Anyone else using wheel spacers? How about using them without longer studs? Getting any vibration. From searching around the org., i think that im going to get the h&r wheel spacers but dont really know if i should get longer studs. Advice???

Thanks,

Scott

 

The H&R kit I have came with longer wheel studs. You should use them because you don't want your lugnuts to be gripping onto a shorter length of wheel stud than they were designed for. (Can you say wheel fall off?) Some people are able to use relatively thin spacers (i.e. 5mm) without changing to longer wheel studs without any problems, but just to be safe, I wouldn't recommended it.

 

Are you guys generally just using wheel spacers for the rear??? how long of a spacer are you putting in? I have 18 X 7.5 rims, and ideas on what i should go with?

 

Depends on your wheels' offset & how far out you want to go.

My aftermarket wheels have a +40mm offset (OEM) & I chose the H&R 5mm spacer kit for the rear to fill out the wheelwell a little better.

I would not recommend using spacers without longer wheel studs. It's not safe, even with a 5mm spacer.

I have no vibration problems with the H&R kit. It's very high quality (aluminum magnesium alloy) & the spacers are hubcentric, which virtually eliminates the possibility of vibration.

I'm happy with the improvement on the rear, but I almost think it could go out a little more. Someday, I may spring for the H&R 8mm kit & put that on the rear & move my 5mm kit up to the front.

Maybe. . .

 

what are wheel studs?? how/where would u get longer ones if u got wheel spacers?

 

Those "threaded thingies" you put your lug nuts on.


Longer studs are available at most auto-parts stores or are included with the purchase of a high quality spacer kit like the H&R. If you're buying them separately, buy them long enough to offset the difference in reduced thread area caused by the spacers you choose. Ie: if you get a 5mm spacer, the replacement studs should be 5mm longer than OEM.

The auto-parts store will be able to help you. Or, you could get the H&R kit - I recommend.


Holy dead-thread revival, Batman!

 

What's the furthest one should stick the wheels out the side, or maybe I should say what's the safest size with visible difference. I was thinking of having them stick out a bit. What are the pros and cons? Thnaks.

 

Regardless of whether you use spacers to achieve a particular offset value, or choose a wheel with a lower offset # (to push the wheels further out), ideally, you should stay somewhere between +35mm -> +40mm offset on a 4th Gen Maxima. +40mm is the OEM offset. I have +40mm offset aftermarket wheels with a pair of H&R 5mm spacers in the rear. So, effectively, my offset is +40mm in the front, +35mm in the rear. I like it.

As far as safety is concerned: any H&R spacer kit available for your car is engineered to be safe. It is a myth that using spacers is "unsafe." Spacers are only unsafe if poorly designed and/or the user doesn't upgrade to longer wheel studs.

Do a search on "offset" or "wheel offset" for more info.

 

I wouldn't suggest introducing spacers for your car unless it serves a functional purpose (ie: clearing your big brake calipers). IMO- it's a lot of trouble to go through.

Back to the post question, the need for longer studs depends on what size spacers you go with. For example, you will get away with 5mm spacers without the need for longer studs.

Longer stud replacements are available from Courtesy Nissan.

KWheels can correct me on this but problem you may have with longer studs is if/when you decide to put the stock wheels back on, you'll need to change the studs back to OE.

Here are the H&R 10mm spacers I have in order to clear my big brake kit, these were actually 15mm spacers but shaved down to 10mm (H&R does not offer 10mm for Maxima application). The kit comes with longer studs:

 

Hey MaxGurl,

Yep, it's kindof a hassle if you're just doing it for aesthetic reasons, like I was, but it went pretty smoothly. Took about an hour to do both sides. It's not something I would have paid a shop to do, but because my labor is FREE, I cost-justified it.

The H&R 5mm kit I got came w/ longer studs, so whether you can "get away with" not using longer studs may be a matter of opinion out there (I've heard both), but I'm comfortable with H&R engineers' take on that topic.

Regarding putting the stock wheels back on: if you put the stock wheels back on over the spacers, you of course, wouldn't have any fitment problems. If you remove the spacers, but leave the longer stud-bolts in the hub & put the stock wheels back on (ie: you're selling the car, returning to stock), you may not be able to secure the lug-nuts tight because of the extra stud length. To return to stock, you need to swap the OEM stud bolts back into the hub, too. (Definite P.I.T.A)


Custom-machined H&R's eh? That must have cost a pretty penny. . .

Good luck w/ your setup!

-K-

 

Yup- The last I checked, H&R didn't have any spacers between 5mm and 15mm for Maximas. I needed a 10mm for proper clearance. Cost was $100 shipped for the custom set w/studs. 3 week wait to get my hands on these. Everything worked out, but I wouldn't want to go thru the ordeal again

 

Thought this might be an additional reference... it was not written in reference to Maxima's but it should hold true.

Without a function, I think they are a waste and increase the wear on your drivetrain. So for aesthetics, I would skip em...

When rocks are referenced in this missive, it refers to rocks larger than you would attempt to go over with a Maxima...

"Fact. Moving the center of the tire's contact patch
out from the wheel and steering bearings increases the
leverage on the bearings which increases their wear
rate. If the bearings are enough over sized you not
notice any decrease in life span, but it will happen.
The other, & to me more important, problem with moving
the tires out is that you increase the scrub radius.
Which means that rocks can grab the tires and attempt
to steer them some other direction than where you want
to go. Don't hook your thumbs with steering like this
or you'll have some very sore ones."

 

I put them on the rear, because the 4th Gen benefits aesthetically from having the wheels brought out of hiding a bit from the rear wheel wells. I'm also hoping they'll help cancel out a little of the oversteer induced by my Stillen RSB (I'll b installing 2morrow).

In theory, I agree with the comments above, but it sounds to me like it's written with off-road/4x4 vehicles in mind. Broken, or sprained thumbs are not uncommon injuries to people who do a lot of 4x4 driving in the sticks, off-trail, or over boulders. People who mod 4x4's for width often put huge spacers on (well in excess of 30mm, in some cases) which can obviously have a detrimental effect on the forces placed on all the suspension/hub parts, especially if you're operating in severe terrain where you could hit a large object (rock/boulder) with one wheel. -And the "scrub-radius" definitely seems to refer to more to wide, short-wheelbase 4x4's.

I know these comments pertain to 4x4's because a friend of mine had a lifted, widened Jeep C-J & that thing could be downright scary on an uneven bumpy road at anything over 30mph. (sudden directional changes/constant steering inputs: you didn't drive that Jeep - IT drove YOU.)

Your average Maxima with a 5-10mm spacer will not likely incur accellerated wear or any adverse driveability when piloted in it's native environment: on (mostly) paved roads. In fact, most people with spacers in this range report handling and tracking improvements -to the contrary.

 

Yeppers... right on the nose. I just remembered seeing that on my mailing list (concerning modified 4x4s) and thought it might be useful.

I didn't think the steering input would be a problem so much as increased wear due to the extra leverage on the wheel bearings and steering components (whatever the equivalent would be to a Kingpin bearing - I know more about my 4x4 than my Max unfortunately - and was trying to apply that knowledge).

Thanks for the explanation.

 

It's aaaalllll good.

New info is helpful for any debate & gets people thinking in directions that might not have occured to them before. Wasn't trying to chop u off at the knees, I swear.

Cheers,
-K-

 

A couple of quick questions. 97 MaxGurl, what size & offset wheels do you have that you need 10mm offset? Did you shave or roll your rear fenders? Also, who did you talk to at H & R to have them custom make your spacers?

 

17x7.5 Rims/ 35mm offset, 234/45/17 tires. I needed 10mm spacers in order for the spokes to clear my 4 piston calipers (big brake). It had nothing to deal with clearing wheelwell/ rear fenders etc. I didn't talk to H&R, the company that I bought my Volks from dealt with H&R direct.

 

I just spoke to H & R directly. They said they would never shave down a spacer to make it smaller. Are you sure they are H & R. Also, did they come with studs for 15 mm and you had to cut them for 10mm or did they come with studs for 10 mm?

 

It was the H&R 15mm kit with the studs.. spacers shaved down to 10mm. Not smaller, thinner would be better word to describe it.

H&R doesn't sell 10mm kit for Maxima application, nor will they go through the trouble of 'customizing' their production spacers to make a few customers happy. I didn't deal with H&R direct because they'd give me the same answer as they gave you. You will need to go through one of their main distributers and pay $$

why do you need spacers again?

Here's my H&R spacer. It's hard to tell but on the side, there's an etching w/ H&R 15mm kit model #.

 

I have H & R 5mm spacers right now, but I want to push my wheels out a little bit more. I found a place the web that will custom make spacers for $40 each. I just have to make sure that the material used to make it is strong. And that it is hubcentric, not the kind they sell at Pep Boys.

 

ok.. good luck

 

So what distributor did you use?

 

Wheeloptions
Its the same shop that I bought my rims from. The only reason they went that extra distance was b/c they (and Mackin Industries) told me the 35mm offset rims would clear my big brakes before I purchased them.

 

Did they supply you with the longer studs? Where is the shop located?

 

longer studs, from the H&R 15mm kit.
Shop is in CA. Goto importhookup.com (often advertise their banner here) and look for Wheeloptions

 

So did you have to cut the studs to make them work with the 10mm spacers?

 

No stud cutting was needed. My McGard lugs (open ended lugs) bolted on perfectly.

 

Did you get the lugs at the same shop?

 

No- Shop gave me set of generic lugs with my wheel purchase. You can buy McGard lugs from Summit Racing. If you replace OE studs with studs that are more than 5mm long, you WILL need to get open ended lug nuts.

 

hi ange, where you at? I might need to get some H&R spacers so my new wheels will clear my new brakes