Can't remove one of my lug nuts after installing wheel spacers!
 

I recently had a set of oem brembos installed at a shop. Initially, my front wheels wouldn't clear the brembos which I wasn't expecting. The shop had a spare set of what looked like 5mm wheel spacers and installed them. I planned to replace those spacers to a better quality one but needed them at the time so I just went with them.

Now, I just tried to remove the front wheels but one of the lug nuts stopped loosening halfway through. I really can't loosen it anymore or else I feel it it'll just break off. It appears the front passenger wheel spacer is slightly misaligned against the hub but not sure if that would be the issue. Any ideas on how to approach and resolve this? May just take it to another shop. Any help would be really appreciated.

I was able to remove the driver side wheel and took a pic of the crappy wheel spacer from shop below for reference. As for spacers, I was thinking about z1's hubcenter spacers or h&r's. If anyone has any experience with either, please let me know.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....ce33e25a6e.jpg

I would guess/bet on a stripped stud based on trying to find correct torque using slip-on spacers without swapping to longer studs.

I'm scratching my head about what kind of wheels won't clear Brembos, which aren't really difficult to clear since they're OEM.

Yeh, at this point, I'm guessing stripped stud as well. So I guess it's possible to strip a stud while loosening a lug nut? Thought it was only the other way around. :dunno:

Wheels are RPF1's in 19x9.5 +22; 19x10 +22. Rears clear but not fronts.
I thought those would clear but obviously not. Shoulda went with more aggressive offsets. Hindsight is 20/20.

So after thinking it over, I plan on buying the z1 hubcentric 5mm spacers with extended studs (not apr's). Once those arrive, drive the car to a shop, have them remove the original studs and install the extended ones. Sigh...

It stripped because it had 5mm less threads in contact. Not enough thread for it to be torqued properly

Yeah, that spacer looks thicker than 5mm. Maybe 10mm? I didn't think there'd be an issue with RFP1's.

most varrstoen +22 won't clear. gotta be +12.

Also finish taking that lug nuts off while you can. it's stripped and if you put back on you risk it stripping more and having to be cut off somehow and ruining your wheel potentially. you already have to replace the stud so save yourself from having to replace a wheel

I don't have a digital caliper but it looks to be around 1/4in using a ruler. Will buy a digital caliper to make sure. But I think I should still have enough clearance with a 5mm spacer.

it's 5mm but looks bigger because it's not sitting flush but who cares about that you need to get that stud off before you can't dude

I can't remove that 1 stripped lug nut at all. It already feels like it need to be cut off. I was thinking of letting a shop handle it. So I just left it alone and re-tightened the other lug nuts.

Do you think its still ok to drive it? I have to drive out of town tomorrow (200+miles).

I would not drive it.

Alright, i'll take that into consideration. Thanks for your inputs.

I'd probably put the nuts on tight enough to hold on the wheel, and flatbed the car to the shop. I might be asking the shop that did the work to fix the car on their dime, considering they installed the spacers incorrectly, and most likely stripped the threads during install. Did they us an airgun, or a proper torque wrench?

Take it back to whomever installed the Brembos and tell them to fix their f**k up.

I ended up driving it back home as no near by rental car places were open during the holidays. Risky I know but just glad I got where I needed to be safe. Didn't experience any vibrations so that was good. The shop that did it is in Columbia, SC. I had them hand tighten the lug nuts. I'm in Charlotte, NC so going back to Columbia is not really feasible. I'm just going to find a reputable shop in Charlotte.

Already ordered the z1 hub centric 5mm spacers and decided to just go with the APR extended studs. Also going to get the shop to replace the non-zinc plated rotors (rusted within days) with Stoptechs. The rust is such an eyesore. After this, I think I'm done with the z and will be moving onto another car.

like what?

I've been looking into modified MKIV Supras. It has to be 2jz-gte + 6spd.
I've thought about importing a JDM version when they become legal in 2018 but I still need to do a lot of due diligence on the process and the differences between the JDM vs USDM versions.

If I can't find a good JDM version, I may settle for a USDM one if I can find one at a decent price. That's one of my New Year's resolution :)

Take it to the shop. Tell them you guys installed this crap, take it off.

And what ever is jacked up they pay for.

Looks like they probably slammed the wrong wheel spacer on there just to make it work. Or if you don't wanna do that. Impact wrench or breaker bar it off and what ever breaks replace it. Can't really magically take it off.

Unless you wanna cut the spaced but even then that might not help you.

Good luck. Just so you know shipping and registering a JDM isn't as easy or cheap as people think.

Some spend upwards of $20k just to ship and register a over seas vehicle here. You literally have to pay hazmat shipping per each fluid i.e. Oil, anti freeze and everything else.

My buddy bought and shipped a half shell and every type of leaf and grass that was found in customs he had to pay some enviormental import fee on for "importing it".

Also there is no real difference between a JDM and USDM aside from the side of drive it is. As far as Supras. I think your heart is a little bigger than your wallet or brains thinking that is your better rout than just fixing a Z with bad wheel spacers..

Shop in Charlotte quoted $400 minimum to fix and install new spacers/studs. I called back the shop in Columbia and they agreed to fix it for free so I'll be going back there.

As for the supra, a buddy of mine imported an 89 soarer through an auction house with good results so I figured I would start by looking there. As a general rule of thumb, it seems like you can expect to pay around $5k on top of the cost of the car going through an auction house to get one imported into the US through a major port, assuming it meets the 25 year exemptions. That $5k should cover things such as sourcing fee, in land transport, export fee, ocean freight, customs clearance, import duty, etc. Any miscellaneous fees relating to customs or basically anything outside of the $5k, I would investigate and address if it will be covered or not prior to any contractual agreement. Whether I go jdm or usdm, the supra would be a weekend car with a classic car insurance plan.

Although I'm annoyed with the wheel spacer mishap, I'm not really startled by it. The spacer/stripped stud is actually the tip of the iceberg of what I went through converting to the Brembos. This is actually my 2nd set of brembos and rotors due to UPS losing my first set and vendors sending me wrong parts during installation. I'm well aware of the type of issues that can arise when it comes to modding cars and experienced my fair share in the past. And I do realize the supra will be on another level. I just need to be ready enough before I make that transition and be willing to accept the responsibilities. Plus, I would feel less guilty spending money on a supra as opposed to the z given the supras marketability and appreciation.