Spacers?

Just getting some ideas for mods, though I'm not really in a place to do anything to my car yet

I was just curious if wheel spacers add any noticeble performance gain or if it was just purely cosmetic, thinking 15mm to fill out the wheel wells more as I've seen some others do.

Are there any negative side effects, like can the car still steer as far as I could before or would it throw off handling at all?

Sorry I'm kind of noob mechaincally but I'm learning.

dizman7 wrote

Just getting some ideas for mods, though I'm not really in a place to do anything to my car yet

I was just curious if wheel spacers add any noticeble performance gain or if it was just purely cosmetic, thinking 15mm to fill out the wheel wells more as I've seen some others do.

Are there any negative side effects, like can the car still steer as far as I could before or would it throw off handling at all?

Sorry I'm kind of noob mechaincally but I'm learning.

Purely cosmetic, increasing the track does have performance gains but nothing to the point that you will notice on the M. There are no real negative effects.

In my opinion spacers are purely cosmetic. In my experience the only downside to spacers is if your car is slightly misaligned the spacers will exagerate it. I went with 18mm fronts and had to get aligned to get rid of a slight shake in the steering wheel.

dizman7 wrote

Just getting some ideas for mods, though I'm not really in a place to do anything to my car yet

I was just curious if wheel spacers add any noticeble performance gain or if it was just purely cosmetic, thinking 15mm to fill out the wheel wells more as I've seen some others do.

Are there any negative side effects, like can the car still steer as far as I could before or would it throw off handling at all?

Sorry I'm kind of noob mechaincally but I'm learning.

No real negative side effects actually. Since you're widening the track of the vehicle there isn't any real negative effects... In fact they're basically neutral really, spacers, for the most part, are mainly cosmetic.

Most people tend to go with a "bull dog" stance which means running a 18mm spacer up front and a 15mm for the rear (on stock wheels).

So call me stupid, would the setup you said make them stick out the same width (back and front), as in the front stock wheels are closer to the inside of the car by default, or would that make the front stick out wider slight more than the back?

jurrian @ eas wrote

No real negative side effects actually. Since you're widening the track of the vehicle there isn't any real negative effects... In fact they're basically neutral really, spacers, for the most part, are mainly cosmetic.

Most people tend to go with a "bull dog" stance which means running a 18mm spacer up front and a 15mm for the rear (on stock wheels).

dizman7 wrote

So call me stupid, would the setup you said make them stick out the same width (back and front), as in the front stock wheels are closer to the inside of the car by default, or would that make the front stick out wider slight more than the back?

Here's a picture of the 18mm/15mm Spacer just to give you reference:



I would say it's the best set up possible on the E9X M3's. A great place to look at what spacer configurations look like, would be our Macht Schnell Spacer Reference guide which shows you before/after, and what set ups our customers went through. It's really here to educate and let other forum members know what's out there, and what works, as well as what you want your car to look like!

▀▄ eas - Macht Schnell wheel spacer reference thread
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=262054

Any questions you have, or if you need help deciding after seeing the thread, feel free to PM me

I have Macht Schnell spacers with 18mm/15mm setup and couldn't be happier. Purely cosmetic, but what a difference it makes. Spacers really improve the appearance of the OEM wheels. I was a little concerned that the 18/15 setup would look too aggressive, but once on the car, it looked great.

I have to say I'm not liking the look in the pictures. I think they look a little "cartoon car". I would need to see them in the flesh so to speak.

In the olden days spacers could cause a number of problems which I'm sure aren't an issue here but the problems were:

1. Fowling on the arches requiring rolling the inside of the arch to avoid (not sure how you'd do that with plastic fenders?)
2. Strain on the suspension causing the wheels to lean out at the bottom (appeared like serious toe-in adjustment)

I have 155mm front and 12mm rear and the difference after I did the H&R springs without and with spacers was big IMO. I think it makes the car look awesome from the rear. It's a great look, do it.

oops typo 15 mm in front, yikes

linsm3 wrote

I have 155mm front .

Now there's a look I'd pay to see

SoreHead wrote

Now there's a look I'd pay to see

Very funny, my finger had a seizure or something

linsm3 wrote

Very funny, my finger had a seizure or something

The really funny thing is that if you go to some of those tacky tuners shows you'll see cars with that very mod on

Spacers are used in some race applications to widen the track but on these forums and for street use, they will be cosmetic to fill out the fender with the wheel.

I was very much planning to get spacers, but but I kept hearing that they were purely cosmetic, and that they would have a very slight negative affect on handling, if any affect at all.

I didn't want to take a risk, so therefore I'm not getting springs or spacers for my M3.

Nawaaz wrote

I was very much planning to get spacers, but but I kept hearing that they were purely cosmetic, and that they would have a very slight negative affect on handling, if any affect at all.

I didn't want to take a risk, so therefore I'm not getting springs or spacers for my M3.

Aftermarket springs and spacers have been used for years on various BMW models - especially popular with the Porsche and Ferrari crowd.

The BMW is no exception, there is nothing to worry about.

+1 Stick with a reputable brand like H&R or Eibach and you will be just fine. If you slap on cheaper non-forged spacers, then you can run into issues.

tom @ eas wrote

Aftermarket springs and spacers have been used for years on various BMW models - especially popular with the Porsche and Ferrari crowd.

The BMW is no exception, there is nothing to worry about.

Nick@Jlevi SW wrote

+1 Stick with a reputable brand like H&R or Eibach and you will be just fine. If you slap on cheaper non-forged spacers, then you can run into issues.

I don't know why, but the handling is so brilliant on the M3 that I'd still hate to mess with it.

Does anyone else feel the same way?

Nick@Jlevi SW wrote

+1 Stick with a reputable brand like H&R or Eibach and you will be just fine. If you slap on cheaper non-forged spacers, then you can run into issues.

This also applies to extended-length fasteners.

The Macht Schnell units have proven themselves during track and street driving and include high-quality fasteners.

Nawaaz wrote

I don't know why, but the handling is so brilliant on the M3 that I'd still hate to mess with it.

Does anyone else feel the same way?

+1

The M3 will probably be the first car I don't lower. I feel the suspension is so awesome because it has room to travel. If I wanted a stiffer (and worse performing) ride , I wouldn't have gotten the EDC option.

At the M school in South Carolina, one of the key problems that all of the instructors pointed out with the M6 is that it had less travel in rear suspension compared to the M5, and that it contributed to a slightly more flighty rear-end. I have no interest in doing something like that to the M3, where it soaks up massive bumps mid-corner without a blink.

Nawaaz wrote

I was very much planning to get spacers, but but I kept hearing that they were purely cosmetic, and that they would have a very slight negative affect on handling, if any affect at all.

I didn't want to take a risk, so therefore I'm not getting springs or spacers for my M3.

That's crazy, I'm a girl so trust me you have to do springs and a spacer to make the car look and feel better. My husband told me not to change the springs, blah, blah, the handling would decrease and I would regret it. Guess what, I don't and I love the look and I love the drive. No risk as far as I'm concerned.