Spacers...special lug nuts

[drew72ca]

OK, so I was talking to a wheel shop one day and they said something to me that was peculiar. The main reason I would like to get aftermarket wheels is that I want to push out as far as possible to the edge of the wheel wells, without creating a rubbing problem. This guy asked why I don't just run my stock wheels with spacers and "special" lugnuts. He had a name for the lugnuts, but I can't recall what it was now.

Is there a way for me to push out my wheels with some type of spacer and bolt up tight? Based on my calculations, and trials with some "homemade" spacer pieces, 12mm push out would give me what I want. This much push out doesn't leave any threads to grab though. So, this leads to my question about these "special" lugnuts this guy mentioned. Is there some type of special lug nut that reaches past the tapered seat of the wheels to allow a safe and tight fit when running some type of spacer?

Thanks,

Andy

 

[N2OInferno]

The Protege5 runs such a high offset already that without a wide body kit you'll be rubbing pretty soon. If you push the wheels toward the edge you're going to be rubbing constantly and your tires aren't going to last you at all.

 

[drew72ca]

From what I understand, I can run a +45 offset wheel with a 215/40 tire or a +42 offset with a 205/40 tire. So running an aftermarket wheel would definitely push out from stock. I'm just wondering if I can do it somehow and stick with the stock wheels.

The first example pushes the edge of the wheel tire combo out 15mm towards the fender edge, compared to stock.

The second example pushes the edge of the wheel tire combo out 13mm towards the fender edge, compared to stock.

That's where I came up with the idea of using 12mm spacers and it seems like that would keep my wheel tire combo inside the fender edge enough to prevent rubbing. Does this make sense?

Anyhow...is the spacer and special lug nut idea a viable one?

Andy

 

[sundeepg]

h+r should have longer lugs....

they come in various lengths...just order the ones you need...you can also call them and they'll help you select the right length....

i did this when i added 5mm spacers to my old car which was a 95 VR6...

 

[sidpro5]

The idea is a viable one. There are 1 or 2 threads on the topic somewhere on here if you want to try a search. One of the members was Hawiiannights--check out his ride. Looks sweet. Also, you may want to H&R Springs. They've got a good selection of spacers with a "2 stage" lug system. They bolt on using the factory lugs, then have their own separate lugs that the wheels bolt onto.............

 

[goldstar]

I don't believe using 12 mm spacers is a good idea. The stock offset of a P5 wheel is +50 mm. The offset of a wheel is the distance between the centerline of the wheel and its mounting face. A wheel with +offset has the centerline displaced toward the inside (toward the strut). A 12 mm spacer won't change the actual wheel offset but it will displace the centerline of the wheel outward towards the fender edge by 12 mm. Thus the result will be as if you had mounted a wheel with +38 mm offset with the possibility that your tire might now contact the fender lip.

You might be able to use shorter spacers, say 5 mm for example, get some outward placement and still avoid contact. Also, extending wheels outward via spacers too far can result in wheel bearing damage.

 

[AutoBox]

several japanesse companies may 10-30mm "bolt on spacers" that actually bolt to ur hub like a wheel and have a new set of lugs that u bolt the wheel too...that are alot safer then regular spacers once u get over 10mm....a good quality spacer will not harm ur wheel bearing if its balanced correctly and is allaways checked to maintain tight lug nuts.....spacers are used in japan alot in the rwd applications and driftin ........

 

[drew72ca]

Wow, some great information everyone...thanks. From the sounds of it, I may change my mind and go with 10mm. I need to play with some temporary spacers some more to decide for sure.

A few questions for all that have responded.

sundeepg,

H&R makes longer lugs you said? Would this mean I would actually be removing my standard studs and replacing them or is this a lug nut that extends in further?


Goldstar,

I think you may be right about the 12mm. I may end up going less than that...I'll need to play with the temporary spacers again to see. Plus I want to consider getting a wider tire, so I need to factor that in because I will push out towards the wheel well edge half the inrease in tire width. Would there be any difference in wheel bearing wear if I used a 12mm spacer with my wheels versus a wheel with a +38 offset?

sidpro5,

Thanks, I'll search to see if I can find those threads and I'll see if I can find hawiiannights pics. I'll check to see if I can find anything on h&r springs. Do you have a link to a website for them or anything?

autobox,

any website links or recommendations where I can look for these bolt on spacers?

Thanks agains everyone,

Andy

 

[sidpro5]

Check out http://www.hrspringsusa.com. Also, options auto salon has them at http://www.optauto.com/webstore hope this helps.

 

[goldstar]

drew72ca,

If you are using stock P5 wheels, then your wheel/tire size is195/50-16 on a 6" wide rim. I know some people on the Forum have gone to a 205 tire and report good results although it will throw your speedometer reading off by a small extent. This, of course, will extend the outer edge of the tire by 1/2 the nominal difference in the tire width, or 5 mm. Some people have even gone to a 215 tire but i wouldn't recommend it as most tire makers say a 6" wide rim is too narrow to properly hold a tire of that width.

Using a wheel with a +38 mm offset (assuming it will fit in the wheel well) should not have a detrimental effect on the wheel bearings because the mounting face of the wheel is in its proper design location with respect to the forces, more or less, that it places on the wheel bearings. With a 12 mm spacer, however, you are effectively increasing the beam length of the axle and thereby increasing the bending forces on the wheel bearing as the wheel moves throughout its suspension travel and responds to road shocks. In other words, the entire weight of the wheel has been moved outward. It is this factor that may shorten bearing life.

02 DX Millenium Red

 

[drew72ca]

It's interesting....soooo many people say we have a 6" wide rim on the P5, yet when I measured it, it appears to be 7" wide, unless I measured wrong. Although, maybe they went to a wider rim midyear in '03 or something. Ah, well, I'll have a wheel shop measure to verify when the time is right.

Thanks for the explanation about the difference of using a spacer instead of aftermarket wheels. That seems to make sense to me. If I have a 7" rim already, I may try going to a 215 or 205 tire with a small spacer to finish the look.

Andy

 

[jsgolfer]

just so you know its nothing to change wheels studs/lub bolts. i had to replace a few cause i had some bad lug nuts. just knock the old one out with a hammer and the just a spacer and a lug nut to pull the new one through. sprot compact car has a great how to on this in dec. 03 issue in the section call project silvia. good luck

 

[sidpro5]

drew72ca,

If you are using stock P5 wheels, then your wheel/tire size is195/50-16 on a 6" wide rim. I know some people on the Forum have gone to a 205 tire and report good results although it will throw your speedometer reading off by a small extent. This, of course, will extend the outer edge of the tire by 1/2 the nominal difference in the tire width, or 5 mm. Some people have even gone to a 215 tire but i wouldn't recommend it as most tire makers say a 6" wide rim is too narrow to properly hold a tire of that width.

Not to doubt you, but are you absolutely sure of this? I've heard so many times from quite a few people (including TireRack) that a 205 can't be done. I would love to do this myself, but understood it couldn't be done...........(cheers)

 

[drew72ca]

Hmmmm, thanks for that info jsgolfer. If I can easily get the studs out, I'll just do a simple spacer, then base the amount of the spacer on the tire size I wanna run. I have a machine shop at my work, so I can work with the machinist, off normal work time, to make a spacer that will be hub centric and tight on the bolt pattern for pretty cheap, so that may be the way I can go. Can all the wheel studs be pushed out without having to remove the hubs from the car?

Andy

 

[goldstar]

Not to doubt you, but are you absolutely sure of this? I've heard so many times from quite a few people (including TireRack) that a 205 can't be done. I would love to do this myself, but understood it couldn't be done...........(cheers)

I have not done this myself and I can't vouch for the results. There have been a few people that I have come across on the Forum that have done this and report good results. Most tire makers specify a 6.5 -7" wide rim for a 205 tire depending on the aspect ratio so I would assume you need a wider rim for best fitment and handling. I, personally, would not do this because of the tire makers recommendations, but I'm sure a number of people here would not agree with me.

02 DX Millenium Red

 

[dream merchant]

hawaiinnights car does look sweet with those spacers...

Option's wheel spacer page

 

[slamdp5]

Just get some nice wheels with the correct offset, and the tires will line up nice with the fenders. My handling increased so much when I got rid of the skinny factory rims. Good luck in what you do, don't know of too many shops that recommend spacers of any kind. The only time I have seen spacers/adaptors work is when putting front wheel drive wheels on a rear wheel drive vehicle. Later

 

[dream merchant]

those are 19s?

wow

 

[Gratefully Dead]

Which spacers are they on the Options site though?

None of them say they are for the Protege '00 ^

 

[dream merchant]

the center bore on proteges is 67.1 (i asked that question earlier this morning on the forum) so the spacers would be the ones with the 5x114.3 bolt pattern and the 67.1 center bore....

thats my guess...