So I got bored the other week and decided to undertake a little project. I've gotten pretty good at running the CNC mill lately, so I figured now was the time to do something useful with those skills :) So I modeled up some 20mm spacers and got to work. I started out with 2 big billets of 6061 Aluminum:
I then cut these in half and chucked them up on the lathe to do the inner bore, OD and facing operations:
Then it was back on the lathe to do the facing for the 57.1mm centerbore. After that, I fabbed up a custom jig for the CNC mill:
Once I had that, it was time to start making parts! Each spacer took about 18 minutes of time with a 10 inch/min feed rate and a 0.2" step-down. Here's how they turned out:
Overall I am really happy with them. Now I just need a set of wheel studs and I'm good to go! i've always hated the way stock wheels on these cars look like they're being sucked in towards the center, so these should bring the tires out to just short of the fender. I may or may not have to roll my fenders, we'll see. And if they're too big and I don't like it, it's really easy to throw them back on the lathe and take off a few mm.
To anyone who has ever thought of making their own spacers, FYI it took me a good 16-18 hours of modeling, cutting, lathe and CNC time. So consider all that time when you're thinking about 'what a good deal' it could be. Because $200 to Tire Rack or whoever might actually be the good deal. But if you're interested, I can send you the Edgecam/Catia/Solidworks models, or the NC code.
Each blank started out at about 950 grams. After the lathe they were down to 687 grams and after the CNC they're down to 149 grams. So overall, the increase in unsprung weight is small.
I then cut these in half and chucked them up on the lathe to do the inner bore, OD and facing operations:
Then it was back on the lathe to do the facing for the 57.1mm centerbore. After that, I fabbed up a custom jig for the CNC mill:
Once I had that, it was time to start making parts! Each spacer took about 18 minutes of time with a 10 inch/min feed rate and a 0.2" step-down. Here's how they turned out:
Overall I am really happy with them. Now I just need a set of wheel studs and I'm good to go! i've always hated the way stock wheels on these cars look like they're being sucked in towards the center, so these should bring the tires out to just short of the fender. I may or may not have to roll my fenders, we'll see. And if they're too big and I don't like it, it's really easy to throw them back on the lathe and take off a few mm.
To anyone who has ever thought of making their own spacers, FYI it took me a good 16-18 hours of modeling, cutting, lathe and CNC time. So consider all that time when you're thinking about 'what a good deal' it could be. Because $200 to Tire Rack or whoever might actually be the good deal. But if you're interested, I can send you the Edgecam/Catia/Solidworks models, or the NC code.
Each blank started out at about 950 grams. After the lathe they were down to 687 grams and after the CNC they're down to 149 grams. So overall, the increase in unsprung weight is small.
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