Wheel spacers (Maximum ET)

[Gerben Visser]

Hello,

I also have a question about spacers. There is a lot on the forum about this, but I cannot find the correct answer.

172 Cup: ET38,5
172 Ph2: ET48
182: ET45

On 172 Ph2 and 182 they common use 15-20mm at the front and 10-15mm at the back. This bring the ET (in case of a 182) to 25-30 at the front and 30-35 at the back. My question is, what is the maximum ET you can go without any problems and scrapping wheels?

I already have 16” OZ Superleggera`s with a ET of 36 (and 195/45/16 tires), so it is already wider than the stock wheels. But I still think the wheels are too much in. That is why I want to add some spacers, but how far can I go without scrapping?

I don’t have any camber, so the wheels are straight. On the back I want to use hub spacers from pure motorsport. On the front I prefer bolt to hub spacers, but they are only available from up to 15mm? You don’t have bolt to hub in 10mm? So under 15mm you only can use hub centric spacers with longer bolts?

Why do people add more to the front then to the back, just for looks? The front is already a bit wider than the back (front is 1418 and the back 1392mm). If you add more at the front than at the back, does it influence the handling in a negative way? Don’t you need to use the same spacer width at all 4 wheels?

I hope somebody can answer the above questions!

With kind regards,
Gerben Visser

 

[mikekean]

Really you dont want to be over ET35 on the front or it really starts screwing up the scrub radius, on the rear it doesn't matter so much but you have to be aware of what effect changing the rear track has on the handling of the car. Generally it make it more stable but induces under steer..

 

[Gerben Visser]

@mikekean Thanks!

I am already at ET36, but I have plenty of space left to bring them outwards I think. But in your opinion ET26 (+10mm) at the front and 31 (+5mm) at the back is not an option? Also, the 10mm spacers are only available in hubcentric (with longer bolts), bolt to hub starts at +15mm and thats certainly too much for me.

There is another thread on spacers as well in this section, so I am reading that one as well:
http://cliosport.net/threads/spacers-guide-info.802113/

Regards,
Gerben

 

[mikekean]

Well mechanically there is not a lot wrong with moving the wheel out further apart from the extra component load, if it's literally just for looks then go for it. But if your looking for a handling advantage from the increased track then it can have the opposite effect. Our cars run negative scrub radius so it can reduce stability and increase squirm by reducing the offset, it can increase the steering feel which is why alot of people think the car handles better with spacers on..