Wheel spacer debate is over (motorsport tech)

[Lightfall]

Guys I had to write about this. I just got off the phone with Lenny (owner) over at Wheel Adapters, Wheel Spacers, Hub Rings, and much more! | Motorsport Tech after doing a lot of research on wheel spacers. I am a but of an overanalyzer so I was agonizing over which set to get.

As everyone knows the choices are spidertrax, all-pro, and the B.O.R.A model from motorsport tech. There are a few differences among them that I will touch on, but after doing a lot of research I realized what I wanted was not apparently standard availability from any of these. I wanted extended thread nuts for better thread engagement on all four corners, I wanted 1.5" of space (1.25 didn't seem like quite enough if I was spending the $200 on spacers) and I wanted a nice looking anodized surface. Spidertrax is only 1.25" and there are varying reports of lug fitment and thread engagement on the front hubs, the all-pro is boring silver but you can buy ET nuts with them, but the motorsport turned out to be the best option at the similar price point.

Anyway, after talking with Lenny he hooked me up with a set of 108mm hubcentric spacers to fit my new aftermarket wheels which unfortunately have 108mm center bore instead of the 106mm center bore of the hub. So the new spacer will fit the hub at 106mm and the wheel on the distal surface at 108mm My original plan was to use Gorilla hubcentric rings (106mm inner diameter, 108mm outer diameter on the standard 106mm hubcentric spacer mated to the aftermarket wheels so that there would be no play, but to have a custom wheel spacer that fits the toyota hub AND my aftermarket wheel is just outstanding. Anyway, I just have to wait a week or so for them to be made, and then anodized, and he is shipping me a full set of ET lugs with the whole set up.

If you were on the fence about which set to get before or are in a similar situation to me with aftermarket wheels, my experience put these clearly in the lead particularly because it was the most correct and safe product.

 

[chimpy]

So the other companies aren't selling safe products?:shrug:

 

[Lightfall]

Perhaps I wasn't explicit enough with my closing statement, I was emphasizing my suspicion that getting a spacer that fits hub centric to my aftermarket wheels with a common 108mm center bore would be more safe than my previously discussed plan of using a standard 106mm hub centric spacer with a hub centric ring to accomplish the goal of moving my wheels out laterally and in a hub centric fashion with as few variables as possible.

I was posting about this because I thought it might be useful for people like me who found limited data when searching for the right spacers when using aftermarket wheels of differing center bore diameters and the best way of mounting them.

It was not my conjecture that with the proper thread engagement, and material composition, that there would be a safety difference in stock dimensions. I was merely commenting that in my particular situation where the comparison of products is a wash, that these differences provided a considerable value to me.

 

[JayRolla]

Or you can hit ebay and save a lot of money. Its nothing more than a chunk of aluminum.

 

[1985taylor1925]

Or you can hit ebay and save a lot of money. Its nothing more than a chunk of aluminum.

False! (as Dwight would say) I bought a brand new set of spaces from a company on ebay that even had great reviews. They added some vibrations that werent terrible, but definately noticeable. My installation procedure was as flawless as Evangeline Lilly. I even took them off and reinstalled them a second time, moving the spacers to different wheels. But the vibrations were still there. So I then switched to a set of spidertrax (which were used) and the majority of the vibrations were gone.

 

[Lightfall]

Mmmm Evangeline Lilly...

Anyway, I was also unable to find anywhere on eBay that would sell me 106 to 108mm wheel spacers so that I could run my aftermarket wheels without hubcentric rings.

 

[russ_]

Lightfall, that's good info and I think you are 100% correct about the proper hub-centric sizing, both inner and outer, making for a safer final product.

 

[Singtoe]

Those spacers are high dollar though. Plus, you won't be able to run any other wheel ie Spare with out taking them off.

Buy the spider trax and use a hub ring adapter such as EBAY HUB Ring

This way you can run different wheel in the future.

 

[Lightfall]

I considered that option but eBay "brand" listings were only a few bucks cheaper when I was looking. I already have a set of gorilla hubcentric rings that I got shipped out from amazon for $10-15. I figured if I changed wheels I would sell the spacers later and recoup some of the costs, and that many aftermarket wheels use the 108mm inner diameter bore and that whatever money I would lose on the difference in spacer cost was worth having the right fitting and simplest equipment now.