Wheel spacer help needed

[X5Jay]

I searched through tons of threads and did get some very good info, but not enough to make a definitive decision just yet...

As most of you know, I have 132's on my 2004 4.4. I'd like to get wheel spacers to push the wheels out to the edge of the vehicle, so I tried to do some measuring to figure out which ones I need. While it's a difficult measurement to make, it appears that 30mm back and perhaps 20mm up front would bring the tires out just to the edge of the fender trim. Does this sound right? I certainly don't want them to stick out beyond the vehicle (at least from the top - the bottoms definitely will due to the negative camber), and I don't want cause any undesired affects either. I'm just looking for the right "look". So, a couple of other questions...

1. I just added Dinan camber plates to the front end - will spacers counter-act the reduced under-steering gains I've realized - i.e. will spacers add understeer?

2. Which brand of spacers do you recommend?

3. Do I use the stock wheel bolts with them?

4. I've seen some spacers that have wheel studs - do they come with nice looking lug nuts to replace the wheel bolts?

5. Finally, in most posts I've read, folks don't seem to be realizing any handling benefits. That's OK with me, just don't want any ill-effects. But, it seems to me that pushing the tires out a bit would make it handle a bit better, no?

TIA everyone!!!

...Jay

Edit: Hey - I thought I was posting this in the X5 forum! Oh well, I'm sure it'll be fine here, but if someone wants to move it, no problem here...

[///Bruce]

My experience with spacers has been limited to my last two e46 M3's. And, since I can't answer all of your questions, I won't attempt to try. However, my experience has shown me that installing spacers can have both positive AND adverse effects regarding both under and oversteer.

I know this sounds vague. But in the case of the e46 M3 it suffers from a lot of understeer. I installed 10mm spacers in front only and noticed that it reduced the understeer a significant amount. I then dropped the rear 1" and just about eliminated all of it to where she handled very neutrally. However, if you install spacers both front and rear of equal amount, you negate any effect one way or the other.

Relative to bolts, DO NOT use stock bolts. They will wind up being too short and you can possibly damage your X and yourself if at speed. Pay the difference and get the proper length bolt which will be determined by the thickness of the spacers.

As far as vendors, there are several. I think I bought mine from Zegenhaus (sp?). I think Turner sells them also.

[X5Jay]

Thanks for the insight Bruce - much appreciated. Anyone else? Thanks again!

[dkl]

IMHO, 30mm in the rear will make your wheels stick out past the fender. Look at TQ2K's X => http://www.xoutpost.com/userpage-user37.html. I believed he has 30mm in the rear, so that should give you an idea. I think 15-20mm would look more flushed with the fender. But then again, those 30mm do make his X look really NICE!

[///Bruce]

X5Jay;

You're welcome. Also, for you and everyone else, I came to know a very knowledgeable guy from the M3Forum board named "Army Chief". He put together a pretty extensive website of most companies that primarily deal with M3's. However, there are a significant number of sites that can help us X owners. The website is listed below. Hope it helps you.

www.m3resource.com

[LeMansX5]

I have 30mm H&R spacers for my 18" winter setup. I do no suggest 30 mm for 19" wheels. Probably 10mm.

[X5Jay]

Thanks again guys - and Bruce - that's quite an M3 site - excellent - tons of links! Much appreciated.

Yeah, I think the 30's will be too much with the 19's. I need to do some measuring again. So LeMans, how do your H&R spacers work? Do you have lug nuts now or just longer bolts? Any affect on handling from your perspective? Where'd you get yours?

[hayaku]

Originally Posted by X5Jay

1. I just added Dinan camber plates to the front end - will spacers counter-act the reduced under-steering gains I've realized - i.e. will spacers add understeer?

2. Which brand of spacers do you recommend?

3. Do I use the stock wheel bolts with them?

4. I've seen some spacers that have wheel studs - do they come with nice looking lug nuts to replace the wheel bolts?

5. Finally, in most posts I've read, folks don't seem to be realizing any handling benefits. That's OK with me, just don't want any ill-effects. But, it seems to me that pushing the tires out a bit would make it handle a bit better, no?

TIA everyone!!!

...Jay

hey jay,

sorry i'm late to the party here., just got your pm.. but here goes:

1. spacers do affect understeer/oversteer. your stock wheels have a certain track width. when you change the ratio of front to rear track, you change understeer/oversteer also. if the front is wider, you get much faster turn in and more grip up front, inducing oversteer. if the back is wider, the rear has more grip so you induce understeer. just a rule of thumb and basic physics at play.

2&3 brand? hmmm.. just make sure they are quality spacers with the lips on them to center the wheels. along with the spacers, you will need appropriately longer lug nuts. the threads on the lug nuts need to stretch under torque to properly hold the wheels on under lateral force. typical rule of thumb here is to have as much thread as the diameter of the bolt... but who ever makes your spacer should have the correct lug nuts to use.

4. some do... i'm not sure... i usually convert over to the ugly looking studs instead...

5. handling, if you retained the stock ratio of track front/rear you can expect similiar handling characteristics with a bit more grip... otherwise the general rule above applies

with the sizes that you are asking (20mm and 30mm), you can pretty much expect not to be able to tell a difference. thats only 5mm of track wider in the rear per side. i believe the stock setup is even front/rear track.

so for aesthetic purposes, go for the spacers. i don't know what the gap measurements are with your particular wheels but 20mm and 30mm are pretty safe numbers in terms of fixing the gap...

hth

[X5Jay]

Thanks for the insight and your infinite X-wisdom Adam! Very much appreciated!!