I have done alot of googling trying to figure out how "bad" they are to have on a track car, and it seems alot of people here use them to help clear our brakes. I wanted to ask who uses them on the track.

I need to run 25mm spacers all the way around to get my new wheels to fit and all i hear from random people is omg dont spacers are bad. But i see alot of BMW guys using them and it seem alot here too. Drifters all use them and those cars go through hell.

(mine are the style with added set of studs)

What is your take?

 

Let me just air this out, People are dumb. Adding a spacer does not cause any more wear on the wheel bearings than running the same equivalent offset on another wheel. There's no magic here, if the tire and bearings are in the same position relative to each other, the load path doesn't care if goes through a spacer or a different offset.

The reason we run spacers is two fold. Obvious first answer is brembo clearance. Second is that running wide tires fit different front and rear by a large amount. Once you get into the 275+ range, things get tight. Pick the wheel that fits the rear and use a spacer for the front.

Slip on spacer is probably preferable for weight, but a 20mm bolt on spacer has served me well for 3 years.

 

The only really downside is the stress on the studs. If you get extended studs it's not an issue. Ideally if you have to use spacers, you go with slip on spacers with extended arp studs.

 

I agree 100% with everything you just said. However, the lower the offset of the wheel it's hard to argue that it wouldn't be detrimental to the health and longevity of the wheel bearings. And while it's impossible to quantify by how much but it's certainly going to accelerate the wear...

But to your point a +35 wheel with a 20mm spacer is the exact same as a +15 wheel.

 

Yeah, hard to say how much extra wear occurs on wheel bearings but worrying about that we might as well run all seasons cause DOT race rubber is certainly doing more damage too.

Also, make sure you jack your car up before checking tire pressures, don't want the weight of the car throwing off results

 

Haha oh trust me we are in complete agreement. You gotta pay to play; I just did 4 wheel bearings on my POS...

And that's how I always check my tire pressure I aint no newb brah

 

I've been running 20 mm spacers with ARP studs for over 4 years. 30+ track days a year on race tires. Have cracked wheels but spacers are fine. JMFab have spacers with hubcentric which are nice.

 

ive been running bolt on spacers for the last 3 years of track use (about 15 track days) with zero issue.

 

What wheels do you have that require a 25mm spacer in the rear? Sounds like you need to start with a new set of wheels, and possibly run a spacer up front...

 

Spacers here but extended studs now back and front so all is well

 

I can run without the 25mm in the rear. I just want to keep the car square for setup and nice body fitment purposes. (widebody rear)

 

Like everyone else has mentioned, haven't had any issues running spacers for both street and track use. If you're going to be tracking/auto-x with them, just make sure to get a reputable brand spacer over ebay brands for the peace of mind.