Maybe i'm being dense, but how do spacers help you fit bigger wheels? It is purely that they help the wheels clear the brake calipers, or do they actually help you fit a bigger wheel in the same fender space?

 

-help clear caliper.
-help achieve an overall offset of wheels.

 

mainly to help clear the brakes with out sacrificing the offset you want.

 

Right. So, let's say that a wheel will clear the caliper without a spacer. How will using a spacer to decrease the effective offset help the wheel fit? I can see how that may help clear the suspension, but I don't quite grasp how decreasing the effective offset will help the wheel clear the fender.

 

Running a spacer does not help clear fenders ( it is not going to move it farther from the suspension and further from the fender, that doesn't make sense), it will push the wheel towards the fender instead. They are used to clear brakes, suspension components inner fenders liners, etc. Or in some cases, spacers are used to lower offsets and increase track width.

 

just get a wheel with +12!!!

 

Ok. Thanks. Maybe I just got confused between clearing the "inner fender liners" vs. clearing the "fenders." That make more sense. Push the wheel toward the outside, and it won't rub the inside as much.

 

Why +12? What's the downside to running the spacers? A +35 would give you more flexibility to run different offsets by using different spacers, right?

 

just get the right wheels.. I hate running spacers... but I have them...

 

^^^^speaks the truth,

 

Another thing properly used spacers can do is allow you to fit the same offset wheel to all 4 corners when it is a tight fit. For example - you can fit a 5Zigen FN01R-C in 18x9.5 with a +35 offset in the rear with no spacer to clear the inside.

BUT, you will need a 5-10mm spacer in the front to make the same wheel fit and not rub on your shocks.

Of course running a front wheel with a +25 offset (+35 - 10) would be the same fitment as the +35, only thing is you could never rotate it to the rear . . .

Make sense??

 

So what is the disadvantage of running spacers?

Also, if you run different offsets for the front and back, the wheels won't be in line with the wheel in front/back of it. Are there any problems associated with that?

 

Doesnt running spacers and spirited driving mess up alignment?

 

No problems as far as drivetrain issues. Most people find if they space the front out a little more than the rear it makes the steering more "active" and it wants to follow every little rut in the road. It can also help cornering in racing situations.


Ask yourself this - would running spacers and normal daily driving NOT mess up alignment? What would lead you to believe this?

Many people, even some in the wheel/tire industry believe that changing wheels, tires, or adding spacers would change your alignment. This information gets passed around and people start to believe it. It is NOT true. The basis of the alignment is your wheel hub. No matter what you bolt to it, the alignment of that hub will not change.

Lets say you have 2*of camber in the front and your tires look like this when looking at the car from the front:

/...\

Then you add a spacer on each side to push the wheels out farther:

/.....\

You can also use that same example and pretend you are looking at the car from above and looking at toe-in. The angle doesn't change, just the width between the two sides . . .

 

just get the right sized wheel, but if you can't i'd go 10mm spacers max