Wheel Spacers

[Guest Billfish]

I intend to use the donor wheels and tyres, and will therefore need spacers. I know that the donor wheels are ET35 offset and that ET15 are the best fit, so I would need 20mm spacers. The issue I have is that I will need to change the studs to accomodate the spacers. This is not an easy job, and when I (can afford to) get a new set of alloys I will go for ET15's meaning I will have to change the studs back again. It would also mean I could not quickly swap the wheels over.

 

I have seen spacers that simply screw extenders onto the studs, thus making it easier to swap back and forth, but these are 32mm wide (so the externder fits over the stud entirely.

 

http://www.speedshack.co.uk/images/Wheelsp...20kit%20lge.jpg

 

My question is, would 32mm spacers be too wide, would the wheels then extend out past the wings?

 

I have 2 sets of Ford alloys, 185/65/R14 and 195/55/R15.

 

Thanks

 

Bill

[ozz]

I am using the same size wheels on my zero and went with 19 mm universal spacers and extended studs from rally design.

 

Hubcentric spacers would be better at this thickness but are very pricey.

 

Changing the studs was not too bad. I knocked out the old ones with a couple of sharp taps with a lump hammer and wound the new ones in with a big nut a stack of washers and a wheel nut. The hubs have a space in their design to get new studs in and the big ones do just fit. Its not a job to do every other week but twice does not seem to me too bad.

 

By the way my zero is not running yet so can't say how the set up performs.

 

Andrew

[Guest dremmel1]

I used mondeo wheels for my 2b and fitted 24mm hubcentric spaces, no problem, about £60 of flea bay

 

Alan

[ibrooks]

Please steer well clear of those spacers in the link - they are downright lethal. They are quite common in the Mini world and I've seen several cases where the studs have snapped. I think they even come with a warning that they shouldn't be used on the driven wheels and I will admit that all the failures I've seen have been on the fronts of the Mini.

 

Iain

[fry61]

From an engineering point of view, how do you get the studs correctly tightened AND the hex lined up with the spacer slots!!