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YOUR RESEARCHAny downsides to wheel spacers (15mm)?
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Run 12mm front and 17mm rear
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I ran 12MM front and 17MM rear on my stock LW setup and they looked fire.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I used a razor blade gasket remover to scrape off the unprotected areas so they were perfectly flush with the protected areas.
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I used Venom spacers and the quality is very high.
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Suggestion · Original poster
I could easily see spacers not seating perfectly evenly if they are simply applied over the crust on the hub face with out cleaning all of it out.
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Suggestion · Original poster
I normally hate adding to wheel weight, but because all of the added weight is centered at the hub, I don't think it changes driving feel at all.
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Nice to hear you dig it, I believe the original set I used were the Venom ones off Amazon - I sold them with the original wheels but like you, was happy with the quality.
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Although I'm typically an originality guy, the wheels being inset so far from the fender edges does look a bit weird. I have a C2 996.2 with 17" Turbo Twists. From what I've read, it sounds like 15mm are about the widest that can be added (please correct me if I am wrong). My questions are:
1. Are there any downsides to using 15mm wheel spacers?
2. Is the ECS kit with spacers and lug nuts the best choice?
1. No... I ran 12MM front and 17MM rear on my stock LW setup and they looked fire.
2. Best - not sure, not sure how one would quantify that. They are good enough for me and I beat the **** out of my wheels / tires / brakes / hubs / uprights. The quality is really good on both the spacer and the extended bolts. Would gladly recommend.
I don't know much about the 17's so hard for me to comment on best setup.
Spitballing here... I would say the factory leaves 15MM on the table pretty easily - so, I don't really think you could go wrong with 15MM all around.
You said you are an originality guy so I am going to take a stab in the dark you're at stock ride height, in which case, I would feel very comfortable with the 15MM all around. FWIW, on my LW setup, if I was going to do it again, I would have went a little bigger in the front.
Good luck amigo - hopefully someone with some experience with the 17's can give you some experience based advice.
I have 15mm ECS spacers on my 01 C2 and haven't noticed any difference in performance or ride quality on my 18" rears.
I definitely was a little skeptical after doing some research, but I couldn't be happier with the results
Scrub radius increases by 15mm which increases steering effort required, puts higher loads on the wheel bearings and probably moat relevant: It increases steering wheel kickback when driving over bumps.
At the rear you effectively increase the lever arm of longitudinal forces (I.e. braking and accelerating) wrt the car which might result in greater lift-off oversteer tendency.
Personally I'd wear the 17" tyres and once worn, would get 8x18et50 and 10x18 et65 and the stock tyre sizes for those wheels
Did you not see how pretty they are???
Thanks, this makes sense and is exactly the type of downside info I was looking for. I'm not dissuaded from doing it, but I like to know what the tradeoffs are. I want to stick with 17" wheels (it's my wife's car and she generally doesn't like the ride +1 or +2 tire sizes). I would think that going with wider 18's would have a bit of the same effect, or is the increased wideness symmetrical to the center point of the wheel?
You're welcome, glad you appreciate it.
Increased width is then symmetrical when ET/offset remains the same. I believe this is not the case when changing from 17" to 18" on the 996(.2)
Will you know if the tires rub without looking? Would you hear it. I put 15mm on my 4S in the back. They look like they would hit but after driving quite a bit, no issues as far a I can tell.
I tried the 15mm in the front. When turned all the way, they were like an 1/8" front hitting the plastic towards the front so I bailed on that. Currently just running the 15mm in the back.
I have 15mm spacers at all four corners and I'm lowered to the top of the tire with no wheel gap. Aligned to factory specs. No rubbing, and the car handles great.
This is with winter wheels/tires (Pirelli Soto-zero II) they are not the correct/stock sizes (taller side walls and a little wider - sorry not sure of the sizes off hand), but no problems with rubbing. KW V3 suspension.
Summer wheels/tires - Michelin ps4s correct/stock sizes (18�)
Nobody mentioned the biggest downside of all: vibration! Crappy spacers that don�t fit perfectly and precisely can easily cause a vibration while driving. Many people have posted about this, only to have to remove and scrap their spacers altogether. Really poorly constructed spacers can break, and if you don�t use the proper bolts, your wheel could fall off, lol.
Well, I'm here to report that the dark side is looking very bright. I ordered a pair of 15mm spacers. Instead of putting them on one axle, I installed one on the front and the other on the rear so I could evaluate whether to use 15mm all around. I just took a test drove -- drives the same, but looks a
LOT
better. I didn't realize how much the inset wheels affect the overall look of the car. I am very happy with the decision and just ordered a 2nd pair of 15mm's for the driver's side.
I used Venom spacers and the quality is very high. The gloss black aluminum spacer is made in the US, and the bolts that come with them are made in Germany. I measured the weight of the extended lug nuts, and all of them weigh exactly 128 grams. The (15mm shorter) original lug bolts weigh 101 grams. That's about the weight difference you'd expect for the length difference, so I think they are made of the same metal (or at least very close). The 15mm spacer itself weighed 765 grams. The total weight difference per wheel is 5 x 27 grams for the lug bolts + 765 grams for the spacer, so a total of 900 grams or 1.98 lbs per wheel. I normally hate adding to wheel weight, but because all of the added weight is centered at the hub, I don't think it changes driving feel at all.
Can't wait for the other pair to arrive so I can do the other side.
Insert Darth Vader laugh HERE...
Nice to hear you dig it, I believe the original set I used were the Venom ones off Amazon - I sold them with the original wheels but like you, was happy with the quality.
I think the ECS are a notch above, but only went with them on the current setup due to needing a specific size in a hurry and they were the only option.
Look forward to seeing some pics when you get them all sorted - 911's on 17's are cool.
spacer = new wheel with different offset ,, If the spacer is inner and outer hub centric.. if you go over 15 you should absolutely switch to studs, and upsize IMHO..
Difference in total length of the lug bolts ...
Extended lug nuts are 128 grams each versus 101
15mm Spacer weighs 765 grams
Not the best photos, but driver side is original and passenger side has spacers (steering wheel is slightly turned ...)
I think if the weight was distributed on the outside of the wheel, you'd feel it. Since all the weight is on the hub, you don't feel it at all (at least I don't).
I agree that all of the above should be in mind when doing this.
I think one (very subtle) area that could introduce vibration, even with quality spacers, is the crustiness that builds up on the brake hub face over time. The hub face will always be clean and smooth in the areas where the wheels are flush against the hub (effectively sealing those areas), but the unprotected areas surrounding the sealed areas tend to have surface rust and crust built up over many years and baked on at very high temperatures. If you don't remove the crustiness in the exposed areas of the hub, I think there is a good potential for the spacer to not seat evenly because, unlike the wheel, the spacer is a completely solid circle with no open areas.
I used a razor blade gasket remover to scrape off the unprotected areas so they were perfectly flush with the protected areas. I think this step is necessary to be certain the spacers are absolutely flat against the surface. I also use a very thin film of aluminum anti-seize on the 3 tangs that the wheel hangs on, and on the mating surface of the wheel and spacer to help everything seat properly. I could easily see spacers not seating perfectly evenly if they are simply applied over the crust on the hub face with out cleaning all of it out. It seem logical to think that the torqued down wheel will simply crush it, but I don't think this is a safe assumption because the crust doesn't have anywhere to go.
I agree with the risk if anyone tries to use the original lug bolts, even with thin spacers. For the 15mm spacers, the 15mm longer lug bolts weigh 27 grams more per lug bolt (101g to 128g), so that's another 135 grams added (in addition to the 765 grams for the spacer itself) -- but those are grams well spent
.
The Venom spacers/bolts are not expensive and I am very impressed with the quality. The spacer is very well machined and made in the US (bolts are from Germany). Definitely worth researching the brand before choosing one though.
