One thing I take issue with, and it's as much with the "name brand" spacers as it is with the "ebay" brands, is that everyone talks about "super high strength aircraft-grade T6061 Aluminum alloy blah blah blah" and nobody seems to talk about the grade (i.e. strength) of the pressed-in studs that ultimately hold the wheel onto the spacer in those high-lateral-force maneuvers. I would personally be more worried about whether the studs will fail in tension (or in torsion when tightening the lug nuts) than I would be about a flat aluminum plate cracking or bursting centrifugally.

 

Threads merged

OP you should really read/search in this thread there is a ton of good info

 

Just installed a set of adapter-type 15mm spacers tonight. I know that as a general rule, lug nuts should be re-torqued after driving 30 miles or so in case they have lost some torque (thermal, vibration, etc). So the question is: do the lug nuts that hole the spacer to the hub also require re-torquing? Seems like they would....but that's a pain in the *****, because you have to remove the wheel, torque the nuts, replace the wheel, torque the wheel lugs, then in another 30 miles re-torque the wheel lugs.

Any thoughts?

 

LOL nobody ever considered this aspect I guess?

 

Very easy way around this. If your running a 20mm spacer or less, it should be a slip on spacer. 25mm and larger, just buy different wheels.

 

I agree that the ideal situation is to have extended studs that accommodate the spacer thickness. In fact last year I did have a set of longer studs installed front and rear to accommodate 10mm spacers, but not 15mm spacers. With the 15mm spacers I was only getting maybe 7.5 turns on the lug nut until it was torqued, which is only 9.4mm thread engagement and I felt I should be getting at least 12mm (1 diameter's-worth) for proper seating. So my options were 1) buy set of longer studs and install them or pay to have them installed, or 2) buy a pair of adapter-type spacers. Option 2 is less expensive, less invasive and a quicker solution. Not ideal, but as long as the spacer is seated properly and securely to the hub, then I think it is an acceptable solution for my street-driven car.

Sorry, not trying to get defensive here, but my question was regarding lug nut seating torque and not whether my solution is the ideal one.

EDIT: I realize this was a standard terrasmak response. But there are enough people out there running adapter-type spacers, and I haven't found one person saying that they went back and checked torque on the spacer lug nuts. Therefore I think it's a valid discussion to have. What good is it checking the torque on the nuts holding your wheel to the spacer, if the nuts holding the spacer to the hub are about to fall off?

 

^ Not real sure what your question is....you pretty much answered it in your original post on the subject. The process you listed is exactly what I did after installing mine, and yes, it is a pain in the ***** but given the situation I thought is was the best option (better safe than sorry).

And just for reference everything was still fully torqued after checking them so not sure if it's completely necessary but it did give me some peace of mind.

 

You answered the question, thank you! I also expect they will be fully torqued when I check them, but the superstitious side of me says that if I don't check them, they won't be torqued.

I did give them a little extra nudge past 84 lb-ft just to be "sure", but I'm thinking this weekend I'll pop the wheels off and check it anyway.


[Side note: I knew the correct procedure was to pop off the wheels and check torque on the spacer hardware, but in all my searching I never saw anyone on my350z talk about it. I figured it was a worthwhile topic to put down in writing for everyone's edification.]

 

Lol...I did too

 

how would these wheel spacers go on? am i not thinking hard enough or are you supposed to drill holes or what??

 

Those holes do not look like through holes unless the pics are not clear to me. And even if you drill through there are no reccess shamfers to make installation possible. What brand and size are those. Maybe I am not thinking hard as well

 

It's magic. OR just the angle of the picture.

 

My guess is those are countersunk holes with an opening for the stud but the angle only allows you to see the countersink but not the opening.

 

oh dear god, they are conical lug seats.. they are simply taken at an angle where you cant see the holes.

you are all fired.. now go facepalm in private.

 

Why are we all fired?

 

Haha looks like a thread got merged.... there was only 2 people in here when I posted haha.certainly wasn't the 40 page " spacers" thread

 

Even just the people in the thread before, its not like everyone was wrong until you posted

 

Probably right, but the angle on that one hole (about 1 o-clock on the spacer to the right) looks like you should be able to see at least the edge of the thru hole, i.e. if you put your ruler on the screen and measure from the front face to where the color changes, versus measuring the entire thickness of the spacer at the same angle, it seems that there either isn't a thru-hole, or they drilled the hole too deep before machining the countersink.

Either way, when you've purchased spacers that thick, you've already purchased wheels that were 2" too narrow.

 

This is a really good point.

 

Just an FYI for anyone in the market for spacers: I needed a set of 15mm adapter-type, hub-centric spacers and was about to purchase the Ichiba V2's from B2AutoDesigns in Florida. When I placed my order I found out the Ichiba's were out of stock, but they offered to sell me their own B2Auto brand spacers (which happened to be a few dollars less than the Ichiba). I figured I would take the chance and support a forum sponsor. Plus the parts shown in the photos B2 posted in their vendor classified thread looked promising.

Received the spacers a few days later and I was pleasantly surprised. The quality is as advertised (appearance-wise). The packaging is professional and the parts were in good condition. The construction appears to be of high quality and feels sturdy, i.e. clean machining work and studs pressed firmly into the spacers. My main concern is that the lug nuts supplied with the spacers, to hold them to the wheel hubs, are a bit of a thin-height design, and I was worried that torquing them to the factory spec (I do 84 lb-ft) would be too much. But B2 confirmed that it was an acceptable torque level so I went for it. After about 30 miles of driving I took the wheels off and checked torque on the spacer nuts, and they were still torqued to spec.

I would recommend these spacers as an alternative to the "name" brands out there. I'll keep an eye on them for how they hold up to weather, road grit, brake dust etc.

NOTE: If you end up buying these, you will need a 17mm thin-walled socket to secure the spacer lug nuts. The spacers do not come with any special installation tools since the lug nuts have a standard hex nut contour. You may need a deep socket since the nut is a bit thin and your stock studs will be protruding through the nuts. Do not use a standard 17mm hex impact socket because the wall is too thick.

I don't know who actually manufactures the pieces, but based on the installation instructions in the package it appears to be someone in Japan.

Here are some pics of the spacers as-received: