Wheel Spacers
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
08 C350
Wheel Spacers
Anyone running wheel spacers for a bit of stance?
Im thinking 20mm in the back and 15mm in the front.
I just want a little stance like what you would see on a BMW X5.
I'm currently on 20" TSW rims.
Im thinking 20mm in the back and 15mm in the front.
I just want a little stance like what you would see on a BMW X5.
I'm currently on 20" TSW rims.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
08 C350
I have spacers on my other car that is driven hard everyday and sometimes tracked and never had a single problem. My GLk is driven less then 10,000kms a year and almost never sees a Hwy. I'm not worried.
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 29
Likes: 2
Mercedes GLK 350
People posting about wheels coming off are either ignorant of spacers or didn't install them correctly. As long as you use longer studs that account for the spacer, you will be fine. Just be sure you use a spacer that is hub centric and is made for the vehicle.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 422
Likes: 61
From: South East US.
2015 GLK350
Or do it right and get wheels with more offset so you don't need spacers.
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 29
Likes: 2
Mercedes GLK 350
Well, then it was either because he A) Didn't buy a quality product B) Didn't use the correct length of studs or C)Didn't install them correctly. There is absolutely no reason for this to happen with elongated studs that have the proper amount of threads seated in the hub, none.
Trending Topics
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 422
Likes: 61
From: South East US.
2015 GLK350
Well, then it was either because he A) Didn't buy a quality product B) Didn't use the correct length of studs or C)Didn't install them correctly. There is absolutely no reason for this to happen with elongated studs that have the proper amount of threads seated in the hub, none.
Go ahead. Do what you want. Sometimes they work fine and don't have a problem. Sometimes they fail spectacularly.
MB World Stories
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
6 Mercedes Models That Did NOT Age Well (But Are Somehow Still Cool)
Verdad Gallardo
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Verdad Gallardo
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine
Verdad Gallardo
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction
Verdad Gallardo
Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping
Verdad Gallardo
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 29
Likes: 2
Mercedes GLK 350
Maybe you could tell us what happened in your friend's case then?
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 29
Likes: 2
Mercedes GLK 350
Apparently not. I'll take that as evidence of he isn't sure why it failed. I'll reiterate, as long as they are properly installed and you use a quality product, they will be fine. If you don't properly install them, or use cheap products, then you are setting yourself up for an issue.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 422
Likes: 61
From: South East US.
2015 GLK350
Apparently not. I'll take that as evidence of he isn't sure why it failed. I'll reiterate, as long as they are properly installed and you use a quality product, they will be fine. If you don't properly install them, or use cheap products, then you are setting yourself up for an issue.
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 29
Likes: 2
Mercedes GLK 350
I'm not arguing with you, I'm trying to encourage the guy to not give your opinion any merit since you haven't provided any reason for spacers to not be safe other than your buddy had a wheel come off for some reason.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 268
Likes: 8
From: Calgary, AB
2016 Golf R, 2014 GLK
Wheel spacers are perfectly fine if installed correctly. In the VW community this is a very typical modification on Golf's.
The biggest risk is wearing out wheel bearings, not the wheel spontaneously flying off the vehicle.
The biggest risk is wearing out wheel bearings, not the wheel spontaneously flying off the vehicle.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 3,745
Likes: 811
From: The Great White North
W204 C63 Coupe, W166 ML350 BlueTEC, 928GT, Taycan GTS Sport Turismo, C5 Z06 & IS300 race cars
A number of my Porsches (including track cars) had them installed from the factory. The 928 GT and GTS had 17mm and 21mm spacers at the rear respectively. The 930 (911 Turbo) had 21mm front and 28mm rear spacers. So - if used correctly (as in hub-centric and fully supporting the weight of the vehicle instead of the bolts carryign the load) they are fine. I have a set on the front of my C63 which also gets tracked.
Problems usually occur when the spacer is too thin and not hub-centric (i.e. 5-7 mm). The mounting flange on the hub is about 7mm deep, and the first couple of millimeters of the hub bore on most wheels is tapered, which results in two problems - you you have no way of perfectly centering the wheel, which will likely result in some vibration, and more importantly, there is now no vertical (weight-bearing) contact between the vehicle and the wheel itself, so the wheel bolts alone are now essentially supporting the entire weight of the vehicle as well instead of simply clamping the wheel to the hub. This is exactly how wheels with spacers end up flying off cars. If you use a proper hub-centric spacer (12mm or thicker) and 10.9 grade hardenend steel bolts (not the cheap crap they sell on eBay), you should have no issues whatsoever.
See http://www.superforma.co.uk/hubcentric-explained if you are tryign to visualze the potential problems.
Yes, your wheel bearings may suffer somewhat more due to the leverage effect of the wheel sitting further out, but this would be exactly the same if you were running wheels with a lower offset without spacers, so it's really a moot point.
Problems usually occur when the spacer is too thin and not hub-centric (i.e. 5-7 mm). The mounting flange on the hub is about 7mm deep, and the first couple of millimeters of the hub bore on most wheels is tapered, which results in two problems - you you have no way of perfectly centering the wheel, which will likely result in some vibration, and more importantly, there is now no vertical (weight-bearing) contact between the vehicle and the wheel itself, so the wheel bolts alone are now essentially supporting the entire weight of the vehicle as well instead of simply clamping the wheel to the hub. This is exactly how wheels with spacers end up flying off cars. If you use a proper hub-centric spacer (12mm or thicker) and 10.9 grade hardenend steel bolts (not the cheap crap they sell on eBay), you should have no issues whatsoever.
See http://www.superforma.co.uk/hubcentric-explained if you are tryign to visualze the potential problems.
Yes, your wheel bearings may suffer somewhat more due to the leverage effect of the wheel sitting further out, but this would be exactly the same if you were running wheels with a lower offset without spacers, so it's really a moot point.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 3,745
Likes: 811
From: The Great White North
W204 C63 Coupe, W166 ML350 BlueTEC, 928GT, Taycan GTS Sport Turismo, C5 Z06 & IS300 race cars
With 15 and 20 mm spacers you will definitely be safe if you do it right. For that kind of thickeness I'd be looking at the H&R DRA Series, which come with their own set of bolts that bolt to the hub, and have threaded holes for the wheels.
Just ordered a set of TSWs for my GLK - I got 20x8.5" wheels with an ET35 offset (the OEMs are 20x8" ET42). Yours must be in the high 40 range if you need to push them that far out or you want them to stick out past the fenders. Can't tell form the pic how far in they sit.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 268
Likes: 8
From: Calgary, AB
2016 Golf R, 2014 GLK
Thank you, very knowledgeable post and yes I forgot to mention that wheel offset can play the same role in wearing out bearings anyway.
Member
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 180
Likes: 4
To many to list
Check out H&R, 42 draft or Ecs for spacers. Depending on thickness, I would make sure to get hub centric spacers with longer wheel bolts(since our GLK don't run studs) for the rookies. Just double check your wheels(oem or aftermarket) to see if you need ball seat wheel bolts are cone seat wheel bolts.
For those of you that don't know the hub bore is 66
http://www.42draftdesigns.com/AudiMe...ers_p_645.html
Enjoy
For those of you that don't know the hub bore is 66
http://www.42draftdesigns.com/AudiMe...ers_p_645.html
Enjoy
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 54
Likes: 5
From: SoCal
2015 GLK 350. P1
Jeep guy is clueless. His friend probably bought his spacers from Pep Boys and used OEM bolts. I ran 5mm front and 10mm rear H&R spacers on my Audi A4 for 6 years and no problems whatsoever. Just make sure the spacers are hub centric and order longer bolts to accommodate for the spacer thickness.
