forced to go without a hub-centric spacer

[thejimlab]

I got a set of old school e21 BBS RA's for almost free. (pics soon I promise) the are 15 inch, et13. The rears mounted fine, but the fronts were hitting the caliper. The smallest hubcentric spacer I could find was 13mm, I put that on and the fronts stuck way out, tire was actually hitting the fender. So, I went to pepboys and got some piece of crap $12 spacers that are 1/4 inch, with a little bit of riggin they went on, but now my wheels are definately not hub centric. I took her up to about 85 on the highway, no noticable vibration (not any more than normal anyway). Should I be worried about the setup?

[T.Dot E30]

Not anymore than normal?

Vibrations are not normal.

[IS]

What he said - make sure your tie rods, control arms, and steeing shaft u-joints are in good condition.

I wouldn't worry too much about the 1/4 inch spacers. NONE of them are hubcentric because there isn't enough material there - plenty of people use them for applications such as yours.

[egk2]

I run a tiny 5mm hubcentric spacer up front, tunershop can get them for you, it was the only place I could find that sells them, like mentioned above, usually hubcentric spacers require a bit more material above 10mm thick.

[thejimlab]

Unfortunately, slight vibrations are normal in the crapstar 500 (that's the name of my car).

[arsevader]

What he said - make sure your tie rods, control arms, and steeing shaft u-joints are in good condition.

I wouldn't worry too much about the 1/4 inch spacers. NONE of them are hubcentric because there isn't enough material there - plenty of people use them for applications such as yours.

Wouldn't be so quick to say "none" as they are available but not sure if they make them for E30 applications.

There are also issues with some wheels like the K1.

http://www.zeckhausen.com/Product_Descriptions/hubcentric_wheel_spacers.htm

[straight6pwr]

I run a tiny 5mm hubcentric spacer up front, tunershop can get them for you, it was the only place I could find that sells them, like mentioned above, usually hubcentric spacers require a bit more material above 10mm thick.

how much did they charge for the pair? tunershops website is really confusing when it comes to the spacers. i cant seem to even find 4x100 hucentrics.

[egk2]

how much did they charge for the pair? tunershops website is really confusing when it comes to the spacers. i cant seem to even find 4x100 hucentrics.

IICRC it was $86 for the pair and $45 to ship.

[Mystikal]

I bought 3mm spacers locally for $15usd for the pair (my 17" RS' just touched the calipers even after shaving them down). Ran them with stock lugs, no vibes.

[cheades]

Are you sure the wheel was hitting the caliper?? A 15" wheel should clear your brakes easily and et13 should put them way out away from everything.

[Mystikal]

Are you sure the wheel was hitting the caliper?? A 15" wheel should clear your brakes easily and et13 should put them way out away from everything.

Offset doesn't really have much to do with the caliper spacing, it's all about the spoke pattern and shape.