I recently bought the 20" chrome rims j-fire had listed on here and ebay to throw on my '05 black base coupe. They are Gianelle Cairo's, 20x8 with either a 35 or a 38 offset up front (were stamped from 2 different 'blanks', what I was told). Got them on no problem, looked AMAZING, but in the front the tires were most certainly hitting the suspension. I have been reading through the posts on wheel spacers, and it is not something I am really excited to do, but it also seems the only way I am going to get to put these wheels on my car. I spoke with an engineer at Giovanna (wheel manufacturer) and he said I would be alright with a 5mm spacers in the front (rears fit fine 20x10s). Can anyone let me know if this is accurate? Also, what length studs I would need? I am new to the wheel spacer game and need some help. Also, is there that big of a difference between the suspension on the SRT-6 coupe and the N/A coupe? Any mods I could do there to accomodate? I figured this is by far the best place to try to find these answers because there are no good 'custom' wheel shops around Indianapolis.

ANY INPUT OR ADVISE IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. Sorry for the repost, but my car rests on a lift until I figure it out

 

Since I have already uploaded the picture, it will not let me upload it again for this thread. See this thread for a picture of the problem.

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ad.php?t=31987

Thanks.

John

 

why do you need 2 seperate threads? that one is the the same thing but people responded to it.

 

Maybe he didn't like my answer?

I addressed this issue for another member recently:

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ad.php?t=31769

Hope this can help?

 

I created the second because I found more info on the issue (that I included) and I realized that there was a place specifically for wheel and tire issues (I am new to the forum, my apologies). Certainly not because I did not like Max's answer, quite the contrary. As I said, I have never used spacers before and with all the issues I have read through on here, I was hoping someone would have the knowledge to answer my questions, because I do not and have not been able to locate the answer myself. I have found great info on spacers, offsets, fitment, etc. but with my front rims being 20x8 with a 38 offset and running 235/30-20s, I am hoping someone can tell me if a 5mm spacer will work and what length bolts do I need?

If not, I am certainly proceeding down other avenues to try to get the same info, but I figured if someone on here knew, or had done it, they would be able to tell me. Thanks guys.

 

Let me work on this for a little while. I'll post a solution in a few minutes...

 

Ok, I've looked at the problem and it seems the tire will be .2" closer to that nut. Too close, but it shouldn't be interfering. A 5 mm spacer (~.2") should bring you back to OEM clearance. BUT, I don't know where to buy a 5 mm HUB-CENTRIC spacer. At only 5 mm, all the ones I've seen are flat.

I am running 235/35 19's and it was the same problem for me. The width and height increases are virtually the same. Yours are 2 mm taller.

I ended up buying these spacers:

http://www.ezaccessory.com/Billet_Hu...es_p/5112m.htm

10 mm thickness and had to machine them to fit the grease cap. Minor, but an added cost. If you look at my signature, you can see where the tires ended up in the wheel well.

I wouldn't even guess as to the proper lugs until I had the wheels and spacers on hand. Taper or ball seat and the added length would make guessing an expensive way to go.

What do y'all think?

 

Max, much obliged for the info, I owe you a cold beer or two. Based on the calculators I have found and numbers I have ran, I am thinking a 5mm spacer will work also. From my research I have found that everyone says if you are going to do spacers, buy good ones and make sure they are hub centric. I have scoured and found an Eibach Pro spacer that is 5mm and hub centric from a company in Michigan. The part number is EIB90.1.05.014.1 and here is the link:

http://www.discountperformanceautopa...hk=1&Itemid=37

They are reasonably priced at around $75 for the set and after speaking with a custom wheel guy, this is what he recommended.

Any advice before I proceed further?

 

Ok, I called Eibach (1-800/507-2338) and asked what these look like. I was told they are flat disk spacers and the minimum for hub centric designs is 10 mm. Trust me on this. If you call, just ask what they can do for you that will provide a lip. The problem you will run into is the grease cup. For mounting with no spacers, its OD is the mount and it is ~ 5 mm tall. If you place a 5 mm ring on it, you cover up the mounting hub, making it non-hub centric. Even if you buy 10 mm with the lip, you'll still end up machining a little bit out of the ID to make it work The actual cap is the pain). It's hard to explain, but I found out the long way-buy the parts and see what it takes.

Somewhere in my garage I still have a pair of 5 mm plates. Good for a noisy game of ring-toss. But little else.

Give Eibach a call and see?

 

I apologize for being so uninformed, but I am not sure I followed exactly what you posted. So if I do a 10mm, it should work with some modification? I guess I am slow or something, but I am not exactly sure what it is you have to modify, the spacer or the grease cup and how?

I am going to a custom wheel and suspension shop tomorrow to try out some 'universal' spacers so we can figure out what the correct width is (and hopefully this guy can porovide me some more education on the subject). It would be great if I could let this guy know exactly what the pitfalls will be before we begin. Thanks again.

 

I thought I was up early!

Don't feel bad, I learned as I went along too. So far as I can tell, there are 3 types of spacers:

Flat plate. Just an aluminum ring with holes for the bolts and one in the center for the hub. Available in 2, 3, and 5 mm. Maybe thicker, I don't know.

Hub centric. A flat plate with 5 holes, one in the center and a raised, thin lip that the wheel centers on. (The one I used).

Offset Adapter. This is a ring of aluminum with 5 threaded studs that the wheel attaches to with lug nuts. 5 holes that are used to attach the adapter to the car with using bolts and a center hole with a raised lip. These, I think are thicker than the others. But I don't know.

The problem with our front hub and using spacers is how short the mounting surface on the hub is. About 5 mm. If you place a 5 mm thick spacer on it, what sticks out is smaller than the 66.56 mm diameter we need to support the wheel. This is where that raised lip comes in. It mimics this mounting surface. The minimum thickness I know about is 10 mm. BUT, when I tried to use mine, out of the box, it wouldn't fit over the grease cap and required a little lathe work to make it "just so". Literally 10 minutes machine time. Luckily I have a machine shop I manage (along with a bunch of other labs), and was able to do it myself. I just had to go to work on a morning off. I was alerted to this problem by another member in an older thread and at least had foreknowledge that it would be needed.

My suggestion to you is: Buy 10 mm hub centric spacers. (See my earlier post in this thread, Eibach makes great stuff, but I can't see paying $75 for the same $45 parts). And then go to the custom shop and show them this write-up. I'm positive it will make sense to the guy working on the car. When he sees what has to be done, he can specify the lug bults you'll need. They are reasonably common, he should be able to get them in 2 days.

Hope this helps and keep me informed. I might cut-n-paste this into my "Spacers" sticky.

 

Early bird gets the worm... I say that today because I am in the office, but tomorrow will not be up before noon (have to go to the custom wheels shop at 1 LOL)

Max, as always, dead on. It is easy to understand and helps me get to the goal - getting these beautiful 20s on my car ASAP haha. I do not think I could have gotten better info on this issue anywhere else, I truly do appreciate it, if I ever road trip to 'Bama, we will have a beer or twelve.

THANKS!

John

 

I can't imagine any other reason you would want to come to this state, but you're welcome at my house anytime. Post some pics when you're done? I really want to see them!

 

Good luck, I'm looking forward to seeing the finished pics! I'm starting my install of some goodies tomorrow! Fingers are crossed.

 

Post the pics bud, post the pics!

 

Can you not get smaller tyres i.e. 215/30/20 as I'm not sure if your aware but the 30 is the profile which is a percentage of the width.
So 235/30/20 the height of the sidewall is 70.5mm and a 215/30/20 the height of the sidewall is 64.5mm which is a difference of 6mm which might just be enough.
I agree I am not keen on spacers but as long as your not going mega big you should be fine.


Norrie.

 

I'm interested in seeing some pictures too!

 

This is a perfectly valid point. But if you use this tool:

http://www.rims-n-tires.com/rt_specs.jsp

You can see a graphic representation of what it would look like. Somewhat motorbike?

 

Sorry guys, I have been out of commission the last few days handling some things, although I was able to get the car to a good custom shop, here is what I found out. Max - much respect, you were 100% correct on the 10mm hub centric spacers (not that I was doubting you, but had to be certain before spending $150 on the pair). They will give me a few mm cleanance between that nut and the tire. As this was only a test fit to verify the 10's would work, I have no pics. The pic in my avatar was the first bolt up (when we realized they would rub) and was taken on my cell. I will post high resolution pics within the next few weeks once I get them put on for good . Here is a taste, just to generate a little drool LoL

Thanks everyone, the support and information is what helped out the most.

John

 

That should very nice when all is said and done...