(T) Alloy Wheel Fitting (hubcentric or not)

OK I've got some new wheels and tyres 14" x 6J et38 running 195/45-14 tyres. The wheels are 100pcd so I'm using wobbly bolts (ie the tapered shank that locates the wheels is oversized on the bolt allowing it to fit offset to the bolt centre)

So the question is which is more important getting the offset right using the correct 9mm (10mm) spacers or getting the wheel location right using hub centric spacers. I cant seem to find any 10mm hubcentric spacers at a sensible price.

Does a few mm to the track centres make any significant difference to the handling or is the spacing issue really just about getting the wheels to clear the arches and suspension? [technically increasing the track will allow the suspension to settle lower and give slightly more camber (and vice versa) but I can't believe a few mm makes any difference compared to the difference of carrying an extra person in the car]

Has anyone had any problems with wheel location using plain spacers where the wheel does not locate onto the hub centre rim?

I would appreciate your comments and experience in similar circumstances.

i would say it dose matter, might only be few mm, but look what a diffrence a tiny lead weight makes on the edge of a wheel.

Do yourself a favour and get hubcentric spacers. It puts your wheels directly in the centre of the hub and will stop any chance of the wheel wobbling. I got some from trackstore. Give them a ring they are very helpful.
There web site http://www.trackstore.co.uk/

For getting the track correct, you need to consider arch etc. clearance pretty much above all else. To give you an example, Sei Abarth 5.5x14" wheels are a 36mm offset and are fitted to the rears with no spacer, but a 10mm hubcentric one on the front instead of the normal 3mm one on standard alloys. Add this up and a Sei abarth runs 36mm rear and 29mm front (36-10+3).

When on the 15's, I run 6.5x15 34mm offset, 3mm rear spacer, front spacer removed. Catches the rear arch/skirts and the front arch liners on full lock.

.

Thanks Mototworldchink I'm getting my bolts from trackstore but they don't do hubcentric in 10mm only 5mm or 15mm. and the only others I could find were over £30 a pair plus delivery (Novitec)

Thanks for this pete, I must admit I've seen your previous posts on this and was basing my thinking on what you are running. I think I will try the existing 3mm. hub-centric spacers on the front and some 6mm on the rear first. This should give a front offset of 35mm and a rear offset of 32. Hopefully as my wheels are 14" I should have at least 12mm more clearance on the radius to avoid the rubbing problems you have with 15"s.

What is your view about ordinary spacers and wheel location. As the simplest alternative for me will be to just use some 10mm spacers all round. I think there will be enough clearance inside the wheel arch to accomodate the extra 16mm trackwidth each side.

Michael

Quote:
Originally Posted by AIJ29
Hi
I`ve just read an old post on wheel spacers,it said you have 14 by 6j wheels with a 38mm offset,i`ve just bought some exactly the same size and i was wondering what size spaces and tyres you`ve used.
Thanks
Adrian



Adrian,
Not sure if this was the post http://www.fiatforum.com/cinquecento-seicento/17727-alloy-wheel-fitting-hubcentric-not.html

These were on my old car. I ended up using 6mm on the front and the 3mm (from the front) on the rear with wobbly bolts from trackstore. Tyres were 195/45

But I would recommend 8 or 10mm and hubcentric for the front if you can get any.

6mm. was not big enough as the track rod end was touching the wheel rim, I think pete did not have this problem with 6mm because as he was using 15" wheels the trackrod would have been inside the diameter of the rim. I cheated and ground a few mm off the rim on the trackrod end (as manufactured they are wider on the edges than in the centre)

Also whilst I did get away with not using hubcentric they did wobble a bit at first (its a bit like when wheels are not balanced properly). I found that if you took care in tightening the bolts 1/2 a turn each on the diagonally opposite bolts they would centre properly (also using copperslip grease on the washers).

I hope this helps, I will also add it to the end of this post so that it may help others.

Regards,

Michael