When people are in process of installing a wide body kit, they usually use wheel spacers to push the wheels outwards. Because nobody wants the car to look like there’s a huge hole in the fender. With a wide body kit, the wheels should be wider apart to match the wide fenders. And wheel spacers are just the items that would do the trick for you. The best solution will always be to get wider, lower offset wheels fitting for the wider fenders. However, some people have a limited budget. Thus, you might have to compromise for second-hand wheels. To make these wheels fit properly, you need wheel spacers. By correcting the offset, wheel spacers will solve most of the potential rubbing issues. Depending on how wide the fender is, 1.5″ to 3″ wheel spacers will be OK.
How Do Wheel Spacers Allow for Bigger Wheels?
Changing to bigger wheels and tires is an easy way to upgrade the look of your wide-body car. They also improve the performance. However, there are some problems: if the new wheels and tires are bigger than the OE ones, the tires may rub against the inner wheel well when operating a U-turn or when the suspension bottoms out. To keep the wider wheels and tires functioning correctly, people turn out using wheel spacers. By moving the wheels out, wheel spacers reduce the offset and create more backspace.
In most cases, a larger offset rim can be fitted under the guard by adjusting the wheel offset. As a general rule of thumb, wheel offset minus spacer thickness is the final offset of your vehicle. Giving an example, the perfect wheel offset is +10. And you have +40 offset wheels, to make these wheels fit wider fenders, you need 30mm wheel spacers. The lower the offset, the further the wheel is away from the vehicle hub. The further the wheel is away from the vehicle hub, the better the appearance.
Will Wheel Spacers Cause Tire Rubbing?
By bringing the wheels flush with the wide fenders, wheel spacers provide a better wide-body look. However, if applied incorrectly, wheel spacers may cause rubbing issues. To make everything right, it is recommended to measure the wheel gap. If you intend to keep the current wheels, then you can measure directly. But if you would like to run aftermarket wheels, get these wheels installed, and then measure the wheel clearance. 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 on the front and rear wheels. Assuming the value is 40mm. Adjusting the offset within 40mm will be no rubbing problems. And 40mm wheel spacers will be the best ones that make wheels flush with the fender.
