When the rims and tires are not ideal for the vehicle’s original design, you would need wheel spacers. Wheel spacers will move your wheels outwards from the corresponding vehicle hubs. If you want to keep the wheels following the same track, you must have the right offset between the front and rear wheels. In this case, installing wheel spacers on all 4 tires will do.
Wheel spacers are wheel accessories that reduce the offset. Therefore, if one front wheel needs a spacer, it would make sense that the other front wheel on the opposite side would also need it (assuming the rims and tires are the same). For four aftermarket wheels, 4 wheel spacers will make them fit perfectly. But it doesn’t mean all 4 pieces of wheel spacers should be the same thickness. You would have to first check the space on each position.
What Size Wheel Spacers Do I Need for Front and Rear?
If you wish to keep the same proportional track front to rear, then 4 pieces of the same wheel spacers will be OK. But people often like to bring the wheels to flush with the fenders to achieve a more aggressive and powerful stance. Then the sizes of front spacers may be different from the rear ones. All in all, measuring the wheel gap is a necessary step.
- Take a straight edge and place it against the outermost part of the rims/tires, then measure from the outside wheel to the fender line to see how much space you have available. Repeat this for the remaining three wheels. Write the values down. If the value is above 20mm, then you are free to use 20mm spacers.
If you have new aftermarket wheels, you have to consider the offset. Wheel offset refers to the distance from the mounting flange to the centerline of the wheel. The lower the offset is, the more your wheel will stick out. If your offset is +55mm, and the ideal offset is +25mm, then you would need a 20mm wheel spacer to correct the offset. This is generally good for creating a sportier and more aggressive stance.
How Do Wheel Spacers Affect Handling?
By increasing the track width, wheel spacers help your vehicle perform better on the road. The track width refers to the distance from one wheel’s centerline to another one’s on the same axle. In general, a wider track means more grip in almost every application. Even you don’t change the tires, the more track width, the better the handling of curves and swerving. Generally, vehicles prefer to have wider track width to reduce the rolling tendency and to enhance stability. You will have a more comfortable experience when taking corners. Because the load transfer from the inside to the outside is less, the tires are sharing the work better. Even if it is only a few millimeters, you will notice the difference right away.
