Spacers...

[djkymar]

What the heck is a spaicer?

its this things http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WHEEL...spagenameZWDVW

[VCrossfan]

Easy on him,,We all make spelling errors time to time.geeez

Anyway djkymar to help with your question are you looking for a wider stance?? or is your center bore of your wheel to tight. Myself I would stay away from any spacers ( I have a buddy thats in a chair because of a spacer that broke) but it was in the mid 80's and maybe there much better today. And the one's Billet one's in the ebay add look nice, if you do get some you might have you frontend alignment checked after install...my 2 cents

How was my spelling kpaske...ok???

[Ldub]

IMO, I don't think kpaske was hackin' on the spelling...merely trying to understand what the spacers were for, as I was when I first read this post...
seat spacers?, body lift?, wheels?, etc.

Now that it's clear, I'm with VCrossfan, for a wider stance, get wheels with a more neg. offset...just make sure the centerbore is large enough.
In my much younger days, I worked at a couple different tire stores...one wouldn't install spacers/ adapters at all & the other had a waiver of liability form that had to be signed before any work could commence.
Take that info. for what it's worth...just my two cents.

[Tone]

Geesh, if you couldn't figure out what he was talking about from the pictures, you shouldn't have posted anything! Well designed spacers like those show are fine, just be sure to retorque after the install and a few hundred miles.

I ran 1" spacers until I could find the right wheel as the AMG wheels did not line up with the fender as they should. There is no more negative effect of a spacer over a comparable offset wheel - they both change the geometry and increase the load on suspension components but when done reasonably should not cause any huge problems.

[transio]

My thoughts...

1. Spacers can improve the look of stock wheels by making them more "flush" with the fenders.
   
   
2. Spacers may also improve some aspects of handling by giving your car a wider stance.
   
   
3. Spacers will change your suspension geometry, which can negatively affect other aspects of handling, since the offset is calculated in the manufacturer's suspension design.
   
   
4. Be sure to measure to make sure you're getting the right size of spacers all around. If you go too big, you may rub your fenders and have to trim, due to negative offset changing your suspension geometry.
   
   
5. Hubcentric spacers (used for hubcentric wheels) maintain a true center for the wheels, which makes for better wheel balance. The VehiCross does not have hubcentric wheels, so spacers will make balancing difficult. You should get the wheels balanced on the car (after they're mounted) if you're gonna use them.
   
   
6. In general, it's better to get aftermarket wheels than to use spacers. Going with a wider wheel with the OEM offset will increase contact patch and give you a wider stance with no negative effects.

I have 10mm front and 20mm rear hubcentric spacers on my Audi TT. I'm running 18x8.5 Fikse Profil 10 3-piece wheels. Even though the balance and handling is fine with the spacers, I'm thinking of getting a new outer lips to make them 9" wide front and 9.5" rear staggered and lose the spacers when I wear through my tires.

[Ldub]

Geesh, if you couldn't figure out what he was talking about from the pictures, you shouldn't have posted anything!

The pics were added later Mr. smart guy.

We'all out here in the sticks aren't THAT ignorant.

[transio]

By the way, that picture doesn't look like a spacer - it looks like a bolt-pattern adapter, which won't work with your stock wheels.

Be careful and make sure you get what you think you're getting.

[transio]

Ok, looked at the auction... it's an adapter/spacer. They used adapter technology, but with the same bolt-pattern. I guess this will improve balancing when you mount your wheels. Should work well enough for street use, though I personally hate adapters because the wheel is bolted to a flimsy chunk of aluminum instead of directly to the hub.

IMPORTANT!!! If you plan on offroading your Vehicross DO NOT use adapters or adapter/spacers as pictured above!!! The flimsy aluminum will fail and your wheels will fall off!

This is a hubcentric spacer:



Notice that the lug bolts go right through it and attach the wheel directly to the hub, which is a much stronger setup. Also, the hubcentric ring at the center will maintain the true centering of the wheel. When using a spacer like this, you have to be sure to get longer lug bolts, or else you could shear the threads and (you guessed it) your wheels will fall off.