Which spacers for 8" wheels all round?

[GTH9]

Hello,

Can anybody tell me the best thickness spacers to use to fill the arches out on a lowered (CS spec) car when using 8" D90's all round?

Thanks

 

[Riverside]

15mm on the rear, maybe less or none at all on the front. Just bear in mind the arches are half an inch or so wider on one side (offside iirc) than the other on 944s.

ETA: I'm assuming it's a late offset car btw, for early offset add 30mm to them all plus the above if you prefer.

 

[mik_ok]

I'd say 0 on the front and 15mm on the rear (assuming Riverside's comments regarding later-offsets).

Pictures of my S2 are in post#2 of THIS THREAD. This is based on OEM wheels (7" fronts, 8" rears) with 7mm front shims and 15mm rear spacers).

 

[GTH9]

Thanks for the replies, yes it is an S2.

 

[scam75]

ORIGINAL: Riverside

Just bear in mind the arches are half an inch or so wider on one side (offside iirc) than the other on 944s.

I am not aware of this phenomenon. Could someone enlighten me with the details?

Stuart

 

[ChasR]

ORIGINAL: scam75

ORIGINAL: Riverside

Just bear in mind the arches are half an inch or so wider on one side (offside iirc) than the other on 944s.

I am not aware of this phenomenon. Could someone enlighten me with the details?

Stuart

Barry at Hartech told me this too IIRC. Quite a few cars come like this (an MGB's rear axle is 1-2" longer on the LHS compared to the RHS. Which is why some owners struggle to get the left wheel off on lowered models). I think it's something to do with manufacturing errors that weren't seen to be a massive problem.

 

[mik_ok]

Not sure the links are working properly in the thread I linked to, so here they are again.

From the front:
Before vs After


And from the back:
Before vs After

 

[944 man]

As much as you can see will fit on the rear, but leave the front as it is (65mm on an 8" wheel).

 

[GTH9]

Do you mean it will have effectively 65mm? the wheel is a regular rear D90

 

[Eldavo]

Do 15mm rear spacers require the fitting of longer studs though, as 15mm per side seems that there will be quite a bit less thread.

 

[Riverside]

ORIGINAL: Eldavo

Do 15mm rear spacers require the fitting of longer studs though, as 15mm per side seems that there will be quite a bit less thread.

Yes & no []

You can buy spacers that are like big washers, they are a single casting or machined block & you use longer studs with them. Ultimately this is stronger but much more difficult to fit & remove.

I have 15mm spacers on the front of mine that have studs in them. You bolt the spacer to the hub, then bolt the wheel to the spacer. Much easier to fit & remove, and imo strong enough for my needs.

 

[944 man]

ORIGINAL: GTH9

Do you mean it will have effectively 65mm? the wheel is a regular rear D90

The cars require an offset of 52.3mm when using a 7" rim. For each increased inch of rim width this amount will increase by 12.7mm.

 

[mik_ok]

ORIGINAL: 944 man

ORIGINAL: GTH9

Do you mean it will have effectively 65mm? the wheel is a regular rear D90

The cars require an offset of 52.3mm when using a 7" rim. For each increased inch of rim width this amount will increase by 12.7mm.

If you wanted the outer edge of the wheel to remain in the same position. Which he doesn't.

A std 8" rear is ET55 (I think). Would suggest you don't use a spacer (might get away with a 5mm shim?)

 

[944 man]

Are you sure? The outside edge doesnt remain in the same position: it moves out half of one inch for every one inch increase in rim width, kkeing the centre of the wheel where the manufacturer intended. The OP may want to space out narrow wheels to fill the aces, but Id advise against this on the front.. The car isnt sensitive to rear offset, so you can space out as far as you like/will fit.

 

[mik_ok]

I don't disagree, but I read the question as "wanting to fill the arches".

I think an 8x16 ET55 will do this on the front quite nicely ~ Fen used to run them and I believe BigDave too (?). This would keep the steering offset pretty much unchanged..

You do still have a bit of room within the arch though, and a 5mm shim won't affect the steering badly (I was nervous about adding 7mm shims to the front of my S2 on std 7" rims, but I'm glad to report - it had no significant impact on tramlining, handling or steering feedback/kickback.

I believe a 10x16 wheel ET65 wheel can be squeezed onto the front (!)..... if ye like that sort of thing.... [&:]

 

[Big Dave]

ORIGINAL: mik_ok


I think an 8x16 ET55 will do this on the front quite nicely ~ Fen used to run them and I believe BigDave too (?).

I actually used to run a 8"/17" et 50 on the front. It was [originally] a ET70 cup2 wheels with 20 mm spacers fitted onto longer studs...Giving me an effective et50...
The car did have a good 3deg of neg camber thought + was a lot lower than standard...[][]
I also ran a 9/17" et 55 on the back,
IF i then fitted a 6 mm spacer to the rears [making an effective et of 49],,the passenger side tyre would catch under heavy right hand compresion corners. So i had the arches rolled...Also the rear had a good 2.5deg of negative camber...After all it was set up for track use.....[][]
Hope that helps....

 

[944 man]

I had an early car which was widetracked (a long time ago - 'widetracking' involves fitting later ABS offset aluminium suspension links to a 23mm car). After this was done I still ran the original Fuchs wheels. They completely filled the arches at the front, and they looked great: but it would have been far from ideal for a road car. Kevin Eacock still builds early 944 racers like this and they look great with 7" ATS wheels, but again: theyre only driven on Sundays. Used everyday the poor steering, terrible tramlining and excessive bearing wear would be a royal pain in the arse.