Wheel Spacers

Has anyone here used wheel spacers for factory wheels, specifically 2013-2016 CX-5 19“ option on grand touring trim? I have a 2015 GT with 19s and would like to stagger them out a bit. I have searched a bit, but found none of the reputables (Cork Sport, Eibach, etc) listing it specifically for my model.
 
I have spacers on the rear wheel hubs of my CX-9, but they are only 5mm thick.

A quick Google search yielded some results from Carid, from reputable manufacturers like Project Kics, ISC, and Sparco.

There is also this thread that has some info on H&R Trak spacers, and spacers from Ichiba, but I'm not sure if either of those are still available.
 
Cool! I forgot about H&R stuff. The other ones I wasn’t sure about, quality wise.

can you even tell a difference with 5mm spacers?
 
Cool! I forgot about H&R stuff. The other ones I wasn’t sure about, quality wise.

can you even tell a difference with 5mm spacers?

Not really, at least with the OEM setup. But I can tell a difference with my other wheel setup because on the CX-9, the rear wheels sit 5mm more inboard than the front. My other wheel setup is 10.5 wide +35mm all around, and with the outer facing lip closer to the fender, its easier for me to see that 5mm difference.
 
I put H&R Trax on mine, 25mm front and 30 mm rear. The sidewalls poke out about 5 mm and look perfect IMO - not sure about the OP’s generation CX. No one else will know that you have 5 mm spacers installed, a waste of time unless you need them for tire clearance. Go wide or go home.


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So will running your vehicle hard, or carrying the maximum load of people and luggage, or running out of balance tires/wheels. Wear and tear are a fact of car life, something we all have to assess. FWIW, I‘ve run spacers on most of my vehicles for the last 20+ years with no wheel bearing issues. That doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen, just that the risk is often overstated - stress doesn’t automatically mean damage.





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I think I’m gonna go with 18mm H&R trak+ spacers. They have them in 18, 20, 25, and 30mm variety.

18mm on each side should be noticeable, don’t you think? Why do some folks here run the staggered look?
 
I think I’m gonna go with 18mm H&R trak+ spacers. They have them in 18, 20, 25, and 30mm variety.

18mm on each side should be noticeable, don’t you think? Why do some folks here run the staggered look?
18 mm is alot. that's a big mistake. You're moving the whole centerline and scrub radius of the vehicle.

Most tire shops won't sell rims that have offset more than 10 mm difference( stock offset is 45 mm and most new rims recommend for CX5 don't have offset less than 35 mm).

You're gonna put alot of weight and stress on the whole suspension system and wear out components and change the whole steering and handling aspect.

You would be better off getting wider 245 55r19 tires ... The rim centerline would remain similar and give you an extra 10mm push out from the fender.
 
I think I’m gonna go with 18mm H&R trak+ spacers. They have them in 18, 20, 25, and 30mm variety.

18mm on each side should be noticeable, don’t you think? Why do some folks here run the staggered look?

IMO, 18mm will be perfectly fine. It's not like you'll be taking the car to the track, right?

Staggered look on most cars is done for just that, the look. A wider stance in the rear looks more aggressive and sporty. But for most cars, you can't run a wide setup up front because it can interfere with steering. A staggered setup gives you the wide rear look without sacrificing your turning radius up front.

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So will running your vehicle hard, or carrying the maximum load of people and luggage, or running out of balance tires/wheels. Wear and tear are a fact of car life, something we all have to assess. FWIW, I‘ve run spacers on most of my vehicles for the last 20+ years with no wheel bearing issues. That doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen, just that the risk is often overstated - stress doesn’t automatically mean damage.





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I agree with you ...
I have also run spacers for years on several of my cars and trucks and have really never noted adverse wear as long as you stay reasonable with the spacing thickness size.
The biggest concern is always to make sure that you do not interfere with the front steering clearances. This means full lock testing both direction and manipulating the front suspension up and down checking for wheel well or other part contact. For the rear round up a few friend's to get the backend moving up vigorously and down while watching for any tire or wheel contacting anything.
The other way for both front and rear is simply disconnect the dampers, removing the coil springs (strut assembly for front) and support the vehicle with a floor jack and carefully lower the jack while checking for clearances.
 
…Why do some folks here run the staggered look?…
There is no “staggered look”. The rears are tucked in 5mm more than the front, so the extra 5mm on the spacer makes front and rear the same relative to the fenders.

18 mm is alot. that's a big mistake. You're moving the whole centerline and scrub radius of the vehicle…
Again, not a “big mistake”. The OP will notice no difference in how his car handles or in tire mileage. Very overstated by internet “experts” who have never tried it - like you. If running spacers was as terrible and dangerous as a few nannies fear, we would hear about it often on all the car forums. Guess what, we don’t.

As stated, I’m not saying it cannot cause problems, just that many many thousands of spacer users haven’t seen it.
 
In sanctioned racing NHRA, IHRA SCCA NASCAR their very specific rulings for using wheels spacers.
Those that tend to use extremely wide spacer you do read about on forums breaking axles, wheels and other parts. The basic rule is just don't go to wide. What is too wide, IMHO if they look ridiculous and you can easily see them they are to wide. :LOL:
 
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