The time will come when you will consider Wheel Spacers for your Porsche. I tried to put together some of the Pros and Cons for you to consider before you take the plunge.
Wheel spacers are round metal spacers that go between your Porsche’s wheel rim & hub. Wheel Spacers will move your wheels further away from the Porsche’s body. Reasons for using wheel spacers include fitment, performance, and appearance.
When adding this option to your car you will need to purchase both the spacers and new longer lug bolts. It is recommended that you purchase a kit from a single supplier that is highly recommended,
On my 2009 987.2, I opted to install the 15mm spacers on the rear and the 7mm spacers on the front tires. I definitely noticed the Porsche hugging the curves on track days.
As a result, I also can notice the look of Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires as they meet the curve of my rear fenders. I doubt anyone else has noticed.
Below are some reasons to consider before installing this option.
PRO: Fitment
Wheel spacers are most commonly used to ensure that a particular set of rims will fit properly on a vehicle if the wheels have the incorrect offset. If wheels interfere with suspension components or bodywork in the inner wheel arches, then installing a set of wheel spacers may solve this problem by locating the wheels further away from the bodywork. On the other hand, wheel spacers can potentially cause interference issues since they may locate the wheels closer to the fender lips and bodywork around the fender openings.
PRO: Performance
Another reason for using wheel spacers is to increase the handling of your vehicle. Wheel spacers are installed between the hub and the wheel and push the wheel further away from the chassis, widening the track. This is turn increases the amount of grip that your vehicle has in corners, allowing faster cornering. Spacers can also change the balance of your car’s handling. For instance, if you install spacers in the back but not the front, then you will get more grip in the rear. This, in turn, will cause your car to understeer, where the front goes towards the outside of the corner, during cornering, because of the increased grip from the rear.
CON: Component Wear
Wheel spacers can potentially cause accelerated wear on suspension and hub components because of the added stress that they place on parts that were designed to certain tolerances by the manufacturer. Because the wheels are further from the hub, more stress is placed on the wheel bearing, hubs and/or axles. This potentially can cause parts to fail prematurely.
CON: Heavier Steering
Depending on the size of the wheel spacers, the steering will potentially become heavier. The wider track means that more effort is needed to turn the wheels, which can make it more difficult to turn the steering wheel. Again, this is dependent on the width of the spacer. A 7mm width spacer will not have as much effect as a 15mm or 20mm spacer.
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