Wheel Adapters... Will I die?
 

So I found some used Enkei Raijin wheels that are 18x8 45mm offset for a really good price.

The problem is the bolt pattern its 5x112 and not 5x100. He said I could get adapters and it should work fine...

I did some research but couldn't find anything regarding adapters for the frs mostly spacers.

Will it even fit?
Is it safe?
Will it affect handling?

And someone told me if i change my wheels i definitely need a rear control arms or something... is that true?

(My car is on KW coilovers dropped -1.5 inches)

Thanks!

1. No you won't die. Spacers definitely affect handling but you probably won't feel it on the street.

2. Look up how lowering these mcpherson+multilink suspensions affect wheel geometry. Typically, when you lower the suspension your wheels will increase in negative camber (top part tucks 'into' the center/wheelwell), as well as toe getting messed up. Stock rear control arms cannot be adjusted for camber, so that's the fix for setting camber back to where you want it. Front camber can be fixed with "camber bolts" or tophats with adjustable camber. Toe (and caster up front) can be adjusted to an acceptable degree without modification of the stock setup.

1.5" is quite the drop, and is around .3" more than sportlines springs. Speaking from personal experience, sportlines really messed my toe up and camber was getting bad.

I'm assuming you haven't gotten an alignment and if so, man, pick up some adjustable LCAs and get one. You're really missing out on your new suspension and probably have made it worse.

Here are my settings:

Front
Camber: -1.1
Caster: 5.7
Toe: 0.05 toe out

Rear: -1.3
Toe: .1 toe in

I loveeeee it now. Good lord. Find a shop that doesn't bs you around, has a low profile alignment rack or are badasses that use measuring tape and dials, and will set the alignment how YOU want it. I suggest the above or close to it if you're a weekend warrior but DD your car.

I mostly drive it on the street and no track. I sometimes drift on the streets here and there but not a lot. So i assume handling wise its all good.

Now i am not sure if its actually dropped by 1.5 inch i assume XD I bought it dropped. Pic is attached how much of a drop is that?

And I Just want to make sure the wheel fits even though there are adapters because of the new wheels!

that pose doe

That's quite the drop. Here's mine at 1.3" for reference, and my toe and camber settings were WAY out of whack. Like, shred my tires if I drove it for a few thousand miles out of whack.

http://i.imgur.com/cF5mJtj.jpg

You won't know handling wise if it's "all good" until you get it on an alignment rack. I highly suggest getting some adjustable LCA's and getting a proper alignment. Even if the guy before you got it aligned, your camber is way out of spec being that low.

Some people can't tell the difference between a great alignment and one that won't crash your car... your tires DO tell, though. Just the slightest toe measurement out of whack can drag your tire for MILES through a normal commute. This wears your tires out so fast you wouldn't even know what hitcha when you get the tires rotated and find out they're shredded.

You will die, car will be totaled, and somebody on this forum will make a thread about you saying how you crashed cause you were a noob in their first rwd car who turned traction control off.

And then someone else on this forum will buy your wrecked car and post a custom rebuild thread that everyone will give him props for.

Just make sure to purchase quality spacers with proper grade wheel studs.
Torqued to specs.

HKS Evo used it.
J's Racing S2000 used it.
We ran 25mm spacers on our Time Attack evo putting down 585ft/lbs torque going to the wheels - 0 issues.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2163/...202c76.jpg?v=0

How do you know if a spacer is of good quality?

purchase from a well-known, high quality manufacturer.

Just buy wheels that fit.

While I agree that buying wheels that fit without spacers is ideal...


I've had 5mm, 10mm, 12mm, 15mm, & 25mm spacers on my car. The 5mm is too thin to be hubcentric. The 25mm was bolt on. After using each of them for awhile, here is what I have learned:


You can add a 3mm slip without changing the studs.


The thinnest bolt-on style that does not require shaving studs is 25mm.


So if you want a spacer that is between 3mm and 25mm; you will need extended studs. Everyone suggests ARP because they are top quality.


I have 50mm extended studs that allow me to add 12mm and 15mm slip on spacers.


Not all spacers have the same OD. My 5mm and 10mm have a larger OD than the rotor hub, which makes them look weird. Plus they are universal spacers with two bolt patterns.


My 12mm and 15mm slip spacers have the same OD as my rotor hub and are only 5x100 drilled. Additionally they are hubcentric with a 56.1 hub bore like our cars have. These spacers are machined out of one piece of aluminum. Paired with quality studs; I don't see how you could have issues with this kind of setup.


Wheel adaptors are bolt on style because of the two bolt patterns. IMO, if they are good quality and installed correctly; they should be fine. But, I did not like having to take my wheel off and tighten another set of nuts under the ones holding my wheel to the adaptor.

Okay here is what is going on. I bought these Sparco Assetto Garas, assuming since there were 5x100 to 5x114 adapters there must also be 5x100 to 5x112. I decided to kill two birds with one stone, or so I thought, as I wanted to get spacers and buying adapters to me seemed like it would do both and I could rock these wheels. I have no problem changing studs, probably changed 8 on this car already, but I just want to know what will be the most cost effective way to go about this. I'm seeing these, and I talked to the company, and even tho they are 1 inch (25.4mm), they still told me

"Now with an a 1" thick adapter you will have to trim back your existing wheel studs so that your wheels sit flush on the face side of the adapter. These are lug centric adapters, meaning they will not have a hub piloting ring to center the wheels on so they will depend on the lug nuts for centering."

Also, I don't really know the difference between lug centric and hub centric, but is hub centric merely for convenience sake? Just trying to figure out if I should go through all this or rather sell the wheels and figure something else out. Wouldn't want to do that as I got these wheels at a good price

If you are planning on adaptors, then changing your studs is not necessary.


25mm bolt on spacers clear stock studs.


Hubcentric spacers are by far the best. this means that the center of the spacer slides on to the center bore of the hub. Then the lug nuts only have to hold the spacer on. Lug centric means that you are relying on the lug nuts to hold the wheel perfectly centered. This can work... But, I have had major issues with the wheel being out of balance with this kind of spacer.


Is your car lowered? Do you have camber bolts in the front?


If you go with a 25mm bolt on wheel adaptor on the 18x8 +40 5x112 wheel (I think they are +40), you will need some camber to tuck the wheels. I was running almost the same spec wheel and spacer 18x8 +45 with a 25mm bolt on spacer. I only needed -1.4 front camber. (One set of camber bolts not even maxed out)


I was lowered 1" on drop springs which gave me approx. -2 rear natural camber. If you are not lowered, you will need some way of adding rear camber, like LCA. (or a thinner spacer and shave the OEM studs)


If you go with a +40 8" wheel and add 25mm, essentially your offset will be +15.


Look at the first post on this page... +15 offset 8" wheels. They are nice and flush!
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...t=7535&page=41


If you want a more conservative look; you will need a thinner adaptor and will have to shave your wheel studs. (I shaved 10 studs with a hack saw and it took me an hour) It can be done, though it is not fun.