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[TwistaStick]

Got my new black GTS wheels in last week and I would like to put some H&R 10 or 12 inch spacers on my 2009 e92 M3 with stock suspension. I've read on TurnerMotorsports website that BMW hubs can extend as far as 11mm so 10mm spacers may not work unless you grind off an extra 1mm of your hub. So I decided to measure my hub lip. I started in the rear and I was suprised to find that my hub lip extends to 13mm from the hub surface . It is 12mm up to the beveled part of the hub lip. How in the heck is anyone running 10mm or 12mm spacers that have a replicated hub lip ? It seems impossible to me to even have 12mm spacers sit flush against the hub without grinding. Anyone care to enlighten me? Thanks in advance.

[ThunderMoose]

I am not a spacer expert, but your ruler seems to be at an angle. My understanding is that the hub is 11 mm, so a 12 mm spacer should fit with no issues.

[CT]

You can fit any size spacer on the hub, despite the center protrusion dimension. The spacer will simply form a 'hat' section over the existing protrusion. If the spacer is smaller, the functional area of the protrusion will simply be reduced as the spacer will have an ID larger than the OD of the center of the hub.

FWIW, I'm currently running 15mm spacers in the rear with no issue.

[THE TECH]

Might wanna check the EAS spacer thread. You will find all the info you need there as you're under the wrong impression of how a spacer works.

[M3SQRD]

Why does it look like the hub is cast instead of machined? It also looks like the hub is coated/painted whereas my hubs are not (bare steel with grease)? Perhaps it's the picture?

BTW, I've had zero trouble running a 10 mm spacer (MS and Turner) on the rear of my '09 and '12 e92 M3s. Did not have to file the hubs.

[TwistaStick]

Originally Posted by dbarnes

Why does it look like the hub is cast instead of machined? It also looks like the hub is coated/painted whereas my hubs are not (bare steel with grease)? Perhaps it's the picture?

BTW, I've had zero trouble running a 10 mm spacer (MS and Turner) on the rear of my '09 and '12 e92 M3s. Did not have to file the hubs.

It is not painted. It was rusty and I had just finished using a dremel on it with a wire brush bit. It is just the reflection that makes it look dark. Here is a picture of the front hub lip and it looks brighter. The front hub lip measured 12mm and didn't have much of a beveled edge at all. My rear hub lip came out to 12mm before the bevel started and then measured a total of 13mm including the bevel at the very tip. I'm afraid the spacer will bottom out on that little 1mm of bevel before sitting flush on the rear hub face.

[M3SQRD]

Thanks for the second pic and explanation - makes sense. I know the MS 10 mm spacer is designed with a chamfer and a short straight section at the base of the spacer hub which allows it to fit over the stock hub. However, because of the chamfer design it will only work on wheels with an OEM chamfer (some aftermarket wheels use a smaller chamfer). I did not measure the length of my hubs before installing the spacers but I did check to make sure the spacer did not bottom out on the lip on the back face of the spacer hub (as well as using a feeler gauge to see if there was a gap between the mounting faces).

Can you get away with using a 12 mm spacer? Also, check to see if Turner still has any of their two-piece spacers in stock - hub is separate from the spacer.

[e1000]

TMS 12.5mm spacers fit no problem and extend the hub.

[LarThaL]

FWIW, I am running Turner spacerrs 12.5mm F/R with ZCP wheels. No issues whatsoever. Perfect fit and no vibrations at any speed.

[TwistaStick]

I went ahead and bought a pair of H&R 10mm spacers which are supposed to fit up to a 12mm hub. It fit perfect on the hubs. I was worried about the rear hubs the most because the hub was measuring exactly 12mm to the bevel and 13mm including the bevel. However, it did not sit flush on the back of the ZCP wheel due to how small the bevel is on this style of wheel and the 2mm raise on the spacer lip. The H&R 12mm spacer would work because it doesn't have this 2mm raised lip next to the bevel. This 2mm gap is to allow for more hub clearance in the spacer. I test fitted the spacer to the back of my other OEM 19 forged wheels and they fit perfect on them because the bevel on the wheel is much deeper giving the spacer plenty of clearance. Oh well. Now I know and will have to sell these brand new spacers.