Originally Posted by EricR

Where's a good source for longer studs? Robi says that he runs a 6mm spacer with the stock studs without any problems. Personally, I'd be more comfortable with longer studs. I know the thread is 12x1.5. Are there specific specs for the knurled part of the stud?

Originally Posted by voidhawk

I'm with Eric, playing similiar games as him. Some info:

Spacers are not always going to increase the cantilever load on the hub/studs, it depends on the wheel offset. If you use them to move out wheels with a stock offset, then yes the load is moved out. If you use spacers to fit a wider wheel and / or a non-stock offset, the relation ship of the wheel's contact surface center to the hub geometry will ideally remain unchanged (or you are growing wider both out of and into the wheel well).

You can use 3 mm spacers (or less) without longer studs. H&R recommends longer studs (and inlcudes them) with any spacer 5 mm and up. Replacing studs is not hard (I did mine in 10 min per hub). However, if you want pure bolt on, use Eibach instead of H&R - they will bolt on to existing studs and have new studs for the wheel integrated into the spacer. Keep in mind you may want to change wheels back to stock (e.g. for winter), and longer studs can be too long for the stock wheels / lugs (unless you keep the spacer on).

Hubcentric is important, you don't want the wheel to rest the load on the bolts, you want it on the hub. The bolts are only meant to support sideways loads, making sure the wheel doesn't come off the hub. Gorilla makes hubcentric rings (adapters) in just about any size. You can order them through summit racing.

Lastly, if you want a "fits like a glove" custom solution, got to http://wheeladapter.com/ - they will make whatever you want at a very good price, and about a week turn around time. You can get hubcentric on both the hub side and wheel side for the same price as off-the-shelf H&R spacers.

Lastly, spacers are always "hit & miss" - you won't really know what fits until you try it. One way to avoid wasting money is to buy a bunch of washers, jack up the car and start stacking them between the wheel and the hub. Unless you run out of stud length, this is the best way to determine what spacers you need. You can gently rest the car on the wheel to see what the fender gap looks like, but let the car's weight still rest on the jack or you may push you studs sideways, making them come loose and then you won't be able to get the wheel off.

When testing the spacing, look for clearance on the fender, the strut (behind the wheel) and the brakes (especially in the front). Also make sure nothing touches at full steering deflection (not just straight).

I've been playing with this a lot lately - so if you have questions, ask away .

Originally Posted by EricR

I just ordered a set of 6mm spacers from wheeladapter.com. He machines them from 6061 T6 stock with hub-centric rings. A little pricey at $40ea but this gets the centering load off the studs and onto the centering ring. Now if I can find the specs for the studs...

Originally Posted by voidhawk

Lastly, if you want a "fits like a glove" custom solution, got to http://wheeladapter.com/ - they will make whatever you want at a very good price, and about a week turn around time. You can get hubcentric on both the hub side and wheel side for the same price as off-the-shelf H&R spacers.

Originally Posted by voidhawk

H&R spacers come packaged with longer studs. You may be able to get just the studs from H&R ordered through speedware, for 5,10, or 15 mm spacers. You can also get 52 mm studs from Road Race Engineering (http://www.roadraceengineering.com/evo.htm).

H&R recommends the following minimum stud / nut engagement: 6.5 turns or ~10 mm of load bearing shaft length. I'm not sure if the stud head is vehicle specific.

Stock stud length is 30 mm, so add the thickness of the spacer you need to get the new stud length (e.g. 30 mm stock + 15 mm spacer = 45 mm studs).

Originally Posted by voidhawk

Nice - let us know how you like them when they come in! Also, I found another source for all kinds of wheel accesories at http://www.prestigewheel.com/

Originally Posted by EricR

I received the spacers from Fred. I had to send them back - a couple dimensions were off. Rather than 6mm thick, they were 6.3mm. The bore should have been 67.1mm + clearance, they were 66.2mm. Seems that they should be able to keep better tolerances that that! He says he'll make them right. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Originally Posted by EricR

I finally got them back today. Tolerance are within .005" - much better. If you order from him, check his work.

Originally Posted by UncleXSO

Wow! Hadn't visited this thread in a while. Took off. I haven't had a chance to test fit the wheels yet. Since I posted here last I had some brake and clutch isses I had to attend to first. I am hoping to fit this week. Thanks for all the updates folks.