Opinions on wheel spacers? (Page 1/2)
Xenoblast APR 22, 07:34 PM
There is so many good wheels that have all the right numbers, for example these:

https://www.fitmentindustri...-20?suspension=Stock

I would love to buy these, but the offset is totally wrong, but that can be fixed with 25mm spacers.This is the case with a lot of other wheels aswell. What is all your opinions on wheel spacers? Like how much spacing is an acceptable amount, or should they be used at all?

[This message has been edited by Xenoblast (edited 04-22-2022).]

Patrick APR 22, 09:44 PM
Lots of threads on wheel spacers. As can be expected, there are differing opinions.

I've used a set of 25mm hubcentric wheel spacers on the back of my daily driver Fiero(s) for at least a dozen years (including two years of autocross before I bought dedicated wheels/tires for the track with the correct offset). No issues whatsoever.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 04-22-2022).]

fieroguru APR 22, 09:56 PM
If those wheels have 20mm of offset and you put 20mm spacers on you end up with 0mm of offset. This would have the wheels 1+ inch past the body.

If you start with 60mm offset and run 20mm spacers, then you end up with 40mm offset (which is more in the range you want to be).
Xenoblast APR 23, 02:01 AM

quote
Originally posted by fieroguru:

If those wheels have 20mm of offset and you put 20mm spacers on you end up with 0mm of offset. This would have the wheels 1+ inch past the body.

If you start with 60mm offset and run 20mm spacers, then you end up with 40mm offset (which is more in the range you want to be).



This honestly took me a while to understand and comprehend, but I think I get it now. Sucks because all the good wheels are around +15-25 offset.
Australian APR 23, 07:49 AM
I am going to tell you spacers are crap there is so much strain you need 3 piece wheels with huge offsets to work properly. Spend the money on the wheel as wheel makes the car. If you do use spacers do not just use the supplied nuts everything needs to be hardened.

[This message has been edited by Australian (edited 04-23-2022).]

hnthomps APR 23, 08:19 AM
I have one vehicle (87 Mera) with spacers (around 1.5") on the rear axle. They have been in use for more than 10 years with no issues. You should note that this is my backup show car and has not been used for racing, autocross, etc. so additional stress on the vehicle is limited to everyday driving.

Nelson

[This message has been edited by hnthomps (edited 04-23-2022).]

cvxjet APR 23, 07:35 PM
A couple of things; A) get the lightest wheels you can find (The ones you linked weigh 25 lbs- the 16x7 wheels I have are 14 lbs)

B) The C8 Vette weighs 3500 vs a Fiero GT weight of (Approx) 2700 lbs....So my 205 width front tires equal a 265 width tire on that Vette...Don't "Over-Tire" your Fiero....(Especially the front = high steering effort)

C) A bit extra offset up front is ok- It will cut down the scrub-radius = less steering effort.

I am running 16 x 7 / 38 mm offset...with the 205/55 tires I have it cut down on steering effort substantially.

You can buy some 3-piece wheels for mega-bucks...Or you can go for some inexpensive wheels for, say a WRX, with "Too much offset" and then use spacers (With proper length studs!!!) (At least SEVEN complete turns of the lug nuts)
Xenoblast APR 23, 10:46 PM

quote
Originally posted by cvxjet:

A couple of things; A) get the lightest wheels you can find (The ones you linked weigh 25 lbs- the 16x7 wheels I have are 14 lbs)

B) The C8 Vette weighs 3500 vs a Fiero GT weight of (Approx) 2700 lbs....So my 205 width front tires equal a 265 width tire on that Vette...Don't "Over-Tire" your Fiero....(Especially the front = high steering effort)

C) A bit extra offset up front is ok- It will cut down the scrub-radius = less steering effort.

I am running 16 x 7 / 38 mm offset...with the 205/55 tires I have it cut down on steering effort substantially.

You can buy some 3-piece wheels for mega-bucks...Or you can go for some inexpensive wheels for, say a WRX, with "Too much offset" and then use spacers (With proper length studs!!!) (At least SEVEN complete turns of the lug nuts)



It seems pretty hard to beat how light the stock rims are, On my searches they weigh about 15-19 pounds, and most of the wheels I am finding are around that 25 pound area... Also what would you say would be good tire width front and back? Like would 215 in the front and 225 in the back be a good tire width, or is that too much? Or should I stick with the stock widths.

Honestly thinking about just trading my stock silver wheels for stock black wheels with how the selection of wheels that fit our cars are...

I am interested in the drag dr44s, and xxr521s, only problem is they are 17 inches (would much rather have 16 inch rims), and that they are still 25 pounds.

[This message has been edited by Xenoblast (edited 04-23-2022).]

pmbrunelle APR 24, 12:37 AM

quote
Originally posted by Xenoblast:
Sucks because all the good wheels are around +15-25 offset.



Wheels in those offsets are often meant for the tire stretch stanced guys, so that offset helps them achieve the look.


quote
Originally posted by cvxjet:
C) A bit extra offset up front is ok- It will cut down the scrub-radius = less steering effort.

I am running 16 x 7 / 38 mm offset...with the 205/55 tires I have it cut down on steering effort substantially.

You can buy some 3-piece wheels for mega-bucks...Or you can go for some inexpensive wheels for, say a WRX, with "Too much offset" and then use spacers (With proper length studs!!!) (At least SEVEN complete turns of the lug nuts)



I drove many years with 48 mm offset wheels on the front of my 85 GT. I liked it.

If the inner lip of the wheel hits a suspension element (such as a control arm), then there would be too much offset, but the chance of this happening is reduced by sticking with narrow wheel widths. Otherwise, I think it would be hard to have too much offset on the front of an 84-87 Fiero.


quote
Originally posted by Xenoblast:
It seems pretty hard to beat how light the stock rims are, On my searches they weigh about 15-19 pounds, and most of the wheels I am finding are around that 25 pound area... Also what would you say would be good tire width front and back? Like would 215 in the front and 225 in the back be a good tire width, or is that too much? Or should I stick with the stock widths.

Honestly thinking about just trading my stock silver wheels for stock black wheels with how the selection of wheels that fit our cars are...

I am interested in the drag dr44s, and xxr521s, only problem is they are 17 inches (would much rather have 16 inch rims), and that they are still 25 pounds.



If you plan on keeping the suspension mostly stock, then I would stick with stock-ish widths so the stock suspension tuning still works the same. Perhaps with a 10 or 20 mm difference in width between front and rear.

If you're doing a bigger project where you're choosing tire sizes from scratch and throwing out stock suspension tuning in favour of something else, then you can be more adventurous.

You can stagger the diameters (such as 16" front, 17' rear) in addition to the widths; that opens up the wheel choices somewhat.

For inspiration, on my own Fiero project, I ordered a set of Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires. I should be getting them Monday.
195/55R16 front
255/40R17 rear

I have Enkei PF05 wheels. Here are the weights according to Enkei:
16x7 15.4 lbs
17x9 19.6 lbs

Initially, I didn't really like the look of the wheels; I bought them because they came in a size/weight/offset combo I liked. The look did grow on me though.

From the driver's seat perspective, the style isn't something you notice.

Many years ago, when my dad was shopping for a new car, he ended up buying a car he thought was ugly. The ugly car however, was the one he liked the most from his test drives.
Xenoblast APR 24, 01:13 AM
Personally, Im willing to give away some drivability and comfort for looks, for example right now my car rides like a luxury car but I am willing to get rid of that for lowering springs in the future. I did some photoshopping to see my options, this is the best looking one I got so far, which is the xxr 521s;



I tried to emulate the sidewall from other examples of 17 inch rims, and I dont really like how big the wheels are imo, but like you said maybe itll grow on me.

cheapest would be black stock wheels:


also sorry for making this thread off-topic lol

[This message has been edited by Xenoblast (edited 04-24-2022).]