so.... 8eights was cool enough to send me some nice hubcentric spacers. i also got the appropriate length lugs thanks to you guys. now i just spoke to my mechanic and he says that he went to put them on and they "don't fit". he said that the bore was larger than the spacer. i was like, what the hell? because they came off of another 8 series. i measured the center bore it was 72.5 mm on the mounting side (there's a bevel) and then 70mm on the "outside" side. i don't get it. is there a chance that they fit one 8 series but not another? any advice or clues? i was so stoked to get them on in addition to the new h&r springs and struts he putting on, and now this! :help

... hate to tell you so, but, spacers are not a good idea....

The spacers are on the front in this photo, As i mentioned before i tried to talk you out of getting spacers, There not a good deal for any 8's front end, Especially! They made it difficult to diagnose other issues. I still have the wrong offsett front wheels that they were needed for, They were a waiste of money, It was a lesson learned, No spacers on the front of any car for me.

i know guys i know! i'm not saying that i wasn't forewarned thoroughly. sometimes you have to get burned yourself tho, y'know? i just don't know what he means by not "fitting". that makes no sense to me.... http://images.corvetteforum.com/images/smilies/willy_nilly.gif

without getting the "SEARCH" abuse... can someone give me a quick answer why spacers are a bad idea?? thanks

The spacers are on the front in this photo, As i mentioned before i tried to talk you out of getting spacers, There not a good deal for any 8's front end, Especially! They made it difficult to diagnose other issues. I still have the wrong offsett front wheels that they were needed for, They were a waiste of money, It was a lesson learned, No spacers on the front of any car for me.



Dammit Marv, No more picture of your car allowed. It just looks too good!!!! ed1655 Not to beat you up but as 8eights says. They are just not a good idea. Take care. Regards, Carter :)

let the flogging commence http://images.corvetteforum.com/images/smilies/rofl.gif. i still want to try 'em though!

i measured the center bore it was 72.5 mm on the mounting side (there's a bevel) and then 70mm on the "outside" side.

I think you know what you measured is correct but to clear it up a bit, you measured the inside diameter of the spacer where it mates to the hub, that should be 72.5. Now here is where I am confused, did you measure the outside diameter of the mating surface where the wheels should fit over or the inside of the hole going thru the spacer.

I know this sounds like a dumb question and maybe you measured it correctly but it isn't clear to me what all the diameters are. The diameter of the hole at the outside has to be smaller so the outside of the flange protrusion that centers the wheels can be 72.5MM. If indeed the flange on the wheel side measures 70MM on the outside of the flange, then it is not and will not be hub centric for the E31 wheels.

I think you know what you measured is correct but to clear it up a bit, you measured the inside diameter of the spacer where it mates to the hub, that should be 72.5. Now here is where I am confused, did you measure the outside diameter of the mating surface where the wheels should fit over or the inside of the hole going thru the spacer.

I know this sounds like a dumb question and maybe you measured it correctly but it isn't clear to me what all the diameters are. The diameter of the hole at the outside has to be smaller so the outside of the flange protrusion that centers the wheels can be 72.5MM. If indeed the flange on the wheel side measures 70MM on the outside of the flange, then it is not and will not be hub centric for the E31 wheels.

no dumb questions here - i'm confused by the last part of what you said though... the inside of the spacer, where it mates to the hub, measures 72.5, as you said. and the outside of it, where it mates to the wheels, is 70mm... yes. so you are saying that this is wrong? my wheels are m-pars by the way, if that helps.

Here is a quick drawing that I made. Dimension "A" and "B" should both be 72.5MM. If dimension "A" is 70MM then that will not be hubcentric to a 72.5 wheel. and can not be used unless you put another ring to enlarge the 70mm to 72.5 for the wheels. Are your M Parallel wheels center 72.5mm?

http://www.mwrench.com/pictures/wheels/spacer0001.jpg

Here is a picture of a hubcentric spacer used on an E31 with really big wheel, I didn't like that there is also a plastic ring used because the wheel center was quite large and not for a BMW fitment. There was NO problem with shudder with this set up.

I have never had any trouble with using a quality hubcentric spacer on any of the cars that I have set up, and most have been for the track. If people use a 2-4 MM spacer that relies on the wheel still making contact with the main hub flange, then there will be a problem, Most wheels have a taper at the beginning of the centering hole and moving further away from the flange will induce issues. The flange MUST be fully engaged with the wheel, whether it is the main hub or a hubcentric adapter/spacer.

http://www.mwrench.com/pictures/wheels/spacer.JPG

Likes those hats and rotors Ed!

awesome now i see what you're saying. i think i should still be good though. the 70mm i stated is actually the diameter of the INSIDE of the hole that abuts the wheel side. i never actually measured the dimension "A". of course i don't have the spacers with me so i can't check now but i think that "A" and "B" are both 72.5. the m-pars *should* be 72.5 centers because they are bmw wheels with a fitment for that hub... and if that hub is 72.5, then so should they. of course these are all my *ASSUMPTIONS* since neither hubs, wheels, nor spacers are a in my presence right now. so... this mechanic said that the hubs are too large for my spacers... that's what i don't get. just doesn't make any sense. i really appreciate the diagram, the pic, and the advice, M... this gives me a better idea of how these things actually fit onto eachother and what to look for when i go up there this weekend to check everything out.

Likes those hats and rotors Ed!

the brembo's ain't bad either!

Even with spacers, I still used Hubcentric rings with the aftermarket wheels. I had no problems, Just didn't like having the wrong offset wheels on the car.

I'd like to point out that if these spacers are not hubcentric 72.5mm hubs, then that would definitely cause an issue, not to be attributed to the use of spacers but to an installation/understanding error.

There's plenty of hearsay about running spacers being a bad idea, but it seems that every issue is coming back to incorrect use by the installer or purchaser.

If you want to use spacers, spend 15 minutes to check your hub measurements and fitments and make sure they're correct for your application.

I'd like to point out that if these spacers are not hubcentric 72.5mm hubs, then that would definitely cause an issue, not to be attributed to the use of spacers but to an installation/understanding error.

There's plenty of hearsay about running spacers being a bad idea, but it seems that every issue is coming back to incorrect use by the installer or purchaser.

If you want to use spacers, spend 15 minutes to check your hub measurements and fitments and make sure they're correct for your application.

thanks for the .02 but we're past those issues....

Even with spacers, I still used Hubcentric rings with the aftermarket wheels. I had no problems, Just didn't like having the wrong offset wheels on the car.

but if my wheels are already hubcentric i wouldn't need rings, right?

thanks for the .02 but we're past those issues....

apologies, I felt the need to reiterate in a simple statement such that this doesn't become another "example" of how the 8 series rejects the use of all spacers.

to actually add something useful..

is it possible that you have the 18x8 front wheels made for the e39 on the front of your car? In this case your hub would have a thin hubcentric adapter ring and if the ring stayed on the hub, then the spacers would be too small for the hub. This would be inconsistent with the 70mm measurement but might pose a solution to the problem.

IIRC the e39 uses a 74?mm hub. Not sure of the measurement but I'm well aware that it's a larger diameter and needs a thin spacer


edit: these wheels are et20 (vs the e38's et13) and would explain why your wheels sit inside the fender more than normal, and nobody taking similar issue with you

apologies, I felt the need to reiterate in a simple statement such that this doesn't become another "example" of how the 8 series rejects the use of all spacers.

to actually add something useful..

is it possible that you have the 18x8 front wheels made for the e39 on the front of your car? In this case your hub would have a thin hubcentric adapter ring and if the ring stayed on the hub, then the spacers would be too small for the hub. This would be inconsistent with the 70mm measurement but might pose a solution to the problem.

IIRC the e39 uses a 74?mm hub. Not sure of the measurement but I'm well aware that it's a larger diameter and needs a thin spacer

edit: these wheels are et20 (vs the e38's et13) and would explain why your wheels sit inside the fender more than normal, and nobody taking similar issue with you

bryson i didn't mean my earlier comment to come off smarmy, i'm sorry if it did. i think that you have shed some light on what's going on here... at least potentially. i didn't put these wheels on so it's very possible that they may be off of an e39. if that were the case it would account for both of my problems, offset and a ring being present. if they were off of an e38 i would'nt be having ANY of these issues.

if there is an adapter ring present, how do i get it off?????? :eek:

if there is indeed an adapter ring, it will be on the hub. To make the spacers work with your setup, you would have to remove this ring and place it on part A of MWrench's diagram above. Carefully remove the rings, possibly by prying from top/bottom/top/bottom/etc if it's on there tightly. I believe phoenix motorsport also carries these hub adapter rings, which would allow you to ruin the old set taking them off if replaced with new.

I hope this is your problem as it's pretty easily resolved :buttrock

me too! thanks so much, bryson!!!!

hey - if we end up destroying the adapters can i drive around for a week or two without them????