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Thread: Wheel spacers/studs advice
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09-15-2013, 06:29 PM #1
Wheel spacers/studs advice
Hey guys, I kinda fudged up last night and jumped the gun on some wheel spacers after measuring what I needed to bring the wheels flush with the fender. I have 17" ZR1's 9.5" wide with 56mm offset. I ordered a set of spacers from Motosport Tech, 24mm for the fronts, 30mm for the rears. I now know this is a pretty wide spacer to run... hence, why 30mm is the largest they offered. I neglected to order a set with its own wheel studs as well ... Now my dilemma is, should I just cancel the order and start over, or can someone recommend me the best way to make this work safely? I did a little research and I know I will need longer, stronger and probably thicker studs and lugs. And since I wanted to replace them anyway when I got spacers, that's not a problem. I don't drive the car very hard, maybe once in a while, but I know once is all it takes to break something or worse. Eventually I will be replacing the rear and DS with an S60 or 9" or something along those lines. Then I will be driving the car harder and hitting the track occasionally. I just need to know if I screwed up too much until that time, or will some length and strength keep me pretty safe on the road?
MATT
95 Z28 - Forged 383 LT1, Performabuilt Stage 2 4L60E w/3200 stall, Pacesetter LT's & ORY with a stockish exhaust (E-cutout soon to come!)
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09-15-2013, 06:51 PM #2Xtreme Member
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I ran a thick spacer on my 1/2-ton Ram and drove it like a sports car on 35"s. never had an issue, FWIW.
'72 Nova "HadeSS"
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09-15-2013, 07:04 PM #3
That's comforting lol... the reason I'm asking is because I looked into it AFTER I had ordered them, and saw some posts on other forums (some were from other makes, models) but some were saying that it can be pretty dicey running spacers, couldn't find much info on our f-bodies though... most I saw were guys running 1/4" or less, mine are about 3/4" fronts and a little over an inch rears... Most of what I've read so far has been mixed... some ran them hard never had an issue, some warned against it. Basically I'm hoping someone can refer me to some upgraded studs and lugs. I've been looking at ARP, thinking maybe switching to chromoly?
MATT
95 Z28 - Forged 383 LT1, Performabuilt Stage 2 4L60E w/3200 stall, Pacesetter LT's & ORY with a stockish exhaust (E-cutout soon to come!)
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09-15-2013, 07:17 PM #4Xtreme Member
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As long as you go long enough on the studs to engage enough thread on your lugnuts you shouldn't have any problems.
'72 Nova "HadeSS"
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09-15-2013, 07:20 PM #5
That's good to hear, but I'm still going get something stronger than stock just for peace of mind. I was planning on it anyways, just don't know how big to go with it.
MATT
95 Z28 - Forged 383 LT1, Performabuilt Stage 2 4L60E w/3200 stall, Pacesetter LT's & ORY with a stockish exhaust (E-cutout soon to come!)
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09-15-2013, 07:23 PM #6The FABRICATOR!
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When you switch to an s60 make sure you run shank style lug nuts. My dad sheared off all 5 studs on both sides last week on the street, then again last night at the track on the passenger side. Still investigating why but most searches point to the quality of the fastener. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to run a shank with spacers also.
Chris
1985 Monte Carlo SS
Mods: 9:1 383 LT1, Ported Trick Flow heads, D1SC Procharger, 4L80E, 3.50 9"
Check out the M122 MCSS build thread here!
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09-16-2013, 07:25 AM #7
Thanks for the tip, I won't be switching rears for a while, but I'll keep that in mind. I won't be launching very hard with the car for a couple reasons, one is the 10 bolt, also my u-joint at the rear isn't in the best of shape right now, and now the spacers will have me worried in the rear.
MATT
95 Z28 - Forged 383 LT1, Performabuilt Stage 2 4L60E w/3200 stall, Pacesetter LT's & ORY with a stockish exhaust (E-cutout soon to come!)
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09-16-2013, 02:22 PM #8LTx Guru
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30mm... in the back? That's 1.18" thick and seems excessive. You're going to need a 3" stud. The only thing that prevents the wheel from slipping, and bending the studs would be clamping force of the nuts. Launch on a sticky surface and I would guess something is going to give. The studs already have a large shear load and a large tensile load. Add a bending load and the combined stresses go up, and things start to break. You could minimize the bending load by using shank style lug nuts if the wheels and spacers could accommodate them. Basically, my Weld Pro-Stars have a 1" thick center disc floating between the front and rear forged halves (the two halves are welded together at the rim) of the wheel and the shank eliminates any bending issues.
You would also eliminate the "bending" problem with the "adapters" that bolt to your studs, and have a second set of studs that you bolt the wheels to.SOLD - GONE TO A (VERY) GOOD HOME ! - 94 Formula A3+1: 381ci forged stroker - Callies Stealth, Oliver 5.85 billet rods, BME nitrous pistons / CNC LT4 heads / CC solid roller / TH400+GearVendors OD / 4.11 Strange 12-bolt / 300-shot N2O / Spohn Suspension / roll bar / MoTeC M48 Pro engine management system /a few other odds 'n ends.
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09-16-2013, 04:17 PM #9
It does seem excessive, I hung a string with a small weight down the fender on a flat surface and checked it with a level and measured the distance between the wheel and the string. It actually came out to be about and 1-1/4" in the rear, so I had to go with the largest option they had at 30mm. I don't need to worry about launching on a sticky surface. I don't drag race right now and my tires wouldn't allow for a hard launch anyways. I'm more concerned about taking corners and stuff. I will look into these shank lugs. So basically I'm looking at a 3" minimum stud... that's what I needed to know. Anyone have any idea if these shanks will work with my ZR1's? I'm going to wait til I have the spacers in person to make sure I get the right stuff, but it doesn't hurt to look ahead... had I looked ahead the first time around, I wouldn't of make this thread lol
MATT
95 Z28 - Forged 383 LT1, Performabuilt Stage 2 4L60E w/3200 stall, Pacesetter LT's & ORY with a stockish exhaust (E-cutout soon to come!)
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09-18-2013, 04:09 PM #10
Got a phone call from Motorsport Tech today checking to make sure my order was what I wanted. He asked if I wanted to add the studs to the spacer itself as well. I told him that would be awesome. Thumbs up to Motorsport Tech for checking in. That takes a lot of my concern away, but I may still go with some new wheel studs as well.
MATT
95 Z28 - Forged 383 LT1, Performabuilt Stage 2 4L60E w/3200 stall, Pacesetter LT's & ORY with a stockish exhaust (E-cutout soon to come!)
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