Wheel spacers are devices that fit between the wheel and the hub of a vehicle, increasing the distance between the wheel and the axle. They are often used to improve the appearance of a car, giving it a more aggressive stance and filling out the wheel arches. But they can also be used to accommodate larger brake calipers, improve handling and stability, and correct wheel offset issues.

However, installing Subaru Forester wheel spacers is not as simple as it may seem. It is important to install Subaru Forester wheel spacers correctly and carefully, following the proper steps and precautions.

In this post, we will show you how to install Subaru Forester wheel spacers like a pro, using a step-by-step guide and provide and Subaru Forester wheel spacers as example. Let’s get started!

How to Install Wheel Spacers Like a Pro: A Step-by-Step Guide (Subaru Forester and Porsche Macan as examples)

What you will need for mounting Subaru Forester Wheel Spacers

Here is a list of what you will need:

  • Subaru Forester wheel spacers: You will need to choose the right size and type of Subaru Forester wheel spacers for your car. The size of the Subaru Forester wheel spacers depends on how much you want to increase the track width and offset of your wheels, as well as the clearance between your wheels, tires, and brake components. Hub-centric Subaru Forester wheel spacers are designed to fit snugly on the hub of your car. Compared to lug-centric, hub-centric Subaru Forester wheel spacers are generally more recommended, as they provide better alignment and balance for your wheels. In light of the mounting method, Subaru Forester wheel spacers are divided into bolt-on and slip-on Subaru Forester wheel spacers, and bolt-on Subaru Forester wheel spacers are normally called wheel adapters.
  • Wheel studs: You may need to replace your existing studs with longer ones that can accommodate the thickness of the Subaru Forester wheel spacers. You will need to choose the right size and thread pitch of the studs for your car. You can either buy them separately or get them together with your Subaru Forester wheel spacers.
  • Torque wrench: You will need a torque wrench to tighten the wheel studs to the correct torque specification for your car. This is crucial for ensuring the safety and reliability of your wheels.
  • Socket wrench: You will need a socket wrench to loosen and remove the lug bolts or lug nuts from your wheels.
  • Jack and jack stands: You will need a jack and jack stand to lift your car and support it securely while you work on your wheels.
  • Brake cleaner: You will need brake cleaner to clean the hub and wheel surfaces before installing the Subaru Forester wheel spacers.
  • Anti-seize compound: You will need an anti-seize compound to apply on the threads of the wheel studs to prevent them from seizing or corroding.

Which Subaru Forester wheel spacers are reliable?

We recommend BONOSS Subaru Forester wheel spacers. When seeking reliable wheel spacers, the quality and fitment are vital. BONOSS wheel spacers are forged billet aluminum made from aerospace degree 7075-T6 or 6061-T6, ensuring the ample toughness and hardness. The supplementary wheel studs are ISO grade 12.9 and the wheel nuts are ISO grade 10. The surface of the every space has been anodized and exhibits strong corrosion resistance.

Besides, BONOSS insists on independent measuring and mapping to provide extremely precise Subaru F.orester wheel spacers, particularly in the central hub to gain a perfect fitment. The quality of has been fully certified by SGS and TUV. You will never worry about the vibration issue for BONOSS  Subaru Forester wheel spacers after installation with the high quality and 10-year warranty.

Possessing various global patents, BONOSS Subaru Forester wheel spacers are designed in light of customers’ damands. There are heat dissipation grooves behind the spacers which boost the cooling efficiency and reduce brake thermal decay.  In original tires, no space is rest for air circulation to confine the temperature. This active cooling structure aid to relieve thermal decay, boosting the braking effect and prolonging the life of brake calipers.

How to install  Subaru Forester wheel spacers

Now that you have everything you need, you can start installing Subaru Forester wheel spacers on your car. As there are two different types of wheel mounting patterns, one is the stud-on wheel pattern where there are no studs in the hub when starting, and we use studs to secure the wheels after putting the wheel onto the hub; another is the nut-on wheel pattern where there are studs in the hub and we use nuts to secure the wheels, we provide a mounting guide for two different Subaru Forester wheel spacers. Here are the examples of Subaru Forester wheel spacers to follow:

How to Install Subaru Forester Wheel Spacers Like a Pro: A Step-by-Step Guide

For slip-on Subaru Forester wheel spacers:

  1. Park the vehicle on a level surface, stop the engine, pull up the handbrake (or activate the electronic parking brake), and ensure that the environment around the vehicle is safe and undisturbed;
  2. Use the wrench that comes with the car (or a special wrench) to loosen the wheel hub nuts one by one (counterclockwise to loosen), then use a jack to lift the vehicle (refer to the instruction manual for the jack-up position), and the tire can be 2cm away from the ground, place a tripod under the car to ensure safety;
  3. Use a wrench to remove the wheel hub nuts one by one;
  4. Lift the wheel hub off the car and place it flat on the ground, with the outer side of the hub facing up to avoid damage to the hub;
  5. Check whether there is rust on the axle head position and wheel hub center hole position of the vehicle where the wheel hub is installed. If there is rust, use rust remover and sandpaper tools to clean the rusted parts and ensure that the axle head and wheel hub center hole surface are smooth and flat;
  6. First remove the original axle head bolts;
  7. Install the extended bolts that come with the spacer in the corresponding position;
  8. Use the spacer to pass through the axle head bolts and place it on the axle head;
  9. Lift up the wheel hub and place it on the spacer installed on the axle head, use original car’s wheel hub bolts to pass through spacer bolt holes and wheel hub holes, use original car’s wheel hub nuts to fix wheel hub on flange plate (counterclockwise is tightening direction);
  10. Other wheel hub nuts in same way, diagonally tighten one by one (do not continuously tighten two adjacent bolts), torque refers to manual;
  11. Remove safety tripod, slowly lower jack, start vehicle, turn steering wheel left and right at original position, check whether tire interferes with inner side of wheel arch, fender or mudguard or other parts (if interference cannot be eliminated by other means, please replace thinner spacer);
  12. Vehicle moves slowly forward and backward, ensuring that wheel hub rotates several turns before stopping engine, use torque wrench again according to specified torque tighten nuts once more, ensuring complete installation of bolts;
  13. Installation completed.

How does Subaru Forester wheel spacer affect offset?

For bolt-on Subaru Forester wheel spacers:

  1. Park the vehicle on a level road surface, park, turn off the engine, pull up the handbrake (or activate the electronic parking brake), and ensure that the environment around the vehicle is safe and free of interference;
  2. Use the wrench that comes with the vehicle (or a special wrench) to loosen the hub nuts one by one (counterclockwise rotation to loosen), then use a jack to lift the vehicle (the jack position is shown in the vehicle manual), and lift the tire 2cm off the ground, place a tripod under the car for safety;
  3. Use a wrench to remove the hub nuts one by one;
  4. Lift the hub off the car and place it flat on the ground, with the outer side of the hub facing up to avoid damage to the hub;
  5. Check whether there is rust on the axle head position and hub center hole position of the vehicle where the hub is installed, if there is rust, use rust remover with sandpaper and other tools to clean up the rusted parts, and ensure that the surface of the axle head and hub center hole is smooth and flat;
  6. First put the flange plate into the center hole of the original hub and check whether the size is suitable (it can be easily put in and rotated without resistance, and there is no obvious gap or noise when shaking up, down, left and right);
  7. Align and pass through the bolt holes of the large bevel surface of the flange plate and the protruding axle head bolts of the original car, and slowly place them on the axle head;
  8. Use the nuts that come with the flange plate to fix the flange plate on the axle head, similarly, use a torque wrench to tighten other nuts diagonally one by one (clockwise direction for tightening), torque refer to manual;
  9. Lift up the hub and place it on the flange plate installed on the axle head, with the bolts of the flange plate passing through the bolt holes of the hub, and use the original hub nuts to fix the hub on the flange plate (counterclockwise direction for tightening);
  10. Tighten other hub nuts in a similar way, diagonally one by one (do not tighten two adjacent bolts continuously), torque refers to manual;
  11. Remove safety tripod, slowly lower jack, start vehicle, turn steering wheel left and right at original position, check whether tire interferes with inner side of wheel arch, fender or mudguard and other parts due to friction (if interference cannot be eliminated by other means, please replace thinner spacer);
  12. Vehicle moves slowly forward and backward, ensuring that hub rotates several turns before parking and turning off engine, then use torque wrench to tighten nuts again according to specified torque, ensuring complete installation of bolts;
  13. Installation completed.

Installing Subaru Forester wheel spacers can be a rewarding and satisfying project that can improve the appearance and performance of your car. However, installing Subaru Forester wheel spacers can also be a challenging and risky task that can affect the safety and reliability of your car. Therefore, it is important to install Subaru Forester wheel spacers correctly and carefully, following the proper steps and precautions.

In this post, we have shown you how to install Subaru Forester wheel spacers like a pro, using a step-by-step guide. We hope this post has been helpful and informative for you. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Happy Subaru Forester wheel spacers!

subaru forester wheel spacers
subaru forester wheel spacers