[3002 tii]

Yes it's a simple concept, spacers effectively lower your wheel offset thus sticking them out further but when it comes to purchashing them it doesn't seen as straightforward.

I understand the risk of running 10mm spacers due to the fact that if the lip on your oe hub is 11mm or greater, the 10mm spacer will not sit flush against the hub. That slight gap is enough to be a safety concern and apparently certain BMW models have varying hub lip sizes. Thus by going 12mm or bigger you avoid this issue. I also get any spacer less than 10mm will most likely be a flat, (no lip) design, thus your wheel will mount directly on your existing hub, as it normally would.

Now this is where I get confused, different vendors have different warnings depending on whether your wheel has a beveled / chamfered or flat surface, and if it's for front vs rear... Why is that?

For example Turner warns that H&R 5mm spacers cannot be used with beveled surfaces:

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-35...cers-pair.aspx

5mm Spacers require you have a flush mounting surface on your wheels.
Wheels with a beveled mounting surface are not compatible with these spacers. If you have beveled wheels and wish to run a 5mm spacer on the front, you can use the TMS Hub Extender kit (front only!) See link below.





On the other hand Rogue warns that it's 10/12mm spacers can only be used on wheels with chamfered (which is synonymous with 'beveled') surfaces but they cannot be used with wheels which have centering rings:

http://www.rogueengineering.com/rogu...R/WSPACER.html

[3002 tii]

Did some digging around and I think I got it figured out. Hopefully others find this helpful.


1. For flat spacers with no lip, you must use a flat surface wheel for a perfectly tight, flush fitment. Beveled wheels will have some play.

2. With 10mm spacers, you must ensure your oe hub is less than 11mm else there will be a 1mm gap between the hub and spacer. Therefore your safest bet is to go 12mm or thicker.

3. When using RE or other brand spacers between 10-12mm, also ensure whether or not there's a beveled lip. If so, you'll want to make sure it mates up to a wheel with a beveled surface so they fit complimentary. Wheels with centering rings will not fit properly on spacers with beveled lips. And if your wheel does have a hubcentric ring, either modify the ring to make it flat or go with an even bigger spacer (ie 15mm).

[EYE4SPEED]

VAC is working on rear hub extenders. They should be the first to market, which helps for people wanting less than 10mm on the rear.

It would be nice to know which models have 11mm lip - 10mm compatibility.

I'm current running 10mm on my LCI and have no vibrations.