Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Thursday March 28, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
Click here to visit TireRack
Tire & Wheel Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack

Losing traction? Need new tires?
Click here to visit the NASIOC Upgrade Garage...
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC Technical > Tire & Wheel

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-16-2008, 05:08 PM   #1
redwrxtr
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 172888
Join Date: Feb 2008
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: around birmingham
Vehicle:
2007 wrx tr
red

Default wheel spacers?????

ive seen these things around pretty cheap...i would like my rims a little farther out in the fender well....good idea or bad????

anyone got these?
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
redwrxtr is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Old 06-17-2008, 02:56 PM   #2
redwrxtr
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 172888
Join Date: Feb 2008
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: around birmingham
Vehicle:
2007 wrx tr
red

Default

anyone????????
redwrxtr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-17-2008, 03:17 PM   #3
mav1c
Hoodbridge!
Moderator
 
Member#: 560
Join Date: Nov 1999
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Woodbridge, VA
Vehicle:
2006 STi, 16 Outback
Crystal Gray, Silver

Default

Bad idea. If you want the wheels further out, get wider wheels.
mav1c is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-17-2008, 03:19 PM   #4
nhat
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 140163
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: 3MI Racing
Vehicle:
03 STi
hellaflunctional

Default

not necessarily bad, but not a good idea.

spacers will make your steering feel more vague the wider you go. 3mm is the widest you want to go on stock studs. wider than that you're going to need extended studs.
nhat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-18-2008, 05:31 PM   #5
redwrxtr
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 172888
Join Date: Feb 2008
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: around birmingham
Vehicle:
2007 wrx tr
red

Default

the spacers im looking at have wheel studs built in.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/15MM-...spagenameZWDVW

they have them in 15,20,and 25mm

Last edited by redwrxtr; 06-18-2008 at 05:32 PM. Reason: forgot link
redwrxtr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-18-2008, 07:34 PM   #6
dunk
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 15359
Join Date: Feb 2002
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Fairfax, VA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by redwrxtr View Post
the spacers im looking at have wheel studs built in.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/15MM-...spagenameZWDVW

they have them in 15,20,and 25mm
Spacers that large are going to make your steering a little interesting on the street. My ET25 wheels on my track car are miserable under 40 mph.

Duncan
dunk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-18-2008, 08:35 PM   #7
Mr_Snips
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 152117
Join Date: Jun 2007
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: Hills Have Eyes
Vehicle:
2012 Ford F150 ECO
White

Default

wheel bearings wont be very happy
Mr_Snips is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2008, 12:35 PM   #8
redwrxtr
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 172888
Join Date: Feb 2008
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: around birmingham
Vehicle:
2007 wrx tr
red

Default

how wide would i need to go to get the wheels even with the fenders?
redwrxtr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2008, 12:40 PM   #9
dunk
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 15359
Join Date: Feb 2002
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Fairfax, VA
Default

1. Find tape measure
2. measure tire -> fender clearance.
3. Buy spacer
4. Profit.

Duncan
dunk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2008, 12:47 PM   #10
redwrxtr
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 172888
Join Date: Feb 2008
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: around birmingham
Vehicle:
2007 wrx tr
red

Default

even at 25mm its only an inch wider on each side...would that really upset it?
i would think it should handle better the wider it is........
redwrxtr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2008, 12:56 PM   #11
dankEe
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 97958
Join Date: Oct 2005
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: NYC // FAIRFAX
Vehicle:
2002 WRX
ASPEN

Default

i run a measly 5mm in the rear and i feel the difference.. it sucks, dont get it if you dont have to..
in my case my pss9 coilovers are rubbing in the rear so i had to
- Danny
dankEe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2008, 01:05 PM   #12
dunk
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 15359
Join Date: Feb 2002
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Fairfax, VA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by redwrxtr View Post
even at 25mm its only an inch wider on each side...would that really upset it?
i would think it should handle better the wider it is........
It's going to make the front wheels pull the car around due to the increase in positive scrub radius.

Imagine that you could extend the angle of the steering axis (SAI) to the plane of the ground. Then measuring the distance between the center of the tire and this intersection would give you the scrub radius. If the intersection is outside of the contact patch, we refer to it as positive.

You could design a system with zero scrub radius and it would steer easily with no kickback, however it would provide almost no road feel. The impreza has some positive scrub radius, this increases steering effort, torque steer and kickback, resulting in greater roadfeel. It should be noted that race cars usually have some positive scrub radius for this very reason.

The problem happens when you add too much. Thick of the roadfeel and kickback being a function of the tires leverage on the steering wheel. The further you move the tread away from the SAI, the longer the length of the lever. This will make the car trickier to control in turns and want to follow bumps on the road. Unfortunately for you, this problem will be much more problematic at low speeds, where you drive the car on the street. As I said in my above post, my race car is pretty horrendous at speeds below 40 miles per hour due to extremely low offset wheels, however since the car almost never goes this slow (other than driving around the paddock) it's not really an issue.

The second issue with a significant spacer or a low offset wheel is the increased load on the wheel bearing. This is a pretty tricky one to measure. It will decrease the life of the bearing, however no-one can tell you how much. If you don't mind replacing them at a shorter interval this might not be an issue.

Duncan

Last edited by dunk; 06-19-2008 at 01:38 PM.
dunk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2008, 01:07 PM   #13
dunk
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 15359
Join Date: Feb 2002
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Fairfax, VA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by dankEe View Post
i run a measly 5mm in the rear and i feel the difference.. it sucks, dont get it if you dont have to..
in my case my pss9 coilovers are rubbing in the rear so i had to
- Danny
Widening the rear and not the front track can also have the added consequence of adding some understeer.

Duncan
dunk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2008, 01:29 PM   #14
redwrxtr
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 172888
Join Date: Feb 2008
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: around birmingham
Vehicle:
2007 wrx tr
red

Default

thanks dunk i appreciate the write up...i had to read it twice but im following you....
oh well im gonna have to find some other cheapo mod
redwrxtr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2008, 02:40 PM   #15
medamullet
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 99442
Join Date: Oct 2005
Chapter/Region: International
Location: Man of Mystery
Vehicle:
2006 SGM STI
I'm on CORN YO!

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by dunk View Post
It's going to make the front wheels pull the car around due to the increase in positive scrub radius.

Imagine that you could extend the angle of the steering axis (SAI) to the plane of the ground. Then measuring the distance between the center of the tire and this intersection would give you the scrub radius. If the intersection is outside of the contact patch, we refer to it as positive.

You could design a system with zero scrub radius and it would steer easily with no kickback, however it would provide almost no road feel. The impreza has some positive scrub radius, this increases steering effort, torque steer and kickback, resulting in greater roadfeel. It should be noted that race cars usually have some positive scrub radius for this very reason.

The problem happens when you add too much. Thick of the roadfeel and kickback being a function of the tires leverage on the steering wheel. The further you move the tread away from the SAI, the longer the length of the lever. This will make the car trickier to control in turns and want to follow bumps on the road. Unfortunately for you, this problem will be much more problematic at low speeds, where you drive the car on the street. As I said in my above post, my race car is pretty horrendous at speeds below 40 miles per hour due to extremely low offset wheels, however since the car almost never goes this slow (other than driving around the paddock) it's not really an issue.

The second issue with a significant spacer or a low offset wheel is the increased load on the wheel bearing. This is a pretty tricky one to measure. It will decrease the life of the bearing, however no-one can tell you how much. If you don't mind replacing them at a shorter interval this might not be an issue.

Duncan

So true. I second everything Duncon said.

I learned this the expensive and hard way. Spent lots of money on 35 offest wheels (thinking it''s no big deal it's only a few mm difference) that turned out to not only drive bad on the streets but almost impossible to align. You had to hang on with both hands becuase if the assfalut was uneven it would tear the steering wheel out of your hands.
medamullet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2008, 10:35 AM   #16
blahhblahh
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 86659
Join Date: May 2005
Vehicle:
2005 WRX Sedan
WR Blue

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by medamullet View Post
So true. I second everything Duncon said.

I learned this the expensive and hard way. Spent lots of money on 35 offest wheels (thinking it''s no big deal it's only a few mm difference) that turned out to not only drive bad on the streets but almost impossible to align. You had to hang on with both hands becuase if the assfalut was uneven it would tear the steering wheel out of your hands.
what size wheels? If you have sufficient backspacing on the wheel, it shouldn't pull that hard.
blahhblahh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2008, 10:36 AM   #17
medamullet
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 99442
Join Date: Oct 2005
Chapter/Region: International
Location: Man of Mystery
Vehicle:
2006 SGM STI
I'm on CORN YO!

Default

^^ 18X8 or maybe even 7.5 I didn't have them long after driving around on them.
medamullet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2008, 12:55 PM   #18
mtbpaint
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 180939
Join Date: May 2008
Default

I put longer studs in the rear in hopes to put them in the front as well. Drove like poo...wider tires!
mtbpaint is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2008, 01:02 PM   #19
REX8
*** Banned ***
 
Member#: 24038
Join Date: Sep 2002
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: Godspeed Cale...
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by nhat View Post
not necessarily bad, but not a good idea.

spacers will make your steering feel more vague the wider you go. 3mm is the widest you want to go on stock studs. wider than that you're going to need extended studs.


Increasing your scrub radius will give you MORE steering feel. Perhaps you are referring to running a wider wheel/tire vs. a narrow one.
REX8 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2008, 03:23 PM   #20
dunk
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 15359
Join Date: Feb 2002
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Fairfax, VA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by REX8 View Post


Increasing your scrub radius will give you MORE steering feel. Perhaps you are referring to running a wider wheel/tire vs. a narrow one.
Agreed, definitely more kickback with a larger scrub radius.

Duncan
dunk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2008, 04:51 PM   #21
nhat
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 140163
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: 3MI Racing
Vehicle:
03 STi
hellaflunctional

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by REX8 View Post


Increasing your scrub radius will give you MORE steering feel. Perhaps you are referring to running a wider wheel/tire vs. a narrow one.
i tried a set of 3mm spacers and i felt less kickback. at least that's how it felt to me!
nhat is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
FS Socal: Geniune Subaru Wheel lock set, 8mm Wheel spacers. ComTekAuto Wheels/Tires 2 08-23-2007 05:38 PM
wheel spacer on 8" wheel cdogg240 Tire & Wheel 4 02-21-2007 04:46 PM
wheel spacers for work miester s2r wheels...?? 04aspenwrx Tire & Wheel 1 08-09-2006 05:53 PM
Ebay knockoff wheel spacer for my spare wheel? broom_dude Tire & Wheel 1 04-22-2005 02:44 AM
Mayday, Mayday! Wheel Spacers and longer wheel studs needed. Imprezer Bay Area Impreza Club Forum -- BAIC 6 06-22-2001 02:29 PM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:10 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.