GreenMonkey Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 OK so i have heard a lot of you guys talking about spacers! I have assumed that you are on about a small disc that sits between the axel hub and the actual wheel to make them stick out a bit more! Please can someone confirm if this is correct I am a girl after all! Also how much is it for a set and whats the best size? i have heard 20/25mm!?!?! I have an 05 roadster with Rays if that helps/hinders! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbowey Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 yes you are correct about what they are. i have an 05 coupe with the same size wheels as the rays and have 20mm all round but think i could easily get away with another 5mm on the rears. as for price i cant remember where i got mine or how much they were. sure someone will be able to point you in the right direction soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I have just fitted 20mm front 25mm rear to mine last weekend. They look good and really fill the arches well. I bought 1 pair 2nd hand from here (eibachs) and 1 pair from mwtech (on this forum). When held up side by side the eibachs are of a higher quality imo but the others are cheaper and seem to do the job perfectly well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 did you use search..? naughty naughty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 viewtopic.php?f=61&t=31266&hilit=spacers viewtopic.php?f=140&t=36536&hilit=spacers viewtopic.php?f=129&t=37971&hilit=spacers viewtopic.php?f=118&t=38254&hilit=spacers viewtopic.php?f=61&t=38020&hilit=spacers viewtopic.php?f=20&t=32451&hilit=+spacers+what+are* viewtopic.php?f=61&t=30136&hilit=+spacers+what+are* viewtopic.php?f=9&t=35368&hilit=spacers%3F+pictures viewtopic.php?f=61&t=30138&hilit=spacers%3F+pictures viewtopic.php?f=7&t=16288&hilit=spacers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbowey Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 hard at work there John? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 hard at work there John? like a pro im on a dial in, multitasking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 OK so i have heard a lot of you guys talking about spacers! I have assumed that you are on about a small disc that sits between the axel hub and the actual wheel to make them stick out a bit more! Please can someone confirm if this is correct CORRECT I am a girl after all! Also how much is it for a set AROUND £200.00 and whats the best size? i have heard 20/25mm!?!?! CORRECT I have an 05 roadster with Rays if that helps/hinders! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 I fitted mine today, the MWtech ones 20/25. The fit is perfect but I am not 100% convinced on the effect it has had on the steering. Now it might just be me and bear in mind I haven't had the car that long so I am not completely used to it but I have a horrible feeling I have lost a little sharpness in the steering, noticing a little more vibration through the wheel over bumps and slightly worse bump damping in general. Do you think its all in my mind? could it be I was just looking for fault and just noticed something I didn't really take in before as the car is so new to me/novelty factor? Because you are moving the wheels further from the struts and steering axis I realise that in theory there is a possibility of changing steering and damping characteristics but is it in my mind? Ant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWTech Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 this shouldnt be the case anthony ...i have been using them hard on my own rx7 for a number of months now and feel no difference or vibrations through the steering. likewise with 2 local drifters putting them through their paces front and back i made sure they were properly proper tight on ( actually had to keep going over the tightning pattern 3 or 4 times on each nut ) to make sure it was totally unmovable i didnt use it, but perhaps some loctite i think its called, may help also? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 lots of people on here have spacers on and its not really noticeable them doing anything certainly no one mentions it, im sure they do have an effect but you cant tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 OK good, its just me then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 this shouldnt be the case anthony ...i have been using them hard on my own rx7 for a number of months now and feel no difference or vibrations through the steering. likewise with 2 local drifters putting them through their paces front and back i made sure they were properly proper tight on ( actually had to keep going over the tightning pattern 3 or 4 times on each nut ) to make sure it was totally unmovable i didnt use it, but perhaps some loctite i think its called, may help also? Dont get me wrong, its nothing to do with qualiity. The spacers are of exceptional quality. I torqued the nuts to 115nm so they are dead tight Its more the effect of moving the wheels further from the steering axis/struts that I suspected may make a difference, which would obviously be the same for all spacers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjones6699 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 hard at work there John? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 this shouldnt be the case anthony ...i have been using them hard on my own rx7 for a number of months now and feel no difference or vibrations through the steering. likewise with 2 local drifters putting them through their paces front and back i made sure they were properly proper tight on ( actually had to keep going over the tightning pattern 3 or 4 times on each nut ) to make sure it was totally unmovable i didnt use it, but perhaps some loctite i think its called, may help also? Dont get me wrong, its nothing to do with qualiity. The spacers are of exceptional quality. I torqued the nuts to 115nm so they are dead tight Its more the effect of moving the wheels further from the steering axis/struts that I suspected may make a difference, which would obviously be the same for all spacers. Im always paranoid about changes like this, and was keeping an ear / eye etc out for any change in ride quality & feel but i have not felt any detrimental effects. Obviously different people will have different standards though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 I fitted mine today, the MWtech ones 20/25. The fit is perfect but I am not 100% convinced on the effect it has had on the steering. Now it might just be me and bear in mind I haven't had the car that long so I am not completely used to it but I have a horrible feeling I have lost a little sharpness in the steering, noticing a little more vibration through the wheel over bumps and slightly worse bump damping in general. Do you think its all in my mind? could it be I was just looking for fault and just noticed something I didn't really take in before as the car is so new to me/novelty factor? Because you are moving the wheels further from the struts and steering axis I realise that in theory there is a possibility of changing steering and damping characteristics but is it in my mind? In theory this should be the net effect and indeed happen when you fit wheel spacers to the front wheels. The zed is designed, as far as I can tell, with a virtual kingpin axis and zero kingpin offset, i.e. the wheel pivots about a virtual centre struck straight through the wheel thanks to the upper ball joint location. this is condusive to the best steering 'feel'. This gives the best type of handling and no tyre scrub hence why the steering feels 'sharper'. Its likely to be there on all cars fitted with wheel spacers but people simply haven't noticed the difference, th eoverall effect may only be negligible. The other issue with fitting wheel spacers is the increased stress on the wheel bearings, both front and rear. Now it depends on the load capacity of the bearings in use, which will be well in excess of what the car will experience but the net effect of wheel spacers will be reduced wheel bearing life due to additional fatigue per revolution. It would be fairly simple to work out the increase in stress / load on the wheel bearings by lengthening the fulcrum (lever arm) for each mm you extend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 I fitted mine today, the MWtech ones 20/25. The fit is perfect but I am not 100% convinced on the effect it has had on the steering. Now it might just be me and bear in mind I haven't had the car that long so I am not completely used to it but I have a horrible feeling I have lost a little sharpness in the steering, noticing a little more vibration through the wheel over bumps and slightly worse bump damping in general. Do you think its all in my mind? could it be I was just looking for fault and just noticed something I didn't really take in before as the car is so new to me/novelty factor? Because you are moving the wheels further from the struts and steering axis I realise that in theory there is a possibility of changing steering and damping characteristics but is it in my mind? In theory this should be the net effect and indeed happen when you fit wheel spacers to the front wheels. The zed is designed, as far as I can tell, with a virtual kingpin axis and zero kingpin offset, i.e. the wheel pivots about a virtual centre struck straight through the wheel thanks to the upper ball joint location. this is condusive to the best steering 'feel'. This gives the best type of handling and no tyre scrub hence why the steering feels 'sharper'. Its likely to be there on all cars fitted with wheel spacers but people simply haven't noticed the difference, th eoverall effect may only be negligible. The other issue with fitting wheel spacers is the increased stress on the wheel bearings, both front and rear. Now it depends on the load capacity of the bearings in use, which will be well in excess of what the car will experience but the net effect of wheel spacers will be reduced wheel bearing life due to additional fatigue per revolution. It would be fairly simple to work out the increase in stress / load on the wheel bearings by lengthening the fulcrum (lever arm) for each mm you extend. Absolutely, this is what I thought and something many do not consider when carrying out wheel and suspension mods. I think the damping will also be somewhat effected as, as soon as you move the wheel further from the the hub you will be transferring the load point further from the bottom of the strut and effectively putting more load upon the bearing and hub assembly and reducing the load on the strut which will effectively change the damping characteristics. My feeling is that due to the slight reduction in body rigidity on the roadster it may have a greater effect, culminating sadly in some increased scuttle shake as the shock absorbers are no longer absorbing as much of the load. I realise we are talking theoretically however I did feel like some 'dulling' had taken place in ride and steering quality post spacer so I may decide to remove them. The increased width of the car (a pretty massive 50mm at the rear) should increase stability, however I never felt the z was unstable before I started. So the question is, do I go for looks or driving purity? For me purity always wins. Another option of course is a compromise, no spacers up front and less severe spacers at the rear say 10-20mm however that may just look silly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Although i dont have spacers anymore the offest of my wheels achieves a simlilar effect. as an engineer i did think about this.. then realised how cack the car would look with the guff offsets nissan gave it from factory. so ignored it all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Steering feel/handling will be more affected by the change in unsprung weight of the wheel/spacer combination rather than the increased track width since this is what affects the damper characteristics more than anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 hmm i dont know, the damper acts through the arm, the longer the arm the more you change the forces acting on the damper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Stick a heavier weight (say a 20" wheel and a spacer as opposed to a Rays) on the end of the arm and that will affect the rebound frequency and therefore the 'feel' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Steering feel/handling will be more affected by the change in unsprung weight of the wheel/spacer combination rather than the increased track width since this is what affects the damper characteristics more than anything Good point this will also affect it - didn't think of that. I am not sure whether it will make more or less difference than the offset wheels but it certainly will make some difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 hmm i dont know, the damper acts through the arm, the longer the arm the more you change the forces acting on the damper. Exactly! But unsprung weight is also one of the ultimate enemies of motor cars everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 problem with the zed is, if you put aftermarket wheels on and dont put correct offsets of use spacers its going to look very pooor indeed so i dont see how you have alot of choice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 problem with the zed is, if you put aftermarket wheels on and dont put correct offsets of use spacers its going to look very pooor indeed so i dont see how you have alot of choice You are right and we are talking about tiny differences that are probably barely discernible. I'm gonna give the spacers a go for a few weeks and see how I get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.