Wheel spacers

Triggerfish

Junior Member
Messages
109
Hi,
I'm thinking of fitting 17mm spacers on the front. As anything under 20mm seem to be bolt through type, can any one recommend a decent extended bolt with the same finish as the originals? The only ones I can find are somewhat....agricultural!
 

RobinL

Member
Messages
456
Hill Engineering for spacers and S/Steel Bolts.

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Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,013
I’d avoid the FD bolts. Although their spacers are excellent, the plating on the bolts was pretty rubbish. Hill sounds like a better bet (and more local, too).
 

RobinL

Member
Messages
456
I also bought their alloy wheel nut socket. It's gentler on the finish. Seemed like a sensible idea.

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RobinL

Member
Messages
456
To be fair the only way to keep the shiny polished look is only to drive the car in,........ Monaco, Nice, Cannes.....not necessarily in Llandudno where I am :-(

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Triggerfish

Junior Member
Messages
109
To be fair the only way to keep the shiny polished look is only to drive the car in,........ Monaco, Nice, Cannes.....not necessarily in Llandudno where I am :-(

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Well, seeing as I also live in Llandudno, I guess I have my work cut out! ;)
 

RobinL

Member
Messages
456
North Wales Maserati powerhouse! That's Llandudno!
I fitted 15mm spacers. Not too aggressive but nice.
I'm away working outside of UK just now. Have to catch up when I'm back!

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Triggerfish

Junior Member
Messages
109
As Hills are 15mm or 20mm, looks like I'll be fitting 15mm rather than 17mm. Don't really want to go as far as 20 on the steering end, even though I have 22mm on the rear.
I'll call Hills on monday to check the part number
 

RobinL

Member
Messages
456
WS015 for the 15mm spacers which I fitted. That was kit with studs.

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Triggerfish

Junior Member
Messages
109
WSO15-114 for the GT. Same part as for the Ferrari California. Incidentally, Hills Recommend no bigger than 20mm. Not heard this before.
 

RobinL

Member
Messages
456
The additional moment of force introduced by the increased offset is I suspect the issue. This will affect bearings and suspension joints and may approach the design limitations?

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Triggerfish

Junior Member
Messages
109
Yes, that has previously been discussed at length. General view seems to be that It's well within limits, but on what evidence, I'm not sure. FD recommend F22/R25mm. As the only people who actually know are Maserati themselves, I decided to err on the cautious side F15/R20mm
 

RobinL

Member
Messages
456
If not the strength of the various suspension components the only other limiting factors l can think of would be suspension travel / reaction or bodywork clearance on bounce and full lock?

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Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,110
Spacers do some interesting (if you like that sort of thing) stuff to the suspension geometry. They change the Kingpin inclination (SAI in some peoples book) and increases the scrub radius of the steering. In practice this will increase the self centring effect on the steering and will will reduce steering feel. These are all relative of course. The larger SAI and scrub radius does increase the load on the various steering components and the wheel bearings. Is this likely to be greater than the design spec? Pretty doubtful as the wheel bearings are pretty large compared to the ones you will find on your average VW.