Do spacer's/adapter's cause heavy steering?

[lupindub]

I know a lot of folks on this forum are running 20mm/25mm spacer combo with the stock wheel's and wondering how much heavier the steering feels with this?

I am asking because a couple month's ago I screwed up and got improperly fitting wheel's and adapter (17x8 wheel's with 23mm adapter = 17x8 +20 offset) and noticed how much heavier my steering feels.

Do you think this will demolish my bearings pretty soon or can I keep driving on this setup? I am embarrassed to say this is nearly a $1000 screw up with the wheels and adapters combined together, so reverting back to stock is not so feasible at the moment . I am also running the stock tires (215/45).

[gramicci101]

I'm running 20/25mm spacers on OEM wheels and I honestly didn't notice a difference. I've had them on for about two years, with no signs of bearings or steering components wearing out.

[PeterFRS]

yeah.. i dont think i felt any difference with stock wheels and tires with 20mm spacers all around..
mmmaaayyyyy be some when i put on 255.40r17's.. even then..not too bad..

[8R6]

what kind of wheels did you get? guessing by the $1000 price tag for 17x8 wheels that are 5x114.3, these are probably some replica wheels that weigh more than the stock wheel setup. if so, the heavy wheels are most likely the reason for the heavier steering feel.

[sato]

Well, I'm running the stock tire/wheel combo on 20mm/25mm spacers and have begun to feel some "groaning" when making turns at very low speed (i.e. parking lot).


I have been running the spaces for about 35k-40k miles. So I'm not sure if this is an electrical power steering motor noise or bearing noise. I have read that spacers but a bit more load on bearings, but that is something that I might live with.


Not sure if its related, and since I'd have to remove spacers to confirm, it might take a while. Or, I might take a minute to remove them just so we both can have a bit more piece of mind. Will post later on.

[mav1178]

a general rule:

the lower the offset (from stock), the more stress it puts on the wheel bearings.

over the course of many million miles of ownership across all FRS/BRZ, you will see increased rates of failure if you run lower offset wheels. Whether this happens to you on an individual level or not is entirely luck.

-alex

[Cole]

Originally Posted by 8R6

what kind of wheels did you get? guessing by the $1000 price tag for 17x8 wheels that are 5x114.3, these are probably some replica wheels that weigh more than the stock wheel setup. if so, the heavy wheels are most likely the reason for the heavier steering feel.

This. My wheels are lower offset than stock (+35), wider (17x9) and have a wider tire (245) and I haven't noticed a much heavier steering feeling. But, my wheels with tires are around a pound lighter per side than stock, so that's definitely working in my favour.

[lupindub]

Originally Posted by 8R6

what kind of wheels did you get? guessing by the $1000 price tag for 17x8 wheels that are 5x114.3, these are probably some replica wheels that weigh more than the stock wheel setup. if so, the heavy wheels are most likely the reason for the heavier steering feel.

They are actually Enkei RP03 and even though they are 17x8, they come in at 17.9 lbs per wheel compared to the 20.1 lbs OEM wheel's....which means I shaved quite a bit of weight, yet having heavy steering.

Is it possible that my wheels/tires are pushed out far enough to cause the heavy steering? I mean 17x8 +20 is quite a bit of poke but the tire treads are completely inside the fender. Only the wheel and part of the sidewall (due to stretched tires) is poking.

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by lupindub

Is it possible that my wheels/tires are pushed out far enough to cause the heavy steering?

What it does is increase the scrub radius.


So now when you turn the wheel and the car isn't moving, instead of dragging the tire through a small arc around the steering axis, you're dragging it through a large arc. That's more friction it has to overcome, and the power steering has to work harder to do that. If the car is moving then it shouldn't be an issue.

[lupindub]

Originally Posted by Cole

This. My wheels are lower offset than stock (+35), wider (17x9) and have a wider tire (245) and I haven't noticed a much heavier steering feeling. But, my wheels with tires are around a pound lighter per side than stock, so that's definitely working in my favour.

Is it also possible that since my tires are 215 AND +20 offset that the load is both concentrated in a smaller area and pushed out further making the steering heavier?

Compared to your setup where the load is spread out more evenly.

[Teseo]

This is legit?

Asking because i want to drop the height with RCE yellows and add wheel spacers on stock wheels

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by Teseo

This is legit?

Asking because i want to drop the height with RCE yellows and add wheel spacers on stock wheels

Technically yes. It changes your scrub radius, puts some amount of additional wear on your wheel bearings, etc. So does every single aftermarket wheel and tire setup that isn't 17x7+48 with a 215 tire. People don't hesitate to throw on 17x9+35 with a 255 tire on it, and that does the same thing.

I have RCE yellows and spacers on OEM wheels. It's fine. I've only ever seen wheel bearings fail due to tire choice in the off road world, where people go from a 235/75 to a 44x18.50 and increase the tire weight by about 60 lbs each.