G'Day Guys I'm just considering buying som wheel spacers from Hills. Aleady bought some bits (aluminium pedals, gear knob) and their products are of excellent quality. I've got 355 wheels but the rear do look like they could come out a litte more just to really enhance that stocky bum look the car has. For anyone who has done it, what spacers would you use from Hills (type 1 or 2) and what size looks best. Do you space the front wheels as well ? Does it have any adverse effects on the cars feel/handling.. ? Thanks in advance Reddsire
I'd go with the 100mm spacers at least. You really want those wheels/tires to stick right out, ideally to the point where when you go over a bump the wheel arch can slice right into the tire.
Did I miss something here? Seems like a legitimate question for the technical Q & A. Not really sure the smart-ass answer is going to help here.
hmmm... Your answer seems to be more beer n less Cliff. What happened buddy the wife knock you back last night.... !! Reddesire
Ask Pap...he knows all about wheel spacers and broken bolts on 348's. Have a search for his thread a while back. Was very interesting. BTW, I have spacers on my 360 and love the look. Had to roll the guard (fender) lips, though.
Shoosh........I didnt want to scare him off fitting rear wheel spacers to his 348. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159667&page=11
Yes I've been spending a bit of time now seaching this site for spacer info and PAPS input has been most educational. It is as interesting as it is diverse. Condensing it down though I summarize the following from what I've read. 1/ Best track performance 25mm on the rear only 2/ Best look 25mm rear and 15mm front. Hill have come back to me ad said the most popular sellers have been type 1 20mm rear and 15mm front so I'm considering that option now. PAP you did say you felt 25 is too much. Would 20 be OK or do I still risk wheel rub with my 355 wheels.. ? Reddesire
Gents, didn't mean to be annoying with my little joke. We have a lot of younger fellows driving around my part of the US with wheels ridiculously large and well beyond the wheel wells. One thing to think about with spacers is that the bigger the spacer the more stress the wheel bearings will have to bear and the life cycle will be reduced accordingly. Also, the front and rear track is engineered to work with the particular suspension settings of the car - changing the track measurement can (and usually does) have a negative effect upon handling w/o adjusting other suspension settings accordingly.
25mm will probably be ok mate, but I have a feeling with the 355 its just a little too wide for the wheel arch. I could be wrong, but I am sure thats the issue. 355 wheels are an inch wider than 348 wheels on the rear. If you stick to 20mm on the rear you should be right mate.
ive got 20mm on the fronts and 30mm on the rears, the fronts are just right, with 295 35 18 tires on the back with the 30mm spacers are IMHO just a bit to wide, 25mm on the backs would be perfect, i was going to shave 5mm each of the backs but when i asked a fellow 348er and he said the backs are perfect and not to touch them, probably hard to tell in the pix Image Unavailable, Please Login
More stress on wheels bearings? Could this be right if offsets remain the same (or within 5mm or so?) How would the fact that a spacer vs. the actual wheel/rim mass affect bearing life if offsets were the same? I can buy further leverage from increased track could have some effect but keeping the outside of the rim near stock would change negligible stress right? Curious...
Thanks guys... I will try 25 rear and 15 front I think. Worse comes to worse I can have them machined down for next to nothing so better to be at the max rather than feeling I could have gone a bit more. Reddesire
I had 25 in the back of my 348 too... and I think it all comes down to the the actual brand and sidewall design of your tires. A P-Zero has a very squared shoulder, and looks fine with the 25mm. My old Kumho tires had a more rounded shoulder, and 25mm were (being perfectly honest here) a probably 3-5mm too much. No rubbing on the fender, but just a wee bit too big. If I ran different tires, I'm sure it'd be fine. Keep that in mind when you pick spacers. 15 in the front should be no problem. Buy the whole set from Ricambi, and I'll toss in a new CS-01 Chrome Saver socket at no charge. It'll keep your nuts nice and shiny!
...Well I will have a look at your prices and compare them to Hills (of course keeping your socket in mind. I like my nuts nice n shiny n so does the Mrs.. !!)... Reddesire
Yes, you're right, if offset is maintained then shouldn't be any appreciable add'l stress on the wheel bearings. A lot of folks just slip spacers in on the same wheels however, in which case offset is not maintained. 10-20mm spacers aren't too big a deal where offset is not maintained, however, beyond that and you're going to affect the service life of the bearings.
You can have the 15mm machined down, but the 25mm are type II (IIRC) and they cannot be machined down. They work by bolting to the hub, and the wheel bolts to the spacer. If you get them machined the bolts will not be recessed in the spacer and the wheel will not sit flush with the spacer face. If you can get the 25mm spacer with the longer bolts (Type I), that would be okay to machine down, but I'm not sure that thickness of spacer is offered with longer bolts. Anyway, I am surprised you want spacers with the 355 wheels. They should fill out the wheel well pretty closely just stock. Do not use an impact wrench to install the chrome bolts, use a hand torque wrench or the special socket that will not damage the chrome finish. BT
