Wheel Spacers

[[ion] C2]

School me on them regarding an Alero.

I assume I should choose "wheel adapter" when browsing for them on Motorsport-Tech (http://motorsport-tech.com) so that the spacer is a part I can bolt to the hub, and then have my wheel bolt to the spacer.

http://motorsport-tech.com/img/gallery/adapters/1.jpg

What thickness should I use? I'm thinking around 26mm or so. Should I just measure the edge of the tire to the fender? Curious if the stock studs don't sit submerged or flush at a certain thickness, which would cause issues.

[G.I.Ceo]

Yeah you definitely don't want to use a spacer because then you loose the length on you studs. I am curious to see how these wheel adapters would work and how much they are. That is a very good way to kick your tires out and have them sit flush with your fenders.

[[ion] C2]

They're $140 for a set of 4. You can configure a setup on their site pretty easily. I still have to measure my center bore on the wheels.

I'm just curious what the minimum thickness is to clear the stock studs.

[G.I.Ceo]

C2;586194']They're $140 for a set of 4. You can configure a setup on their site pretty easily. I still have to measure my center bore on the wheels.

I'm just curious what the minimum thickness is to clear the stock studs.

Thats not bad at all. I have seen those for $50 or more a piece.

I am not sure on what the proper length would be to clear the studs.

[emncfi]

If you are wondering about using them, I use a brand called spidertrax on my jeep so my larger tires don't rub when turning. The install is obviously easy, you loctite original lugs to hold on the spacer, then use the new one as if it were not there, I have run mine now for about 6 months and have never noticed that they were there. One thing to note though, I have heard that wheel bearings will wear out faster with them on, but I have not experienced that either.

[99-alero]

buddy of mine has 1inch spacers on his ga, will try and get some pics

[[ion] C2]

Wheel offset and width will change the optimal size for the spacer, so I'm just going to measure and pick a number that will put the tire edge close to flush width.

One thing to note though, I have heard that wheel bearings will wear out faster with them on, but I have not experienced that either.
The cost of looking better without getting wider wheels.

[Cliff8928]

One thing to note though, I have heard that wheel bearings will wear out faster with them on, but I have not experienced that either.

That doesn't make any sense in this application. It's not like you're trying to run 0 or negative offset wheels that stick out far. Just spacing for a little more tire clearance or a flush look shouldn't have any effect on the bearing wear. The load will still be distributed fairly evenly.

[a.graham52]

it puts the wheel further out of the hub. gives more leverage on the bearing. its a good threory but not sure how to prove it. but i would agree to it anyways.

[[ion] C2]

It's not much different than running a wheel with lesser offset.

http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/images/WheelOffset5.gif

Now if you had like spacers like these...

[robalero]

when your measuring them make sure you do your backs too

[emncfi]

Yea, and the other thing is I am just going off what I know about my jeep, which is a solid axle setup, so it may be different with independent suspension

[tw0123]

i bought a set of 25mm or 1" set like you have for my wheels, and the original studs stick out further by almost 10mm... if you have dual bolt wheels they should fit on with no issues (might look a bit funny if your lugs are exposed vs hidden behind a cap) otherwise you could shave the lugs down seeing as the bolts are still on for 1" of threading and use lock tight to secure them...

[[ion] C2]

Yeah my wheels are dual pattern and have a cap. Good to know.

[jabartram]

i have .75 spacers in the rear, it puts the edge of the tire even with the edge of the fender, with bolt on spacers, your rims need to have recesses in the back side for the factory lugs to clear.

http://www.aleromod.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10175&stc=1&d=1304654814

[[ion] C2]

I measured today, looks like 1.1 inches would be ideal.

I forget what the back side of my wheels look like, but they're dual 5 lug bolt pattern.. the way I'm thinking, they won't work. I mean if the other 5 lug pattern doesn't line up with the stock lugs.. it won't clear with the spacers on either.

I guess I'll have to take a wheel off and look, and measure 1.1" from the car's hub and see how much stud will be exposed and see if it will clear the wheel.

[Cliff8928]

you could shave the lugs down seeing as the bolts are still on for 1" of threading and use lock tight to secure them...

That's what I did with wheel adapters I used. I just shortened them by running a large (16mm) drill down the center and basically shaving them down.

[tw0123]

C2;586283']I measured today, looks like 1.1 inches would be ideal.

I forget what the back side of my wheels look like, but they're dual 5 lug bolt pattern.. the way I'm thinking, they won't work. I mean if the other 5 lug pattern doesn't line up with the stock lugs.. it won't clear with the spacers on either.

I guess I'll have to take a wheel off and look, and measure 1.1" from the car's hub and see how much stud will be exposed and see if it will clear the wheel.

you could still use your wheels and spacers... they make them where you can switch the bolt pattern on the new studs, get the spacers that adapt from 5x114.3 to 5x100 and use that bolt pattern on your wheels then the original 5x114.3 will fit into the backspacing on the wheels... might cost a bit more, or again just shave the original studs down to sit flush...

[[ion] C2]

you could still use your wheels and spacers... they make them where you can switch the bolt pattern on the new studs, get the spacers that adapt from 5x114.3 to 5x100 and use that bolt pattern on your wheels then the original 5x114.3 will fit into the backspacing on the wheels... might cost a bit more, or again just shave the original studs down to sit flush...

Oh yeah wow, I'm dumb. That would work great. Costs the same regardless of what pattern I want. Thanks for the idea!

[widbyj]

FYI - The PROPER bolt pattern for the GM platform IS 115x5. Might as well do it right. Also, hub centering and support IS important. just sayin...

[[ion] C2]

FYI - The PROPER bolt pattern for the GM platform IS 115x5. Might as well do it right. Also, hub centering and support IS important. just sayin...

You really think 0.3 millimeters of diameter difference is going to matter? :lol: 5x114.3 and 5x115 are completely interchangeable without worry. Motorsport-Tech already knows it's 5x115 and that's what the spacer is made to. The lugs they put on them are going to be 5x100 because that's the other bolt pattern the wheel accepts.

Also, my wheels right now have a center bore bigger than the Alero's hub size. No hub-centric rings, and I've had them on since '08 without issue.

[AleroB888]

C2;586398']You really think 0.3 millimeters of diameter difference is going to matter? :lol: 5x114.3 and 5x115 are completely interchangeable without worry. Motorsport-Tech already knows it's 5x115 and that's what the spacer is made to. The lugs they put on them are going to be 5x100 because that's the other bolt pattern the wheel accepts.

Also, my wheels right now have a center bore bigger than the Alero's hub size. No hub-centric rings, and I've had them on since '08 without issue.

It can make a difference, depends on the particular setup. I tried a 114.3 wheel in a 16X8 size, correct hubcentric rings and all, never could get them to run right. Finally returned them to the local performance tire shop, who were good at their job, btw. Sold them back minus a wear charge.

[mrmike]

since I have motorsport-tech spacers i should share a few measurements i found when selecting them.
difference of (front wheel to fender) to (rear wheel to fender) is 20mm
stock gls wheels 16x6.5 +42mm offset distance to fender F 30mm R 50mm
Basically this means that you need 20mm extra in the back to make the wheels an equal distance to your fenders. Ideally a new set of rims should stick out 30mm wider than the stock 2000+ gls wheels to get them flush vertically as well. One other thing I would recommend with this setup is a wider tire up front, maybe 245 or 255 on a good set of 8" or wider rims. The alero has different fender angles front to back, so this setup makes the rear wheels appear farther out than the fronts. A nice beefy sidewall up front will fill up the difference in appearance. I'm not the best judge of performance, but I know that I have less bodyroll and more sensitive steering when I have the wider wheels on. I run stock through winter so I have plenty of time driving both setups. Also, you would need maybe 40mm-45mm spacers to clear the studs. I can't use the spacers with my stock wheels because of this. One final note is don't underestimate the importance of offset. Some wheel websites don't even list the offset, but it is the most important measurement in achieving a great looking stance. For more info on tire width/offset and a great offset calculator, check out http://www.1010tires.com/tech.asp

[Cliff8928]

C2;586398']You really think 0.3 millimeters of diameter difference is going to matter? :lol: 5x114.3 and 5x115 are completely interchangeable without worry.

http://www.wtfux.net/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/7fb9f_epic-fail-math-fail.jpg

[[ion] C2]

Hahahaha, I realized it when I re-read it, but AleroB888 quoted it so editing it to 0.7 wouldn't matter. I was thinking 0.03" because 5x115 is 4.53" and 5x114.3 is 4.5" lol too many numbers/units switching back and forth http://www.xceedspeed.com/forums/images/smilies/willy_nilly.gif

[[ion] C2]

Just ordered 27mm (1.06") ones. Can't wait. I hate how it looks right now as the body kit makes it look like the wheels are tucked in too far. This should make it look much, much nicer. :)

[kwhauck]

too bad you can't just buy the right wheels.....

[[ion] C2]

Send me money and I'll go buy a whole new set of wheels.

[jhubbz]

Just put a set of 1.25" adapters on the rears. Definitely gives a wider-looking stance, altho I may have been happier with 1". Will get a pic in the daytime here soon. I unfortunately did not get the hubcentric adapters, but I took my time and lined them up well, so hopefully they will be fine in the future. I did apply some threadlock to the stock studs for extra assurance

[jhubbz]

The spacer:
http://i42.tinypic.com/rkcxtg.jpg

Before:
http://i43.tinypic.com/3520waq.jpg

After:
http://i41.tinypic.com/nbd5.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/5vu1xj.jpg

Overall, I'm happy with it. I will definitely invest in some hub-centric ones once I am able to lower it.

[mrmike]

It looks good and all, but I would be scared to drive it. Hubcentric wheels are supposed to have the hub support the weight. Without the hub center there, the studs are taking both the vertical and rotational load, as well as the added handicap of not even being bolted through the hub. Even on my hubcentric ones, the wheel can rotate relative to the spacer, so I need to constantly retorque them.

[spc2125]

man i just love how clean jhubbz ho is

[kwhauck]

The look is great but I prefer to do it the right way with the right offset, wider rims, and wider tires....

[mrmike]

^ Do you have a staggered set of rims? Pics please.

[Papa Rad17]

man i just love how clean jhubbz ho is

I know, its quite beautiful. I need to give mine a good wash and wax.

[kwhauck]

^ Do you have a staggered set of rims? Pics please.

No I don't. I have a correct set of rims for the front that fit perfectly. The rear sit in. I don't think staggered rims belong on a FWD vehicle. Make the front flush and let the rears sit in. If you make a bigger rim on the rear you are just adding more weight which is unnecessary. I actually run a smaller tire in the rear than in the front.

[jhubbz]

Thanks guys for the compliments. And yea I agree it is kinda scary not having them hubcentric. I will get some decent ones soon. Maybe not til summer tho