[wwiiavfan]

Really want some 1LE wheels tires but that’s not in the budget right now.
Saw pics of stock SS wheels with 25mm spacers and liked the look, but the mechanical engineer in me won’t let go of the idea that spacers are destined to fail due to the high loads they will see on a performance vehicle.
Anyone have any facts or history with spacers that might change my mind? Maybe someone has tracked successfully with them or put lots of miles on them?

Thanks.

[Tenfive]

Let me give you my .02 cents . I run 1/2 inch spacers on my 4 second outlaw camaro @ 150 + mph with no issues .

[SliverATX]

I've had many track days with no problems on 20mm spacers.

[Arugon]

I ran Eibach 25 mm Spacers at 150+mph, butter smooth.

They actually bolt onto the hub and have their own bolts that the wheel mounts to, extremely solid design. I suggest using some Loctite Blue for the bolts that mount the spacer to make sure they stay tight.

[WhyUMad1LE]

I run 5mm rear spacers without issue. Had to apply a thin layer of antiseize to prevent a clicking noise from occurring. Nice humblebrag about the ME.

[SR 33]

So looking at if from an ME perspective, the wheels themselves are aluminum (though I don’t know for sure the manufacturing process involved in making them nor the material used), so you’re essentially bolting more aluminum onto the wheel, then that assembly onto the hub. The issue would be the road force having slightly more leverage in squeezing said aluminum. Fatigue of it would be fairly easy to keep an eye on, if you’re worried about it. I would stick with a reputable brand as Eibach as they would more likely be made of quality 6061 material I’m guessing. The question is, is the spacer material of equal or greater strength than the wheel?

To me, as long as the spacer is hub centric, you shouldn’t have any failure issues

(Note: I could be wrong on the matter, it’s happened before haha. Just the way I visualize it without digging too deep)

[L78toLT1]

Seems to me that fastener bending resulting from the addition of a non-structural spacer i.e. spacer not mechanically attached to the hub and a slight eccentric loading on the wheel bearings would be the primary issues of concern from an ME perspective. Intuitively neither should present any problems though.
I should probably point out that this analysis comes from an Aggie mechanical engineer who graduated 38 years ago in the bottom half of his class - my less than stellar academic performance was mainly due to spending more time working on cars and motorcycles than on studying lol!

[Snowblind]

I use GTO spares up front for drag racing. They require a 50mm spacer to clear the caliper, drive to and from the track (20 miles one way) and made about 100 passes so far with no known issues. As was stated earlier, I would make sure that they are hub centric and wheel centric.

[chrest]

i have 25mm spacers on the rear of mine and its literally one of the best things I've done for cosmetics. Gives it the stance it should have had. no issues, no vibrations and going strong for 5000 miles.

this photo should talk ya into it! 25mm and eibachs

[devnull]

Originally Posted by wwiiavfan

but the mechanical engineer in me won’t let go of the idea that spacers are destined to fail due to the high loads they will see on a performance vehicle.

Probably not destined to fail, but like you I am not too keen on stretching the load on the studs. Off-roaders and Jeep people (self included) will expand on how these are bad ideas (albeit in an extreme and exaggerated method), and so I don't like using them anywhere.

That being said a car is much different and for 99% of the use cases I am sure small spacers are realistically fine.

[jamoka3]

Originally Posted by wwiiavfan

Really want some 1LE wheels tires but that’s not in the budget right now.
Saw pics of stock SS wheels with 25mm spacers and liked the look, but the mechanical engineer in me won’t let go of the idea that spacers are destined to fail due to the high loads they will see on a performance vehicle.
Anyone have any facts or history with spacers that might change my mind? Maybe someone has tracked successfully with them or put lots of miles on them?

Thanks.

Hubcentric is the way too go.
What wheel spacers where you looking at using?