Wheel Spacers...

Did anyone put spacers on rear wheels of Mazda 2 with OEM 16" alloys?!?

With 15" OEM alloys rear wheels are wider and more outside then with 16"... very strange?!?!

How much should I put wheel spacers on back to get them to the edge of fenders? 10, 15 or 20mm?!?



I want to get them to the red line


You can see on this picture how much are they under the fender... ofcourse, I'll need them for front wheels too, but I think that would 0.5 or 10mm be enough...



Tnx

good idea...!!!

Hi, i've installad on my M2 16mm Sparco spacers with 16" rims, and now it looks like this

You can just measure yourself how much clearance you have before being flush with the fender. Then just get a spacer that will fill the gap.

you just have to do the math.. most likely the OEM 15" have not only a lower offset, but it's possible they are also narrower?

Offset and width are dependent of each other. A 6" +45mm offset is not the same as a 6.5" wide rim with +45mm offset. You would/should convert your rim width from inches (25.4mm = 1") to mm and then subtract offset to know where your mounting face is located and then you compare the difference with other rims.

Try not to add too much of a wheel spacer for 3 reasons:

1) you start to run out of threading for your lugs. For every thread you lose in contact with your lug to the stud, the weaker your hold is (think of surface area contact). Also, if you are using aluminum lugs (yes, they do make that stuff) compared to steel lugs, the aluminum will take a beating and it will fail. Torque the lug nuts properly. Or look into getting extended lug nuts (may have to look at what ARP engineering has available)

2) pushing out the wheels will result in the increase of your scrub radius. Steering effort may increase. Although you may not feel it, the electronic steering system will have to work harder, causing later down the line that your electric steering rack will pre-maturely fail (unless you drive a lot in a straight line). You would stablize the car more so in straight line braking, but you should think about also increasing your caster and camber settings to lessen the amount of the scrub radius.

3) there's additional wear on your hub and wheel bearings if you push your wheels too far out and not maintain a close-to-OEM-spec scrub radius. I'm not sure how strong the Mazda2 hubs are, but chances that you put that much torque at the fulcrum point being the studs and at the hub, you should keep an eye out for it for excessive play in the wheel bearings.

I've been racing for over 10 years now, and I take my wheels seriously. Buying a Mazda2 and "hooking it up" is no exception for me to be a "cheap ricer" or any means. I love modifying the cars the right way. There are certain ways to push the envelope, but adding wheel spacers is not one of them unless you take the necessary steps to do it right (or at least know what you are getting yourself into).

I'm bumping this. Has anyone found extended wheel studs for our cars? I'm not comfortable taking my 2 to the track with 3mm spacers on 9" rims with sticky 225s and one stud diameter's worth of thread engagement... would like a little more. Might have to pop a stud out and compare to an ARP Miata stud (fingers crossed the Miata studs work)

http://www.advanced-autosports.com/...id=147&zenid=726766ccffca54a1c5e4a0c69ea2e982

These should work. I would buy one OEM and mail it to Advanced Autosports for a match-up. Then ask them to relabel their inventory as Miata 1.6l or 1.8l as applicable, slash Mazda 2 B-Spec Racer.

I buy my stuff from http://www.motorsport-tech.com/

Anything more then 5MM I'd go with an adapter instead.

I would love to run 20mm H&R Trak adapters with my 15x6 + 40 miata wheels but i'm a bit horrified of what spacers might do to my wheel bearings. Any thoughts or recommendations?

^I ran 25mm adapters on my Miata with 15x7 K1s for 2 years no adverse affects. Thats hitting small bumps and potholes (admittedly I tried to avoid most since I was so low). And I drive like a nut, mostly in cornering speeds.

Original wheel bearings to my knowledge. I got the car with 120k, had 16x,xxx when I pulled the motor.

I guess the real question is can the 2 handle a 15x6 ET15 wheel if I go with TRAK+ spacers. That would put it almost where a 15x7 ET25 would be by 3mm.

The scary thing is that I would have 23mm less inner clearance vs. a 15x7 ET25 wheel. I wonder what that would do to suspension components, wheel bearings, and even steering feel.

DaleNixon said:

I guess the real question is can the 2 handle a 15x6 ET15 wheel if I go with TRAK+ spacers. That would put it almost where a 15x7 ET25 would be by 3mm.

The scary thing is that I would have 23mm less inner clearance vs. a 15x7 ET25 wheel. I wonder what that would do to suspension components, wheel bearings, and even steering feel.

Click to expand...

Now you confused me! How can a 6" at +15 have less inner clearance than a 7 +25? It can't, it will be pushed outwards more. I'm assuming you meant a 15x8? It won't be TOO much more inwards. If you're worried about clearance on the inside with what you're suggesting, I think you'll be fine. Only the fronts on mine wouldn't clear the strut with 15x9 +36 and you'll be a good ways off from that. Also, my 15x7+38 Koseis fit fine (comparing to your 15x7 +25 example).

Also, I had the dealer order in a front stud for the 2 and a front stud for a 91 Miata. They are different part numbers but they measure exactly the same from what I measured. I've ordered a set of front extended studs for the next track day so I can run the 9" 6ULs, I'll keep everyone updated

"The scary thing is that I would have 23mm less inner clearance vs. a 15x7 ET25 wheel. I wonder what that would do to suspension components, wheel bearings, and even steering feel."

I guess what I mean was 23mm MORE inner clearance. As in super wide track tire. The scrub radius would be insane, no?

DaleNixon said:

"The scary thing is that I would have 23mm less inner clearance vs. a 15x7 ET25 wheel. I wonder what that would do to suspension components, wheel bearings, and even steering feel."

I guess what I mean was 23mm MORE inner clearance. As in super wide track tire. The scrub radius would be insane, no?

Click to expand...

This forum and this car are too young for this level of techno-speak. Keep the scrubbing to yourself for now! Hehe!

Hehehe. I really should just save for some proper wheels instead. My NB wheels would look dope at +15 though!

define "dope"

as long as it isnt this one. ;-)

1. adj. cool, nice, awesome

lol. 15x6 +15 NB wheels with H&R springs would look good in my book.