Wheel spacers

How to choose

What wheel spacers change

A spacer sits between the car's hub and the wheel, and moves the wheel outwards by exactly its thickness. The wheel's offset (ET) effectively drops by the same amount: an ET45 wheel with a 20 mm spacer sits on the car just like an ET25 wheel. Spacers are most often needed in two cases. Either the wheel's spokes touch the brake caliper, or the new wheels have a higher offset than the car is designed for and the wheel sits too far in under the arch. Others fit them for looks, so the wheel is flush with the bodywork. They are also sometimes called wheel distance plates.

Slip-on or with their own fixing

Thin spacers (marked "Slip-on (no studs)" in the listing) go onto the hub, and the wheel is bolted through them with longer wheel bolts. Thicker ones are first fixed to the hub, and the wheel is then mounted on the spacer itself: on its studs with nuts, or with bolts in its threaded holes. For this setup the back of the wheel must have recesses to clear the spacer's fixings, otherwise the wheel will not sit flat against the whole face of the spacer. Eibach names this as a prerequisite, and H&R writes of its similar system that it usually does not suit steel wheels.

What has to match your car

• Bolt pattern (PCD) - the same as the car's hub and the wheel. Some thin spacers have holes for two patterns, for example 5x100/112.
• Centre bore (DIA) - the spacer's inner diameter has to match the car's hub, so the wheel centres on the hub and not just on the bolts.
• Thread - on spacers with studs or threaded holes, compare it with the nuts or bolts you will use to fix the wheel.
• Thickness - take the thinnest one that solves the problem. After fitting, check that the tyre does not touch the arch with the steering on full lock and the suspension compressed.

You will find your car's PCD and centre bore in the owner's manual, in the markings on the original wheel or from a car dealer.

Longer wheel bolts

With a thin spacer, the original wheel bolts can no longer be used. The new ones have to be longer by at least the thickness of the spacer, otherwise less thread will go into the hub than the car manufacturer intended. H&R puts the requirement exactly like this: the length of the original bolt plus the thickness of the spacer. The thread and seat stay the same as on your current bolts, because the seat has to match the wheel. For the tightening torque, and whether it needs checking again after the first few kilometres, see the spacer instructions and the car's owner's manual.

Rules and driving

Latvia's roadworthiness test rules (Cabinet Regulation No. 295) do not mention spacers separately. Even so, a wheel with a spacer has to stay within the dimensions set by the car manufacturer, and it must not stick out beyond the bodywork or rub against it. Otherwise it is a defect at the test. Some manufacturers' spacers have TÜV or ABE documents in Germany, but H&R points out that an ABE is valid only in Germany. In Latvia it is a sign of quality, not an approval. There are mechanical consequences too: the further the wheel is from the hub, the longer the lever, and the wheel bearings, hubs and suspension parts take a greater load. With very wide spacers the car tramlines more in road ruts, and road impacts are felt through the steering.