Lomag

Hey Guys,

So I finally got around to do the wheel spacers install this afternoon. It took me nearly 4 hours. Most of that time was spent cleaning the rims since they were a huge mess after the mounting & balancing the dealer did of the new tires.

So I got 10mm front spacers which filled the wheel wells perfectly. 15mm rears could have acctually been even larger but that camber situation I posted about in the main forum seems a little awkward. The fronts come very close to rubbing, there's about 10mm space between the plastic liner and the tire itself, if not less.. when the wheels are fully turned lock left or lock right, but no problem. If its not 10mm, the other choice is 5mm and the 5mm spacers don't come with the hubcentric ring so you might have vibration issues and such. I think 10mm/15mm rear, perhaps even 20mm rear would better fill out the wheel wells.. but 20mm is quite aggressive. I'd stick with 10mm (or 8mm if they made it) front and 15mm rears.

One thing I do notice is that there seems to be less body lean when cornering... not that there was much body lean to begin with, but there's even less now. I imagine that's due to the increased track width of the car because of the spacers. 15mm x 2 = 30mm or an extra 1.25 inches wide in rear, that's quite an increase. About 0.75" total increased track width in the front.

So... here's some pics...:

The spacers layed flat... 15mm:


The 10mm spacers for the front:


The 15mm spacers for the rear:


Here's the spacers together with my longer threaded bolts for the front which are a must for the spacers. I had the heads powder coated black which cost me an extra $2 per bolt, $40 total, at a local shop. The reason for this is that longer threaded bolts only come with silver heads which don't match BMW's OEM black bolts. I found black caps online for $2.39 so powder coating them black was cheaper and better IMO.



Here's the 10mm spacer installed:


Here's the 15mm spacer installed:


Here's the powder coated black bolts installed. They used a gloss finish rather than flat because I forgot to tell them. It's not so shinny in real life though as in the picture.. that's due to the camera flash.



So finally, here's the comparison pics. First the front:









Here's a picture of the rear with the right side having the 15mm spacer installed and the left side with no spacer -- original. The car is a little crooked because it was jacked up for over an hour and the suspension didn't have time to settle before I took the pic. Nevertheless, you get the idea.



And now the rear comparison shots:









Overall I'm very happy with the new look. Really aggressive looking from the back and front, especially with the M-Kit. It's hard to show in pictures but in here in real life it looks awesome.

You got a little preview of the M-Aero Kit install also. I'll post pictures of that on Monday or Tuesday when the cold weather and rain goes away. Hopefully, it should be 70+ next week versus the high 50's and low 60's this week.

jtp1947

Very nice!!! Thanks for all of the comparison shots, really great visuals. Can't wait for the pics next week.

jsal

Looks great! I have been waiting to see the shots - letting you figure it for the rest of us. I think I will now follow suit.

I talked to my local tire shop that I deal with and the guy gave me a list of reasons why not to use spacers. But I see on yours, they solve the biggest concern by having a hub rim.

Let us know if you have any rubbing (front on hard turns/parking lots) or vibrations (like up at 100+).

I would not be able to tell if I had any vibrations or not as I am still waiting for my new tires.

ULtraPLanet

Great right up and pictures Thanks! So you don't go down to 10mm or less until full lock?

Rudy

I'm curious, what were all the reasons the tire guy said not to use them?

Lomag

Yes.. perhaps even a little less. That is to say that on the front side of the wheel well nearest the front end of the hood.. it's a little tight but doesn't rub. The rear side of the wheel well nearest the windshield has enough space, no problem there.

I'm really considering dumping the 15mm's in the rear and getting 20mm's. In the front, the 10mm spacers brought out the wheels perfectly but the 15mm in the rear still leaves the wheels in a bit and doesn't match the fronts. I'll have to take more looks and measurements to make sure it's alright.

What do you guys think? Is 20mm for the rear over-doing it? I know when I was researching this there was a lengthy discussion between 12mm or 15mm for the rear but now I'm thinking 20mm's would have been even better...

PS. I noticed no one's commented on my decreased body roll comment after the spacers were installed. Has anyone who's installed these things noticed that or is it just my imagination?

stream

I like! Thanks for the comparison pix.

pmmeke

I installed 2O mm rear this afternoon by our tuning shop.
Look great. I think it clears but havent realy did a run fully loaded.

Lomag

Yep, 20mm in the rear looks better to me but definitly no more. I'll probably switch over. I'm sure someone here will want the 15mm's I got. Infact I had someone PM me about it like an hour after I posted last night.

ULtraPLanet

Did you put any in the front?