Cheap alternative to wheel spacers
05-21-2008, 11:30 PM
#1
Cheap alternative to wheel spacers
Well for those of you like me, who are to cheap to drop $60 + on 5mm H&R wheel spacers, then you should continue to read on.
Its very hard to find hub-centric 5mm spacers, for that matter, anything under 10mm without dropping some serious cash. I needed a 5mm spacer to clear my calipers, i was running a non hubcentric spacer and it gave me a mad vibration and caused my car to pull to the left, more then it does already, it just amplified the problem. Also, with them being non-hubcentric, if i were to slam on the brakes, i guess the spacer would shift, and a few times it actually made contact with my caliper, didnt do it often, maybe 1-2 times..too many.
Basically what i did is this.
go grab yourself an old pair of rotors, front rotors. What your doing is cutting off the face of the rotor hub, its about 7-8mm thick. Its not easy, i did it at work, i used a set of murano rotors. Got them for free, they are hub-centric, correct bolt patter, and the hub is the same size as the maxima rotor hub so it looks stock.
I used a oxy-accetylene torch to cut off the rotor hub face, then grinded it down, then used a brake lathe to smooth it out nice and flat. It turned out VERY well, i can get rotors for pretty much free at work, except i gotta fight the scrap metal people for them LOL.
Here is a picture of one of the spacers. Gave it a quick shot of paint,
Unfortunately my htc touch is not communicating with my computer, so ill put up the pics later.
Anyways good cheap project, if done correctly, id say quality is on par of the H&R. Trust me, im not even joking, these things turned out so rediculously well.
Its very hard to find hub-centric 5mm spacers, for that matter, anything under 10mm without dropping some serious cash. I needed a 5mm spacer to clear my calipers, i was running a non hubcentric spacer and it gave me a mad vibration and caused my car to pull to the left, more then it does already, it just amplified the problem. Also, with them being non-hubcentric, if i were to slam on the brakes, i guess the spacer would shift, and a few times it actually made contact with my caliper, didnt do it often, maybe 1-2 times..too many.
Basically what i did is this.
go grab yourself an old pair of rotors, front rotors. What your doing is cutting off the face of the rotor hub, its about 7-8mm thick. Its not easy, i did it at work, i used a set of murano rotors. Got them for free, they are hub-centric, correct bolt patter, and the hub is the same size as the maxima rotor hub so it looks stock.
I used a oxy-accetylene torch to cut off the rotor hub face, then grinded it down, then used a brake lathe to smooth it out nice and flat. It turned out VERY well, i can get rotors for pretty much free at work, except i gotta fight the scrap metal people for them LOL.
Here is a picture of one of the spacers. Gave it a quick shot of paint,
Unfortunately my htc touch is not communicating with my computer, so ill put up the pics later.
Anyways good cheap project, if done correctly, id say quality is on par of the H&R. Trust me, im not even joking, these things turned out so rediculously well.
05-22-2008, 11:47 AM
#3
Doesn't sound cheap for people that don't have access to a cutting torch.
I recommend these guys: Crow Automotive
I recommend these guys: Crow Automotive
05-22-2008, 10:46 PM
#5
I searched ebay for awhile..couldnt find any hubcentric spacers that werent over 60$ and 5mm in size. All of the hubcentric ones were 10mm+ and included longer studs, which i didnt need, as i already have nismo 60mm studs.
I will take a pic tomorrow, my laptops screwed, it wont connect with my phone.
Trust me, these things turned out so much better then me and my freind both thought. Looking at it with the wheel on, other then the fact i painted them grey, you can barely tell, as they are the identical size as the hub on the rotor.
It may not be that cheap for those of you who do not have access, but you dont even need a torch, you can use an angle grinder with some cutting disks, although it will take longer the cut will be much cleaner.
I did mine with a oxy-accetylene torch, then grinded it down on a bench grinder as much as i could, then i went over it with a brake lathe, this thing is pretty much as balanced as it could ever be.
The only concern i and my freind Ty had were warping issues because of the heat from the torch, this was not an issue right now, as it was confirmed with a straight edge.
Its not so much its cheap for those without the available tools, but if you have access to them, they cost you nothing, i may even start to produce these if there is enough interest.
I will take a pic tomorrow, my laptops screwed, it wont connect with my phone.
Trust me, these things turned out so much better then me and my freind both thought. Looking at it with the wheel on, other then the fact i painted them grey, you can barely tell, as they are the identical size as the hub on the rotor.
It may not be that cheap for those of you who do not have access, but you dont even need a torch, you can use an angle grinder with some cutting disks, although it will take longer the cut will be much cleaner.
I did mine with a oxy-accetylene torch, then grinded it down on a bench grinder as much as i could, then i went over it with a brake lathe, this thing is pretty much as balanced as it could ever be.
The only concern i and my freind Ty had were warping issues because of the heat from the torch, this was not an issue right now, as it was confirmed with a straight edge.
Its not so much its cheap for those without the available tools, but if you have access to them, they cost you nothing, i may even start to produce these if there is enough interest.
05-23-2008, 06:35 PM
#7
it sure sounds like it will work. you should update this thread once you get some miles on them. if you used a lathe to straighten them i dont see you having any vibrations. i bet your spacers are 1000 times better than the cheap ebay ones.
06-06-2008, 08:47 PM
#10
Time is money. Hardly seems worth the time, effort (and risk) to save $60. I'm still weary that they are indeed perfectly balanced as you claim.
But kudos to you for embellishing and succeeding on this project.
Where's the pics you've promised twice already?? Hopefully you have some 'in progress' pics as well.
But kudos to you for embellishing and succeeding on this project.
Where's the pics you've promised twice already?? Hopefully you have some 'in progress' pics as well.
06-08-2008, 12:30 PM
#11
Time is money. Hardly seems worth the time, effort (and risk) to save $60. I'm still weary that they are indeed perfectly balanced as you claim.
But kudos to you for embellishing and succeeding on this project.
Where's the pics you've promised twice already?? Hopefully you have some 'in progress' pics as well.
But kudos to you for embellishing and succeeding on this project.
Where's the pics you've promised twice already?? Hopefully you have some 'in progress' pics as well.
06-09-2008, 02:39 PM
#12
The repair bill will be greater than the money saved once these fail. After cut, the structural integrity of the cut rotor is NOT garaunteed and there is NO way of making sure they are truelly balance properly. If you can't afford cheap Ebay spacer then you can't afford to take the chance of this failing.
07-14-2008, 01:35 AM
#16
Crap forgot about this thread.
Honestly, its not really that cheap for those who dont have the means. But for those of you who do have a brake lathe or even a set of oxy fuel torches.
I made another set for my freinds altima. I used the drum setting on the brake lathe and just kept cutting till i went all the way through. I think this way is best, but either way did me fine.
Im sure you all have valid points. But in all honesty, how closely is a wheel balanced? Yes when you initially balance a tire, its perfect, but as it wears, as it gets curbed, etc, same deal right. Obviously these are not going to be perfectly balanced, like H&R/Eibach spacers, but compared to cheap non - hubcentric spacers, there MILES better.
I havent seen any cheap hub-centric spacers on ebay..
I actually do have a picture somewhere.
Found it,
There you go. By no means are they perfect, but hey they do what i want, i have NO vibrations in the wheel at any speed, well so far about 215kmh, havent gone any faster, but before with my non-hubcentric spacers, i got some mad vibrations at about 110-120kmh. Ill take my previous comment back about the quality being on par with H&R. But in all honesty, who knows the quality assurance of those right? Its kinda hard to check something like that, and to check how well they are actually balanced. Its not like theres welds and stuff on them where you can see deficiencies/flaws.
I dont think ill be making any more. Atleast not untill i get some more rotors that are the proper bolt pattern from work. It seems every car that comes in is a titan/armada which are 6 bolt.
Enjoy!
Honestly, its not really that cheap for those who dont have the means. But for those of you who do have a brake lathe or even a set of oxy fuel torches.
I made another set for my freinds altima. I used the drum setting on the brake lathe and just kept cutting till i went all the way through. I think this way is best, but either way did me fine.
Im sure you all have valid points. But in all honesty, how closely is a wheel balanced? Yes when you initially balance a tire, its perfect, but as it wears, as it gets curbed, etc, same deal right. Obviously these are not going to be perfectly balanced, like H&R/Eibach spacers, but compared to cheap non - hubcentric spacers, there MILES better.
I havent seen any cheap hub-centric spacers on ebay..
I actually do have a picture somewhere.
Found it,
There you go. By no means are they perfect, but hey they do what i want, i have NO vibrations in the wheel at any speed, well so far about 215kmh, havent gone any faster, but before with my non-hubcentric spacers, i got some mad vibrations at about 110-120kmh. Ill take my previous comment back about the quality being on par with H&R. But in all honesty, who knows the quality assurance of those right? Its kinda hard to check something like that, and to check how well they are actually balanced. Its not like theres welds and stuff on them where you can see deficiencies/flaws.
I dont think ill be making any more. Atleast not untill i get some more rotors that are the proper bolt pattern from work. It seems every car that comes in is a titan/armada which are 6 bolt.
Enjoy!
Last edited by 96blkonblkse; 07-14-2008 at 01:43 AM.
07-14-2008, 11:48 AM
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 213
07-14-2008, 01:56 PM
#18
The repair bill will be greater than the money saved once these fail. After cut, the structural integrity of the cut rotor is NOT garaunteed and there is NO way of making sure they are truelly balance properly. If you can't afford cheap Ebay spacer then you can't afford to take the chance of this failing.
S
07-14-2008, 05:15 PM
#19
07-14-2008, 06:08 PM
#20
I don't buy this. How would a repair bill be greater? All he doing is fabricating a spacer. It's not used to support or stop the car...simply set the wheels out further, I don't think you're in danger of breaking something. Other than balancing, I don't see any big problem with this setup. P
S
S
07-15-2008, 09:49 PM
#21
Yeah. Anyspacer will cause wear on the wheel bearing. Moving the wheel farther outwards puts more stress on the wheel bearing.
Ideally id rather not run spacers, but i dont have the money to drop another 1500 on rims. My OZ's are like 3mm short of clearing the calipers, they are already shaved. Its my fault, i should have looked into it before buying the rims, but honestly, i didnt see myself doing the BBK when i got them.
Anyhow, they do me fine. I just thought it would be something cool to post up, wasnt sure how many people have done this.
Ideally id rather not run spacers, but i dont have the money to drop another 1500 on rims. My OZ's are like 3mm short of clearing the calipers, they are already shaved. Its my fault, i should have looked into it before buying the rims, but honestly, i didnt see myself doing the BBK when i got them.
Anyhow, they do me fine. I just thought it would be something cool to post up, wasnt sure how many people have done this.
07-22-2008, 10:02 PM
#22
i have done this acutally and am still convinced it should work. it took a little while to go through them with the torch but it got the job done. than i ground them on a bench grinder and finished them off with the drum lathe. but i forgot to put them on when i rotated my tires so they will have to wait until next time the wheels come off.....i will update.
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