# Do wheel spacers help our cars look better? **URL:** \ **Category:** Canada Nissan Automotive\ **Created:** [January 8, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084 "2008-01-08T15:32:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yunwoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b9bd4f/32.png) [@yunwoo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/yunwoo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/1 "2008-01-08T15:32:57Z")
I just wanted to ask if I install wheel spacer on my car, what will differ other than the look? I mean handling… safety…etc? Everything will remain the same except the look? :hmm ---
**Author:** ![pcproa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@pcproa](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pcproa)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/2 "2008-01-08T16:38:31Z")
A lot would disagree that the performance of the steering is negligable. You can especially feel it in the front wheels. An additional track width of an inch feels like the difference between driving a 3 wheeler and driving a 4 wheeler. ---
**Author:** ![pcproa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@pcproa](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pcproa)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/3 "2008-01-08T19:39:20Z")
I feel we’ve really upped the technical speak in the past few days. I will argue about 10mm spacers 10mm spacers on each side = 5.4mm less than one inch total track with opening. Depending on the car, the centre of gravity will lower a certain amount, but lets say, as a rule of thumb, every 1inch = 1cm of drop = 1cm lower centre of gravity. But with the drop you also get things like negative camber. Negative camber goes in hand with cornering stability. So Track stability is improved big time. Ask the 350Z guys what it does to their front suspension in particular, and how it helps handling and stability especially with the top heavy VQ35DE. ---
**Author:** ![pcproa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@pcproa](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pcproa)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/4 "2008-01-08T20:03:39Z")
Tell you what. Go grab a 10lb weight and a blanket. Hold the blanket without about 5 inches of width between it and look at how high the weight is. Keep as much tension as you can between the two to hold it up. Then seperate your hands another 5 inches away from each other and keep the blanket as tight as you can with the weight in the centre. No matter how hard you try, the weight will always sit a little lower. It’s the same principal with cars. Since I’m on my Tablet PC, I drew up something really quickly ![http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o69/pcproa/Random_Pics/suspensionie.jpg](http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o69/pcproa/Random_Pics/suspensionie.jpg) It’s pretty quick and pretty rough, but that gives you an idea of exactly what happens when you put in spacers. You can see negative camber, you can see the car lowers a bit and the track width widens ---
**Author:** ![pcproa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@pcproa](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pcproa)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/5 "2008-01-08T20:16:37Z")
Well, I guess we won’t agree on this then. ---
**Author:** ![pcproa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@pcproa](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pcproa)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/6 "2008-01-08T20:41:38Z")
I was in the shower and thought of this. [http://www.torontonissan.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=1716&highlight=350z+spacer+group](http://www.torontonissan.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=1716&highlight=350z+spacer+group) > [@Time to say Hi!](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/time-to-say-hi/1458/3): > > ^BUMP! Thats a good price david! > > I can vouch for these, they are quite the mod. Once installed they will provide for a more “planted” stance when driving and cornering, while giving it a more aggressive profile. > Great for OEM rims…:drivin > > I would highly recommend. > C:) That’s the feedback of 1. If I remember correctly, David actually drove a 350Z with 10 or 20mm spacers on it one night at CG Underground and he said the driving characteristics were significantly different. T’was part of the inspiration behind initiating this group buy. ---
**Author:** ![RealityZ33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@RealityZ33](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/RealityZ33)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 11:02am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/7 "2008-01-09T11:02:31Z")
I would have to agree with Pat. And from my own personal experience I can tell you that it does greatly improve the vehicles stance. Example of the vehicle sitting lower could be: Noodleman recently purchased spacers for his 350z. After installing them he realized that his rears began to rub. He never had any issues prior to the install. He also requires an alignment because of the added -camber. As I did when I had my spacers. C ---
**Author:** ![noodleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e8c25b/32.png) [@noodleman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/noodleman)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 11:55am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/8 "2008-01-09T11:55:32Z")
i don’t think it’s a matter of lowering the car via the spacers though. It’s only cause the wheels are pushed out too far so that the tire doesn’t clear the fender anymore. I don’t think our stock suspension is so flimsy that it would lower the car to any significant amount. You may get an mm or 2 at the most imo. It’s often an optical illusion that the wheel gap is reduced as the wheels are pushed out. ---
**Author:** ![pcproa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@pcproa](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pcproa)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/9 "2008-01-09T16:57:59Z")
It is not an optical illusion. It’s not about the suspension being “flimsy.” It’s about Physics. What I said was a rule of thumb… 1cm drop for every 1inch outward total distance. It will be different for different cars. Anyway, there’s no point in going on until we get some real world examples. ---
**Author:** ![yunwoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b9bd4f/32.png) [@yunwoo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/yunwoo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/10 "2008-01-09T17:26:26Z")
Hey guys, does this thing damage the car ? ---
**Author:** ![pcproa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@pcproa](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pcproa)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/11 "2008-01-09T17:29:07Z")
It can over time. It will put additional stress on your wheel bearings and a few other parts, but that’s the part susceptible to the most damage. ---
**Author:** ![yunwoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b9bd4f/32.png) [@yunwoo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/yunwoo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/12 "2008-01-09T17:37:51Z")
someone told me that not over 5mm of each side , it should be safe , and put on the rear wheel only. What do you think ? ---
**Author:** ![pcproa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@pcproa](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pcproa)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/13 "2008-01-09T17:43:39Z")
5mm is a pretty minimal change, and should be safe. You’ll feel more gains from a widened front end than a widened rear end. The spacers really should go on the front to maximize the benefit, and you should try to put wider rear wheels on instead of spacers. ---
**Author:** ![yunwoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b9bd4f/32.png) [@yunwoo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/yunwoo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/14 "2008-01-09T17:46:53Z")
so that , u suggest a fit wheel is better than the wheel spacer. ---
**Author:** ![pcproa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@pcproa](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pcproa)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/15 "2008-01-09T17:49:41Z")
Yes, that is my personal preference. Instead of stressing the car with wheel spacers, put on wider wheels and adjustable suspension to get your desired drive settings. ---
**Author:** ![yunwoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b9bd4f/32.png) [@yunwoo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/yunwoo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/16 "2008-01-09T18:13:12Z")
thanks , my next plan will get a wider 17" summer tires in the coming summer , even i can pick the 17" specV wheels on my Versa. HAHA Do u think they fit ? ---
**Author:** ![yunwoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b9bd4f/32.png) [@yunwoo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/yunwoo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/17 "2008-01-09T18:35:15Z")
guys , I found this site - wheel offsets [http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoWheelOffsets.dos](http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoWheelOffsets.dos) where should I put it to ? ---
**Author:** ![pcproa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@pcproa](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pcproa)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/18 "2008-01-09T18:52:14Z")
I know he’s FWD, and I actually hesitated while I was typing the thing about larger rear wheels, but it stays the same. Going too large on the rear wheels in a FWD car can be very bad, but a little bit larger is usually better for stability. During hard braking, if the rear wheels lock up, the back end will want to come around. You can combat that by putting wider rear tires on the back to get grip. I remember reading about this as a review on [Tirerack.com](http://Tirerack.com). The idea behind that review was to show that tires with better tread should always stay on the back, but the concepts also apply to any car with the back wheels being wider. ---
**Author:** ![yunwoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b9bd4f/32.png) [@yunwoo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/yunwoo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/19 "2008-01-09T19:04:22Z")
Also Versa is a front disk and rear drum car… Do i need to care about it? In China people change the rear drum to disk . and replace a Xtrail disk to the front brake. crazy !! ---
**Author:** ![pcproa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@pcproa](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pcproa)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084/20 "2008-01-09T19:06:42Z")
^^^ That type of swap is common between cars. I have the front rotors on my car from a Ford Mustang Cobra. 13" rotors. [Next page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/do-wheel-spacers-help-our-cars-look-better/135084.md?page=2)