Bolt on wheel spacers

The issue is these Ichibia wheel spacers DO NOT FIT! this is the 2nd set, at first I thought I got the wrong one (diff part#s) but alas the collar on the taper interferes with the hub just like the other one. You cant fit a 53.5mm ring around a 59.5mm ring.

I do not wish to grind these to fit because that defeats the purpose.

I do not feel comfortable bolting these down like this, seems dangerous and wrong.

this was part# WS-55114595A

I thought drifters used this stuff all the time, what gives? Has anyone else had this issue on the front hubs? They fit on the back because the wheel bearing doesn't poke out on a spindle like the fronts. These are expensive nice looking pieces of poop.

Save your "BUY PROPER SIZED WHEELS/TIRES" argument/comments for another thread because I don't give a E36 M3.

I'm really not comfortable to get these milled to the correct size either.

What I see is that the rim wouldn't fit anyway. The hub on the car is 59.5mm and the rim you are trying to use has a 53.3mm opening. Not going to work even if you get the spacer to seat against the hub. Now if the hub was wide enough to cover the whole bearing race on the hub then you would have a shot. I'm guessing that that would then put the rim outside of the fender opening. Have the rim machined to a 59.5mm hub size and then you won't have a issue.

well, first of all you are right not to bolt them down like that.

Second, are these "spacers" or "adapters"? Spacers should match the hub (if you have a 59.5 hub the spacer center should match that, and provide a 59.5 lip for the wheel to ride on). But you may be able to source an adapter that fits a 53.5 wheel to a 59.5 hub. Maybe the PNs are wrong? Or you are running non-stock front hubs?

What is the measurement of that lip on your hub? The spacer should be a tight fit on that (but it should fit on it).

EDIT: OH! is it the dust cap that is interfering with the spacer/adapter or the hub interfering with the spacer/adapter?

If it is just the dust cap I would imagine that you might be able to find a different dust cap that does not interfere, or even just beat the existing one in a bit to make it clear.

Finaaaaaaly, one last idea. those rotors look non-stock. Is it possible that they are 'thinner' than stock on the face that the wheel bolts run through leaving the hub sticking out further than normal?

In reply to brad131a4:

Exactly! PLUS The outer diameter of that lip on the spacer is 59.5mm, so if you machine the spacer to fit you loose hubcentricity to the wheel since now the wheel is only bolted to the spacers since there will be no more inboard contact with the ID of the wheel matting to the OD of the hub surface.

Same bolt pattern, they are spacers.

OEM wheel/hub is 59.5m.

Part#s are correct based on their website.

rotor is not stock and doesn't/shouldn't matter because the spacers are not even reaching there.

I don't think aftermarket front hubs exist for the FC rx7, they are "non serviceable" due to the design

The dust cap is a smaller OD than the hub OD the spacer is not contacting the dust cap.

Aaaah. It took me a few minutes but I see it now. The counterbore on the spacer isn't deep enough. It's the correct diameter, but the spigot on the hub is too long and keeping it from seating all the way.

I don't see a way to accurately fix the spacer without a lathe. But, you could possibly cut a little of the hub spigot off to achieve the same thing.

Ya thts a job for the lath. Wish you were closer the guys at my work could fix it up in no time. I run spacers on my FC they are thicker then those if you would like I can see if they have a brand name on them tomorrow.

Burrito wrote: Aaaah. It took me a few minutes but I see it now. The counterbore on the spacer isn't deep enough. It's the correct diameter, but the spigot on the hub is too long and keeping it from seating all the way. I don't see a way to accurately fix the spacer without a lathe. But, you could possibly cut a little of the hub spigot off to achieve the same thing.

bingo! but I think if I lathe it out then I loose the wheel being hubcentric

Skervey wrote: Ya thts a job for the lath. Wish you were closer the guys at my work could fix it up in no time. I run spacers on my FC they are thicker then those if you would like I can see if they have a brand name on them tomorrow.

I could always mail them...

let me know what you use though, I don't think I can go 20mm because then I will be worrying about fender clearance. 10-15mm is plenty fine though, hell 5mm may be okay even. The 225/55/16 tire BARELY hits the shock/spring in the front. If I could adjust my camber in the front to a little more negative it would not be an issue.

either send those adapters back (they are adapters- spacers don't come with their own studs) and get some that fit, or find someone with a lathe that can open up the center bore so they fit. and if the center hub disappears and the wheels need to be lug centric, then do it that way. it works fine. i've done tens of thousands of miles on the old slotted unilug wheels with center bores that were 1/2" bigger than the hub on the rotor or axle on 4000+ pound cars and never had a problem...

So the hub is a touch under 59.5mm right? Take a die grinder and open up the 53.5mm portion being careful not to touch the 59.5mm portion. This will probably wipe out that wheel centering ring (which is why that annoying counterbore exists) and you'll have to run lug centric (the necessity of hub centering is massively overstated) but that's the only way to make an adapter that thin work.

Also another problem I see is that your existing studs will interfere with the face of the rim. If your rim has a flat face then what you're trying to do won't work even if you could bolt it down correctly.

I have used spacers with studs that aren't hub centric without issues for years. The only time I make sure that they are hub centric is with lug bolts. If you have to use wobble bolts then it's mandatory it's hub centric.

What you have as stated before are adapters even though you have the same bolt pattern. If you just need to space the rim out far enough to miss the strut then get a 10mm hub centric spacer. You will have enough threads on the original studs to bolt your rims on with.

H/R spacers have been doing this for a long time and I have never had a issue with any of the spacers I've gotten from them. If I did have a issue it was from the users side giving them the wrong info.

I checked mine and they are no names... They also change the bolt pattern from 114.5 to 120 for a set a BMW wheels.

What did we ever do before "hub centric" became THE thing ?

we did lug centric … which is what I still do ..even if the wheel seems to sit tight on the hub … I loosely tighten the first lug nut, the do the same around the wheel … wiggling the wheel as I tighten each lug nut … eventually all the lugs are torqued and centered … regardless of whether or not the rim is HUB centric … no out of balance problem

iceracer wrote: What did we ever do before "hub centric" became THE thing ?

We torqued that E36 M3 down with the air ratchet set on 100...AND WE LIKED IT!

In reply to iceracer:

I suspect we knew it didn't matter any unless you use wheels that take flat face lug nuts or wobble nuts/bolts.

Well I emailed Ichibia and they made me take measurements and told me that for this style spacer to work I would need at least a 22mm spacer. Which, long story short; wont work for me/be way more costly for no reason.

So now Im thinking longer studs and a slip on 10mm spacer, maybe even 5mm would work. but on the .5" from oreilys, I am not confident in the number of threads engaging the lug nuts

FC RX-7? Mazdatrix has instructions on their site for how to change front bearings, but the hubs can be removed without damage in front at least for a stud change (I've done it and it's quite easy). There are "super now" aftermarket front hubs as well, not that you need them. ARP studs for late model Camaro/Corvettes work, the shorter, 2.5" long ones in back are something like 3/4" longer than stock, but only marginally longer in front, so I ended up going to the longer 3.25" versions in front, which end up a bit longer than rears. If you want, you could cut them shorter in order to run center caps or closed ended lug nuts.

I had a rear wheel bearing die on my old FC and had the shop swap in the longer studs while they were doing the bearings, re-using the old hubs. It wouldn't be a bad idea to just get the rear bearings changed anyway, as they're likely old and may be on their way out anyway. I used some generic 7/16" spacers for my track wheels, but if I had to do it again, I'd want spacers that were hubcentric. I think that the wheels were fine being lug centric, but I got vibrations on track (well above highway speeds though) that I felt were due to the spacers being off center, as they were a loose fit and I had to try and manually center them when bolting on the wheels.

My vote would be to get longer studs and exchange those spacers for some bolt through ones that are hubcentric to the car, but without that troublesome hub extension bit.