Proper Sized Spacers

[Wew]

Hi all,

It has been asked before in different ways and I have searched hi and low but have not found the answer specifically to what I need, and before I drop the money to purchase I want to make sure I am purchasing the correct size wheel spacer.
My scenario is as follows. Purchased a wide body roller with 11" flares on the rear and stock fenders on the front of an 82 sc
I purchased 9" steel front flares from a member on this forum, and had the fenders cut and the flares welded on. The rims on the front are 7's.
Based on experience what is the best sized spacer to fill out the 9" fender flare with stock 7 fuchs?

Much appreciated.

Gary

[Rodsrsr]

Why not just bolt the wheel on the car and measure how much you need? Tire size can sometimes play a factor so this will get you pretty close to perfect as long as you have the tires you plan on using, mounted when measuring.

[Wew]

Hey rod,

Yes I have new tires that are different size and will be mounted Tuesday. Is it really that easy measure from outside of tire to edge of fender?
New tire sizes r 245/45 on rear and 225/50 on front

[Sicklyscott]

Yes it is.

[panelbilly]

What about longer studs?

[Rodsrsr]

You will probably need them, or depending on how much spacer you need, there is the type that has the studs on the spacer, but those are usually the really thick ones.

[Craig_D]

Why are you running 7s on the front of a widebody conversion? Isn't the point to get some seriously wide rubber under that 9" front flare?

Just curious.

[Wew]

Hi fellas. thanks for the updates. The reason I am running the 7's is because that's what I got with the car. The 8's on the back have some monster spacers on the rear to fill out the fender. If Memory serves me right, they are 3" and the have the studs coming off the spacer.
Maybe I have to rethink my approach. I just purchased 225/50's for the front and 245/45's for the rear. What was on them before were 205's on the front and 225's on the rear.
Shake some sense into me if there is a better way to go without breaking the bank.

Thanks for the input. Always appreciated.

Gary

[Rodsrsr]

The only other option is a custom wheel. Spacers that large are not the way to go IMO. When I ran them, it was a 2" in the rear and 1" up front but that was with a cup type wheel. I've never seen a 3" wide spacer, and I dont think I would use that. The best overall solution would be to get a set of aftermarket wheels that are properly sized. The 930 flares should take a 9" wheel up front and an 11" wheel in the rear. If you want to keep the Fuch look there are many companies like Lindsay Wheels that will widen a stock set, but that is much more expensive, which is why I said an aftermarket set is a good solution. Also, widening a set of Fuchs or an aftermarket set of wheels will get you into the 17" diameter range which is probably the most ideal size, as it still looks appropriate but offers much more in tire selection. As others have said, filling the wheel wells with spacers defeats the purpose of widening it in the first place. I run 255 ft and 315 in the rear on Lindsay Fuchs. 1/4" spacer in the rear to fine tune.

[Craig_D]

I think you can run the same type of bolt-on spacers on the front, but I'm not an expert on spacers that large so hopefully someone can help you find the right stuff.

Tire wise, I'm running 7/8x16 on my 911 SC with stock flares and my tires are 205s on the front and 225s on the rear. I could probably put larger tires on, but these work well.

Any pictures of your car?

[Sicklyscott]

Originally Posted by Wew

Hi fellas. thanks for the updates. The reason I am running the 7's is because that's what I got with the car. The 8's on the back have some monster spacers on the rear to fill out the fender. If Memory serves me right, they are 3" and the have the studs coming off the spacer.
Maybe I have to rethink my approach. I just purchased 225/50's for the front and 245/45's for the rear. What was on them before were 205's on the front and 225's on the rear.
Shake some sense into me if there is a better way to go without breaking the bank.

Thanks for the input. Always appreciated.

Gary

To make it easy on you if your wheels / tires fit with the stock fenders (often called 7") than adding a 50mm spacer will make them fit the same on a 9" flare.

Changing the tires might change that equation.

Now for my opinion.... Move the 8's in back to the front and buy 2 Braid or similar replica fuchs for the rear in the proper offset. If I were you I'd opt for 10 or 10.5" width so you can stick a 275 wide tire on there.

Here's a picture of my car with 911 16x9 fuchs up front (tight fit) and widened 16x10.5 in the rear done by Stratton.

Untitled by sicklyscott, on Flickr

[Luccia at Pelican Parts]

That looks good. ^ We have a lot of wheel spacer options, if needed, when you figure out what fitment works best for your 911.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/SuperCat/0798/POR_0798_SUSAXL_pg3.htm#item13

[Rodsrsr]

I think Scott has a great idea.

[Wew]

Agreed Rod.
Scott's option helps ease me into the great spending abyss .. before the final plunge.
O.k. So, I move my 8's to the front. I currently have the Bridgestone potenza 245/45/16 for that rim. Do i also need a 25mm spacer? or just quit over thinking it and mount it, measure and then order.
The rear rim and wheel selection I want to be clear on. This is a turbo want to be currently. a sheep in wolfs clothing. The rear banana arms are stock SC. including the cv's. This goes for the front as well.
So based on your option the 10 or 10.5 ? Please be specific on the rim size, so I don't screw it up.
And then exactly what size tire would I put on it? 275/?/?

Scott I love your ride and plan on doing something similar with mine.
Lucia, I will be in touch.
Craig, Rod thanks for the input.

[Wew]

Additional info to help guide me.
I also have 4 pristine fuch rims from my totaled stock targa.
So here I am sitting on 8 fuch rims
1 pair 6 x 16
2 pair 7 x 16
1 pair 8 x 16

Armed with this additional info, should I widen 2 sets to get the 9 x 16 and 11 x 16
I am reading 11" width in 16 are very hard to find, is this why some opt for 10.5 or 10?

now I am really confused.

I will probably rarely track this car, as 99% of its life will be spent on the streets...

Thanks again and appreciate everyone weighing in. I will spend the money but want to do it once and do it right.
Although I will hedge and say turbo 9 & 11" rim costs look to be on the insane side so I am not interested in that route.
Would rather modify what I have or go aftermarket.
Thanks again,

Gary

[Wew]

Pic of 3 of 4 rims I refurbed on my targa these are the 6 & 7's I did. I went with the polished petal look because the targa had the polished trim. Also one before I was hit. On the new project I am planning on all black because car has black trim and color choices I have in mind I think will look better that way. I am almost done with the first 7 from the wide car.

[Wew]

And here are a few of my project. It is on jack stands as I need to address a crimped fuel line.

[Rodsrsr]

When you have them widened, they also increase the diameter to 17" and there are many more tire options available in that diameter. 9 and 11 is fairly common when you get them widened. Here is my set-up with 9 & 11 Lindsay Fuchs 17" with 255/315

[Wew]

Beautiful. Something to aspire towards.

[Rodsrsr]

Thank you. It took many years.