Quote:
Originally Posted by Karura
I was strongly advised by the people at two different tire shops to not run spacers or studs at the track.
I want to say that I did my homework and have plenty of anecdotal evidence from other members; however, the tire shop people were very passionate in their explaining how that studs (more specifically: stud conversion kits) are a lot less sturdy than bolts, and spacers will ruin my handling. If they are so dangerous, why do so many reputable vendors like Turner and APEX sell them?
Part of me feels that they've seen one too many incorrectly installed stud kits (like the RX-7 video on YouTube).
If studs and spacers are installed properly according to factory instructions, with red loctite, torqued to the right settings and all, what are the chances of something going wrong?
Has there been incidents of correctly installed studs, from a good manufacturer, in good condition failing?
What's the verdict?
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Plenty of race cars use studs and spacers. As long as studs are properly installed and replaced ever so often, you'll be fine. In fact, even lug nuts should be replaced if you find yourself removing the wheels frequent. Studs also make swapping wheels much easier... Just pick a quality kit (that means no eBay!) and remember Loctite is your friend.
I can see why some folks don't like spacers; it's "one extra" thing that could go wrong. I also agree spacers should be avoided IF possible (ie get the right wheel width and offset to begin with) but sometimes they are unavoidable especially once you start lowering the car. I would use spacers as a way to "fine tune" the track and not for stupid visual stanceworks cr@p. And by fine tune, the spacer should be quite small (5mm or less) or if you must go bigger stick with 12's (10's can be problematic and anything bigger tells me you have the wrong wheel). As long as the spacer has enough lip and is hubcentric, you will be fine.