Wheel Spacers...Anyone try them... Are they safe?

[LTHL VPR]

Has anyone tried using a wheel spacer on the Viper? Here's why i was thinking of trying them:

1) In the stock stance, the Viper wheels are tucked under the front and rear wells by at least 1/2".

2) If the wheels were pushed out more, it would give the Viper a wider, more aggressive stance, better looks (the wheels won't look to narrow for the body like they do now)

3) Possible improvement in handling? "Wider is Better?" Result: Wider track both front and rear?

Question:
Are they safe? Can they handle the loads of the Viper under race conditions?
If anyone has used them, WHO MAKES THE BEST SPACER?
Thanks!

 

[Nadine UK GTS]

They will put a lot of extra strain on your wheel bearings.

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[Steve-Indy]

Talk to John Purner(Complete Custom Wheel)...you might really like 315's on front, consider 345's on rear.

 

[Paul Fischer]

I'm with Steve, have some wheels made. Purner's are the apparent choice for folks heading to the track but there are other vendors that will build you a wheel to your specs. If you decide to go with spacers you may to have them built for a six bolt pattern, and Nadine's point is well taken.

 

[Dion Fisher]

I have a set of Purner Customs (street refined) with Brand new Hoosier 315s front and 335s rear up for sale for $2850 delivered you just can't get more agressive than that.. Even better yet, I liked the look of your wheels, trade??

 

[LTHL VPR]

Correct me if I am wrong, but a wheel, Like Purner's with less offset than stock (so the wheels stick out more) would seem to load the wheel bearings as much as a stock wheel with a 1/2" spacer, right?
If this is true than everyone who uses Kinesis, Purner's, HRE, etc.. are loading their wheels (because I believe they all use about 1/2" less offset than stock). I haven't seen anyone who has had problems with any of the above.

Other than the 'wheel bearing' load issues, are there any other downsides? I would think the car should handle better.
BTW-
The problems with the 345s is that the raise the car about .65" (worsen handling).

 

[Jack B]

I just received Purner's max street package. The fronts are 3.25X18 with a 35 profile. His wheel does bring the tire out of the well. The stock wheel has the tire and wheel mounting flange at the same plane. The Purner wheel brings the outside edge approx 2-3 inches away from the mounting flange.

 

[Mike Brunton]

LTHL,

I think you're wrong on the bearing load issue - here's why.

If you put a 1/2" spacer on the hub, you're moving the whole wheel 1/2" towards the outside.

If you use one of Mr. Purners wheels (which is wider than stock), then you are leaving the inside rim of the wheel in the same place (or maybe even moving it closer to the wheelwell, depending on how the wheel is made), and you're ADDING 1/2" (or more) of width on the outside.

The centerline of Mr. Purner's wheels isn't going to be as changed (if it's changed at all) than it would be if you used a spacer. If you deviate from the centerline of the wheel, that's when you start to add a lot of force to your wheel bearings.

So, I think using one of Mr. Purners wheels would create less load on your bearings than just using a spacer.

 

[LTHL VPR]

Mike -
You may be right regarding Purner's wheels, but Kinesis, HRE, Forgeline, etc... who tend to use the same width wheels as stock (10" front-13 rear), push the wheel out anywhere between 1/2"-1". That is why in their pictures, they car looks more aggressive; because the wheel wells are filled adn the tires come out even to the well.

However, I believe that for the rear wheels, even Purner keeps the wheel 13" wide and does 1/2" less backspacing than stock.

I am no physics professional, but in these cases, wouldn't the bearings feel the same load with a 1/2" spacer on a stock wheel and an aftermarket wheel with 1/2" less backspacing?

The problem the Viper have is that there are limited tires sizes. Even the largest street tires can only accomodate a 13" wheel. As for the fronts, in 18" you only have the choice of 275s, 285s or 295s. I wish someone made a 305 or a 315 tire for an 18" wheel. Until then it would be pointless for me top upgrade my 18" BBS ACR wheels.

Anyone else have some thoughts or know who makes the best wheel spacer?
-Wayne

 

[venemous]

lethal, Im with you .physics are physics!I was wanting to put spacers on also , for now .Later i want to go to 19" wheels such as the 2005 gts.
J

 

[racewheel]

there are 325 30 18's availble, fit nicely on a 18x11.5 front street wheel package.

 

[Rich Detert]

One of the reasons that you Do Not want to use wheel spacers is that the wheels (factory or aftermarket) are "Hub-Centric". This means that the center hole of the wheel fits snugly on the center stub of the hub on the spindle. The wheels are Not centered by the studs and lug nuts.

When you use wheel spacers it moves the wheel too far out to center on the hub properly. What you will probably end up with are wheel vibration problems.

I ran a BFGoodrich tire dealership for 9 years and anytime we put a non hub-centric wheel or wheel spacers on a front wheel drive or exotic car we ran into vibration problems.

Some time even a hub-centric wheel can give you vibration problems.
We had a Porsche 928 that drove us crazy even though we were putting a $3K set on Epsilon wheels on it.

Do not put wheel spacers on a Viper.