I just bought a set of corvette c6 wheels and in order for them to fit without hitting i had to ad spacers. I am wondering if these spacers will be safe .. my motor is putting out around 390 hp and i will be spraying it this year probably a max of 150 shot. So what do you guys think should i look for new wheels or will the spacers hold up to the power

Thanks
1fastrock

 

Some people will tell you they are perfectly safe. Others don't trust them. I'm one of the ones that don't, regardless of any success stories will tel you. There are plenty of failure stories too. Don't even think they are legal for the dragstrip. Maybe only after a certain trap time, I dunno.

 

Adapters are different than spacers and it probably matters what material they're made of too.

 

I'd like to read a few horror stories.

 

they are aluminum spacers if that matters

 

are they the slip on spacers, of the bolt on adapters?

slip on ones are not the best idea because you need really long wheels studs, the adapters are plenty strong, however they do fail if the inner lugs come loose. You have to torque them properly, and they retorque them repeatedly over time to keep them tight.

I personally dont like the idea of the adapters, i wouldn't use them personally

 

The type of aluminum may matter, I've only know people to use them more for handling or even just for looks. I guess I would contact the manufacturer to find out what the specs are and what they recommend for your intended use. The forces in drag racing especially if hooking up is more than I would probably go with.

 

yes, i would defiantly get billet ones, not cast aluminum

 

I'm trying to gather info if these would be strong enough for autocrossing. Opinions? Horror stories?

 

i would avoid them personally

 

I asked this question a while ago and it almost led to a brawl.
Search "wheel spacers how strong are they" for the low down.

 

Friggin' troublemaker

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/whee...ow-strong.html

Fwiw, I've heard from many in the offroad world that use 3" spacers for rockcrawling and have not reported any problems.

 

SCCA allows them in the rulebook, but I still don't believe *in them* myself.

Adapters just add weight & doubles the # of lug nuts on a car. I prefer to get wheels that fit right the first time & don't require stuff to make them fit.

 

I don't mind them on the rear, it's the front 2 1/4" adapters that have me concerned for racing.

Has anyone ever researched rotors/hubs with will widen the wms of our cars? Yes, I know there will a small additional load on the wheel bearings

 

Is there anybody that has first hand experience with a quality bolton spacer/adapter failure? Or is it just hearsay?

 

the ONLY failures involving spacers/adapters i've heard of have been caused by incorrect installation (the inside lugs were not checked and were loose causing a failure)

 

 

^ details please!

 

Shat! I forgot about yours dude! Who did you get them from again?

 

eBay seller "rigged.up". The center bore was too small. Which probably played a partial role in my inner lugs coming loose.

 

As long as the part is made properly, and its installed right, should not be an issue. The strength of the spacer itself is as good as the wheel (they're both going to be aluminum, after all) and there is no weight change from the spacer itself either if you compare two otherwise identical wheels with different backspacing and correct it to fit with a spacer. Its just the extra lugs and nuts. If the part is made wrong or poorly, its off center, some of the studs are not centered and get a bending load just from being installed... yes I can see how it would break. A good quality spacer should not have those issues.

I previously assumed the entire weight of the car on one wheel as a theoretical maximum. I found one website with data gathered from on a vehicle and from pothole impacts the force applied was about twice the vehicle weight. This is still well within the strength capability of the wheel studs since that would require 2 to resist that force and not break and there are 5 of them. Still have a factor of safety within reason.

 

Yep, Just as SailTexas said, They probably didn't fit right to begin with. yours didn't.

People. I think alot of you know I am very experienced in suspensions. Wheel adapters are very strong. I run them on my Corvette truck which I drive daily. It is a 4800 lb truck that sees regular 3000 lb bed payloads totalling over 7800lbs on the four wheels, or 1950 lbs per wheels. Thats twice what your little 3rd gens will see. Plus I drive this heavy truck like an *** because it is built to hammer on. It has Z06 wheels on it. If the wheels did not limit my load rating to 300olbs, I would put more weight into the bed becasue the chassis and suspension will actually carry 4000lbs. I worry far more about the wheels than I would any aluminum adapters.

Wanna race?

Trust me, don't buy into the crap they are not safe. As long as your scrub radius is factory or close to it, adapters are fine. Sticking wheel assemblies way out wider srcub radius puts terrible load onto the wheel bearings so this is what you have to watch out not to do. You can acheive this same mistake WITHOUT adapters by just putting a wrong offset wheel onto the car and changing the track sidth and scrub radius.

Adapters when fitted properly are 100% completely safe. Proper fitment also includes being hub centric. Even though I have 5 additional lug nuts and studs per wheel now, my rotation mass and overall wheel assemblies are still lighter weight than my factory wheels and tires. Don't buy into tall tales.

 

I think if alot of you understood how force is applied laterally as well as hanging loads onto a wheel, you would easlily inderstand how the wheel spokes in lateral hanging load are FAR more prone to break than any aluminum adapter.

 

There wasn't a problem with the adapter per say as much as the installation/fitment. I had to do a little grinding to the center bore to get them to fit on, then I progressively tightened them down to get them to seat all the way down on the hub. My right front wheel fell off while I was driving on the highway due to the inner lugs loosening up after about 30 miles. Yes, I know you need to re torque them several times. I've had my wheels off dozens of times and I re torque them after 50 miles about three or so times but this was my first experience with adapters. IDK if adapters need to be tightened after a shorter period but I can guarantee you that I'll never let that happen again.

 

ok hey i just got some wheels and spacer or adaptors for my 91 formula they are the ws6 98 style of wheels was wondering if i take them to a shop to get them installed how often do i need to tightended them up again?

 

i am in the same boat.. i just got a set of black and crome z06 wheels.. I ran trail gear spacer 2" and 3" on my toyota for years and never had a problem. and there china metal.. and the studs are crap! but they work good the only advice i could tell u is keep them tight! auto cross should be no problem ive seen them ran on the track. you have just as good as a chance as losing a stock tire as a spaced one. the drag strip is a diffrent question. i dont even think there legal to run?

 

Ve, you da man.

Good reading to better understand the words VE uses.
Scrub Radius