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Want to put these AR wheels on my 70 LS5 they need 1 1/2 inch spacers as you all know love to drive the car and drives What are the cons of spacers if any before I put wheels on.
You can't beat the look of those classic AR TT wheels on an early C3. I've been toying with the idea of getting a set myself just to change up the look. About the wheel spacers, there are two types. The cheaper ones are just a donut with holes for the wheel studs. The better ones mount the spacer to the existing studs, but have bolts or studs that mount the wheels to the spacer. Do an image search for wheel spacer and you'll see the difference. The pros are you can fit the wheels to the car and adjust the track to where you want it. Cons are more stress on bearings, a little more unsprung weight, and another point of potential failure. I've never run them on a Vette but I've had them on everything from a 911 that was AutoX'd to a Jeep that saw heavy trail duty and I never had one break.
A lot of people will tell you not to do it, but I figure if they worked on these two, they'll be fine on a C3...
Last edited by JohnnyQuik; 05-03-2017 at 08:06 PM.
I agree Johnny had them another vehicle I had and no promblems. Love the wheels to change up looks which I like to do as I have PO2's and the rally wheels and want to add theses also
first spacers and adapters are different.
Spacers slide over current lugs, and shorten lugnut engagement. (bad)
Adapters bolt onto your current lugs and nuts, then use another new set of lugs for Wheel attachment, keeping full lug nut thread engagement. (Good)
then their is Concentric adapters, these use a precise machined lip to mate to your wheel hub, and to precisely mount to your wheel, thus concentric around the hub. (very good)
All Corvette wheels are hub Concentric,
I personally choose only concentric adapters, with no problems.
I also have qty. of 2 - 2" concentric new (never used or mounted) spacers available.
contact me if interested. thanks, 69Vett
I have been running spacers and wheel adaptors for fifteen years now, and have had zero issues with them. As others have mentioned, get good ones, not the Mr Gasket type junk.
I searched high and low for wheels that would fit the c3, and it seems there aren't many aftermarket wheels that will clear the brake calipers, fit under the fenders, and suit my taste,.....hence the need for the adaptors and spacers. So the pro is, you can put the wrong wheel on the right car if you want.......
I would rather douse my self in gasoline than put wheel spacers in a car. ANY CAR!
I am a mechanical engineer....spacers are FACE-IT! a silly band aid for not buying the correct off-set on your wheels. You are compounding bad after bad.
1. Incorrect load on wheel bearings....squeeeeeeeeeeeeel!
2. TWO mating surfaces to get corroded and separate.
3. In-correct studs going into hubs that were not designed for SHEER forces like this.
4. When I hear the word 'wheel spacers' what I hear is 'I bought the wrong wheels without doing due diligence and now I'm forced into a stupid situation'.
5. Now you have to keep checking tightness and concentricity.
6. Now you have to get hub-centric adapters.
7. When done, ideally, you still have SOME stering and suspension geometry left...but I doubt it.
8. Zora is spinning in his grave at 10,000 rpm.
JR, if it were me I'd sell those and get the right ones. Those will sell quick.
However, if you really want to keep those, do what 69Vett says and get the right adapter. I've run adapters from time to time with no issue, which is more than I can say about my experience with knock-offs
I would rather douse my self in gasoline than put wheel spacers in a car. ANY CAR!
I am a mechanical engineer....spacers are FACE-IT! a silly band aid for not buying the correct off-set on your wheels. You are compounding bad after bad. 1. Incorrect load on wheel bearings....squeeeeeeeeeeeeel!
2. TWO mating surfaces to get corroded and separate. 3. In-correct studs going into hubs that were not designed forSHEARforces like this. 4. When I hear the word 'wheel spacers' what I hear is 'I bought the wrong wheels without doing due diligence and now I'm forced into a stupid situation'.
5. Now you have to keep checking tightness and concentricity.
6. Now you have to get hub-centric adapters.
7. When done, ideally, you still have SOME steering and suspension geometry left...but I doubt it.
8. Zora is spinning in his grave at 10,000 rpm.
And to several others in this discussion, it's HUBCENTRIC wheel spacers, not "CONCENTRIC"........
As long as you keep the same wheel center line, you are fine...long as the tire fits, of course....on my '72 I have '89 vette wheels with 275/50/17 in rear 255/50/17 in front....3/4 inch more tire to the inside and outside 9.5 inch rims vs 8 inch......I had to move the rear ebrake tab to behind the rotor.....and limit the front steering slightly by adding spacer to the snub blocks on the lower control arms....
AND since they are flat faced wheels, the ADAPTORS are 2.5 inches thick
Forum member 0JoshS did a great writeup and analysis on the topic a number of years back in the Auto-x and Roadracing section. It's worth reading. wheel spacer analysis
It is a common myth that hubcentric wheels or adapters are needed to safely locate a wheel and to transfer loads to the hub. The fact is the lugs perform all of those tasks and are more than adequate in doing so. All of the loads go through the lugs. Think about it, braking and acceleration loads are rotational. The hub is round and provides no engagement to carry those rotational loads. Therefore they must be carried by the lugs and the clamping friction created by the mated surfaces of the wheel and the hub. Have you ever seen a wide 5 wheel and hub (old Volkswagen and Ford style) that are commonly used in dirt track racing? There are many styles that have nothing but the lugs and the tapers of the lug nuts to locate the wheel.
As others have said, if the wheel offset is matched to the stock offset then the loads are exactly the same on the bearings. It doesn't matter the size of the spacer. Once it is bolted to the hub it becomes part of the hub. Just as the wheel does when it is bolted to the hub.
I would rather douse my self in gasoline than put wheel spacers in a car. ANY CAR!
I am a mechanical engineer....spacers are FACE-IT! a silly band aid for not buying the correct off-set on your wheels. You are compounding bad after bad.
1. Incorrect load on wheel bearings....squeeeeeeeeeeeeel!
2. TWO mating surfaces to get corroded and separate.
3. In-correct studs going into hubs that were not designed for SHEER forces like this.
4. When I hear the word 'wheel spacers' what I hear is 'I bought the wrong wheels without doing due diligence and now I'm forced into a stupid situation'.
5. Now you have to keep checking tightness and concentricity.
6. Now you have to get hub-centric adapters.
7. When done, ideally, you still have SOME stering and suspension geometry left...but I doubt it.
8. Zora is spinning in his grave at 10,000 rpm.
Lets also consider the shear (strength) of the aluminum material used in these adapters. I am sure it is the highest quality T10 from the Beijing National Aluminum works.... Sticky tires, steel wheel lugs, and soft aluminum = a recipe for failure. Maybe if you only drove in a straight line, they would be OK. But that's not why you buy a Corvette.
The proper route to take is purchasing the proper wheels, so the wheel hub mates directly to the rotor face. No intermediate, incompatible material to stretch and break.
If you use a SPACER to give your wheels a small amount of additional clearance (1/4 to 1/2"), make certain of your lug nut engagement. The wheel lugs should protrude past the end of the lug nuts. Refer to any tech guide (NHRA, SCCA, etc.)\
Wouldn't want to have alloy wheels held on to an alloy hub by steel wheel studs, yep, sounds terrible! Many of the bolt on adapters are custom made outside of china (with correct dimensions to fit hub and wheel), buying cheap ones could potentially be an issue, but almost certainly less of a gamble than cheap alloy wheels...
05-03-2017, 07:33 PM
Pros and Cons of wheel spacers
