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I think I may need some wheel spacers on the rear wheels, to ensure that I have clearance on the bolts that hold the tub on... When I went for a spin earlier on in the build, I had different wheels on (the ones I got from Peter), which had a different off set, and where narrower.
Now I have the BBS ones on, it looks a bit marginal on clearance (ET24, 7J Rims)
I know some of you ar running with them - where did you get them from? I'd like some hub-centric ones, and I'd likle them to be decent quality as they're going to be permenant additions to the car... but I don't think I need them to be very thick - say 10mm on each side.
I got some H&R ones from [url]www.performancealloys.com[/url] 3cm per side with the standard fit TSW BBS reps there's still a good 0.5cm per side clearance
They are hub centric and are the type you bolt to the hub then bolt the wheel to the spacer. Very good quality.
I think mine were Delta Mics. Anyway they were alloy and TUG approved.
10mm may be a bit tricky. It's a bit thick for the "spacer only and longer wheel bolt" option and perhaps a bit thin for the "bolt on and re-use your original wheel bolt" type. Good quality ones ain't cheap - but then you don't really want a wheel falling off....
With my current alloy wheels, I needed 25 mm spacers at the back and 13 mm at the front. Even though they were made for a BMW e30?
At the back I got some of those really cheap wheel spacer kits with screw in extension bolts but they were meant to be temporary.
At the front I used screw in stud converters and H&R 10mm concentric spacers which probably came from eBay.
(The extra 3mm was required because the wheels were rubbing on the wing stays, but as you know, that's another story )
I don't think I need any on the front. The wheel looks centred under the cycle wing, and there's no rubbing (Yet!) of the wheel. Mind you, I haven't taken her above sub-light speeds yet.
Right. I measured my wheels this morning, and I think 20mm would be fine to allow clearance of the tub fixings and to bring the wheel forward to fill the arch without fouling on the lip of the wing during suspension travel.
With that in mind, I just called peformance alloys - and they want £310 for hubcentric spacers and longer bolts (the 20mm hasn't sufficient depth to allow a standard BMW wheel bolt to tighten without bottoming out on the hub)
That's a bit more that I was willing to pay. I think I'll be shopping around.
Right. I measured my wheels this morning, and I think 20mm would be fine to allow clearance of the tub fixings and to bring the wheel forward to fill the arch without fouling on the lip of the wing during suspension travel.
With that in mind, I just called peformance alloys - and they want £310 for hubcentric spacers and longer bolts (the 20mm hasn't sufficient depth to allow a standard BMW wheel bolt to tighten without bottoming out on the hub)
That's a bit more that I was willing to pay. I think I'll be shopping around.
I've ordered some from a place called speedshack now - he only had one pair left (20mm thick, Hubcentric, 4 x 100, 57.1 centre bore), so I got a good deal. He's also supplying longer wheelbolts - All for £65 delivered.
I've ordered some from a place called speedshack now - he only had one pair left (20mm thick, Hubcentric, 4 x 100, 57.1 centre bore), so I got a good deal. He's also supplying longer wheelbolts - All for £65 delivered.
I know that place it's not far from me. I used to go and have a mosey round but never bought anything I can remember. The shop was always crammed full of second hand go faster seats and alloy wheels. Mostly covered in dust because they never seemed to get sold. Last time I drove past it looked like it had closed down but maybe the guy is just selling off the remaining stock?
...peter
Dunno - the chap on the other end of the phone certainly sounded as if he knew his stuff. He ensured that they'd fit, by checking the pattern and bore, and also worked out how much longer the new wheel bolts would have to be. He also seemed to be busy, as whilst he was sorting that out and taking my order he had to fend off several other calls!
I recieved the spacers yesterday, and I've just fitted them. They're solid, well turned lumps of alloy, and are 4 or 5 x 100 PCD:
The longer wheel bolts (50mm) are exactly the right length for the wheel / spacer / disc / hub combintation.
Fits perfectly on the hub centre bore - no play.
and the wheels now fill the arches better, and are well away from the tub and the bolts that hold it, without protruding from the wing:
The only slight pain is that the new bolts had a 17mm head on them, whereas the old ones have a 19mm head, so I'll have to carry two different sockets in case of a flat... And I'll also have to get a pair 50mm long locking wheel nuts. But that can wait until after the test.
In the end I went for 17"x7J with an offset of ET40. I needed 15mm spacers on the back but none on the front (obviously the body work is different on the Cabrio and the Ford running gear means the offset is slightly different to the BMW based Sportster). I used hub-centric Eibach spacers which centre the wheel much better (avoiding wheel balance problems) and allow the wheel loads to be transferred via the hub centre rather than the wheel studs:
) 
for hubcentric spacers and longer bolts (the 20mm hasn't sufficient depth to allow a standard BMW wheel bolt to tighten without bottoming out on the hub)
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