I paid for all the work, then went home, took all the wheels back off, bolted on the spacers, then the wheels again :bonk:

I'll never drive without them on stock wheels, it's that much better.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Sounds like it doesn't really change how the car handles much.

I'm looking at getting Pro-Kits to lower the car. Only one person mentioned camber bolts. Anyone else require camber adjustment parts once lowered?

What's a pro kit?

If you're lowering 1 inch or so (RCEs, Eibach pro) then camber bolts up front aren't necessary... but you will be running negative camber in both fronts and rear.

If you're going anything more than 1 inch, camber bolts up front are a must for a good alignment, and rear camber options are then highly suggested

Widening the track is generally good for handling, but with spacers you are changing the front scrub radius, which can change steering feel. You're also changing the loading on the wheel bearings.

on the street, you'll almost never experience a difference... but whether on the street or track, with big spacers like that, your wheel bearings will definitely hate you.

And - large spacers and the extra bolt metal can add a lot of unsprung weight !

:mad0260:

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps7d7d7408.jpg

CERBERUS

http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/eiba...-s-brz-98.html

I run full set of spacers front and rear, on multiple cars. It will make the handing lazier if the are not hub and wheel centric. You wont notice in the rear but in the front you will, other than that I've not had issues just be careful not to over torque lugs and take the spacers off every few months and clean them and you are good.

by far, the best spacers out there. For value and quality. You cannot beat $100 for a set.

http://www.corner3garage.com/V3-Spac...WRX_p_482.html

This is what I have as well.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Yeah I'm running like 25mm of spacers up front on extended wheel studs. Steering feels a bit lighter.

I'm going to be getting RacerX FLCAs to widen the front track and when I do, I'll remove some of those spacers

Those (the 20mm's) may not clear blue.series wheels that the OP has.
Someone on the forum actually PM-ed me saying his wheels didn't clear the 20mm v3 spacers and suggested grabbing low profile lugs

I put H&Rs about a week ago, here's how 20 in the front looks:
http://i.imgur.com/h9L8I6t.jpg

Thanks for the heads up! Using my incredibly terrible internet e-measurement goggles, those look to be the same length stud to me. Maybe @Corner3garage could chime in with a length?

Are the stock wheels and Series.Blue wheels not the same spec? It seems like a lot of people are running the H&R Spacers 20/25 without issue...

Yes they are the same size, but it's this gap that is different:

blue.series
http://i.imgur.com/HpFMgVw.jpg

stock
http://i.imgur.com/rB8Uj5k.jpg

Sorry. Forgive my noob-ness. But what am I looking for?

On the stock wheels the whole hub sits flush against the wheel except for the areas where the wheel is hollowed out (doesn't make a difference in how the hub sits on the wheel) but on the blue series there are protrusions on the wheel between the main body of the wheel and the hub which you can see in the first picture. The protrusions push the wheel away from the hub/spacer and apparently make the wheel hub thicker than oem which may reduce the size of stud you're left with once the wheel is mounted.

Ah. Alright. Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense now.

So a solution would be extended studs or low-profile lugs? Anyone have recommendations?

i have a series.blue also... i used 25mm front 30mm rear. it makes the sti wheels looks better! but still doesnt help the skinny tire issue!! haha


http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/u...081691_n-1.jpg

Looks awesome. What spacers did you use? Did you have to modify your studs?

what I'm saying is I'm not sure the v3 20mm spacers clear the fronts. I have H&R's and they are fine without anything extra.

Ah. Awesome. Thanks for clarifying. Makes my purchasing a lot simpler.

Corner3 front 20mm do not clear as I've found out today. The 25mm clear it fine so now I'm debating finding another 25mm or getting 30mm for the rear. It'll be sitting on the eibach pro kit for the time being

What doesn't clear? Going by canehda's explanation above, I don't understand why the 25 would work but the 20 wouldn't. Does the 25 have longer studs?

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http://i.imgur.com/h9L8I6t.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/G7YwmRl.jpg


see the difference? the v3 spacers (only the 20mm I believe) comes with bigger lugs, so it pokes out more, causing the rims to not clear

Studs are just about an inch long, measured from the spacer.

You will need 25mm all around to fit the V3 spacers on blue series wheels.

We have a couple recent confirmations.

We Have not had reported issues till now!

Sorry about the inconvenience.

The stock wheels seem to have a deeper and wider recess in between the stud holes which allow them to run the 20mm fronts.

Thanks,
Mike

Its not that the 20 or 25mm have longer studs, but as you can tell, the 20mm has less aluminum spacer portion, which means that the stud protrudes a bit with the lug nut as you bolt it on the hub.

crystal, ty! Was looking at the wrong studs, ha

no modification of studs, been on for 4k miles with no problem! and no idea of the brand! box is somewhere! haha. a local shop ordered them for me!
on facebook their name is Aspec Industries https://www.facebook.com/AspectIndustries

Any chance you could take a picture from the back of the car, looking down the side?

25/30 is a bit wider than I'd like to go, but if that is what I'd need to have my Aozora/S.B rims to work, then i might just do it... or do 25mm all around.

Thoughts?

With 20mm spacers your wheels will be inset about 10mm more than my track setup that I had on my car with the GTF2s @iLaw ,so if you still remember what mine looked like at the cruise then just base it on that :P

Sorry to resurrect this, but @lamune has pictured here 20mm (top) and 25mm (bottom) spacers from H&R

My final question is will H&R 20mm spacers clear the Series.Blue rims? or is 25mm the thinnest spacer I can go with?

Yes.

Sorry, Yes the 20mm spacer will fit? Or Yes 25mm is the thinnest spacer I can use?

The H&R 20mm spacer will clear blue.series STI wheels.