[AdamIsAdam]

I have always been against spacers for safety reasons. But truth be told, I never looked into them seriously until recently when I learned that Porsche says they can be used safely when applied correctly. I have 7mm on my rears now. But of course now I'm freaked out by this video.

I guess one needs to remove the wheel and spacer to check this. I wonder if there's a tolerance involved where one combination of parts might be ok, but then mixing those parts (like by rotating wheels left to right) could have different paper test results.

 

[jkat]

Interesting. Would torquing it down when mounting it correct that small difference and make it flat?

No

 

[jkat]

Spacers=bad idea.

Uninformed opinions = bad idea

 

[jkat]

There are no legitimate safety concerns when spacers are used intelligently (i.e., don't stack 2 inches of spacers). My original plan was to use the spacers only on the street, and remove them for track use "for safety". When speaking with my local indy shop, which has a TON of racing experience and has won pretty much every Porsche-related championship there is to win, they had no concerns with running spacers on track.

 

[worf]

Porsche has a long history of option M415: "widened rear track" aka wheel spacers.

Nothing wrong with spacers on the rear.

Nothing wrong with spacers on the front. Of course decreasing front wheel offset will increase bump steer, rut following, etc. Whether noticeable or not will be due solely to butt-o-meter sensitivity.

In most of the world AFAIK (EU definitely) regulations strictly disallow any - even a smidge - of "poke." And non-approved add-ons (or even replacement parts) are illegal. Thus, the obsession with "poke" is uniquely American I think. 🤔

 

[Thunder]

Uninformed opinions = bad idea

Factory specs and engineering >>>> cosmetic changes with absolutely zero performance benefits.

 

[jkat]

Factory specs and engineering >>>> cosmetic changes with absolutely zero performance benefits.

Gotta love the trolls that feel the need to tell everyone how bad spacers are when nobody asked that question.

 

[PeC]

Factory specs and engineering >>>> cosmetic changes with absolutely zero performance benefits.

they do have performance benefit.

 

[Thunder]

they do have performance benefit.

OK. If you say so.

 

[Thunder]

Gotta love the trolls that feel the need to tell everyone how bad spacers are when nobody asked that question.

 

[Tsaico]

There are videos being tested to determine if the spacers are good or not. Not all spacer batches are created equal, nor are the wheels. simply, the test involves with a piece paper placed between the spacer and the hub. if you can pull that piece paper out on that hub, its no good. keep testing them till you find a mated spacer onto your hub. Racers uses them, but, they test them!!

 

[TooTurbo]

I doubt actual racecars use spacers because why would a vehicle dynamic's engineer add unsprung mass and mess with kinematics they worked so hard to achieve

 

[PeC]

I doubt actual racecars use spacers because why would a vehicle dynamic's engineer add unsprung mass and mess with kinematics they worked so hard to achieve

Actual racecars position their wheel to the edge of the fender.
Road cars does not.

 

[worf]

Actual racecars position their wheel to the edge of the fender.

Not with spacers.

 

[jkat]

If anyone bothered to watch the video I posted in the OP, you would see that it is, in fact, an actual race car and it is using (GASP) spacers! Oh, the horror!!!

 

[TooTurbo]

Let me clarify, not a street car for the track. Do what you want, doesn't matter your car. Want to do it for aesthetics sure go ahead.
Cars used in a racing series with technical regulations, strong competition, and tons of sponsors and money on the line are not using spacers. It's an extra point of failure and vehicle engineers are most likely coming with their own modifications to keep unsprung mass down and maximize the performance within the regulations.

 

[Thunder]

Let me clarify, not a street car for the track. Do what you want, doesn't matter your car. Want to do it for aesthetics sure go ahead.
Cars used in a racing series with technical regulations, strong competition, and tons of sponsors and money on the line are not using spacers. It's an extra point of failure and vehicle engineers are most likely coming with their own modifications to keep unsprung mass down and maximize the performance within the regulations.

It’s all about aesthetics. Even if spacers gave some finite, calculable performance improvement, no one on this forum, no one, would be able to drive his or her car to the level where this theoretical improvement would be noticeable beyond the car with the factory specifications.

 

[ReidMcT]

if you can pull that piece paper out on that hub, its no good. keep testing them till you find a mated spacer onto your hub.

Does Porsche use something like the paper test to match wheels to hubs? Or does the need arise only when spacers are added to the mix?

Are all spacers, by all brands, equally suspect? Are there no brands known to always be flat? I've not gleaned from this thread whether it is one brand, or more than one brand, that have been shown in fact not to fit flat. IOW, an industry-wide alert, or a more specific warning?

 

[damonb10]

If anyone bothered to watch the video I posted in the OP, you would see that it is, in fact, an actual race car and it is using (GASP) spacers! Oh, the horror!!!

I appreciate the info you shared. It was helpful and I did learn something to pay attention to should I go down the space road. Thanks!

 

[jkat]

Let me clarify, not a street car for the track. Do what you want, doesn't matter your car. Want to do it for aesthetics sure go ahead.
Cars used in a racing series with technical regulations, strong competition, and tons of sponsors and money on the line are not using spacers. It's an extra point of failure and vehicle engineers are most likely coming with their own modifications to keep unsprung mass down and maximize the performance within the regulations.

Sigh. Have you watched the video I linked? That's James Clay and his BMW M4 GT4. Pretty sure he's a professional driver in a racing series with tons of sponsors, technical regulations....

That's a stack of spacers he's holding in his hand, that he's using on his race car. The one he's driving in a professional racing series. With tons of sponsors. And regulations.