2GN.ORG

In my jobless, unemployment insurance-subsiding life of present, I'm still not able to get the thousand bux to buy some BC's. So I've tried to figure out cheaper alternatives that let me run my SRT wheels and tires. Since I went with something a little wider and the same height as normal SRT tires, I knew I couldn't just stick them on (we've all had this discussion. What I went with is definitely not gonna fit stock suspension).

So I found a guy who makes spacers cheap. I paid $35 incl. shipping. 5mm spacers.

A week and ahalf later, they arrived:



So I removed the wheel, and put one on:


I put on an SRT wheel. Incidentally, it's the cruddy-bronze one:



I did some editing to see what average lowering springs might look like installed...


Anyways, the wheel clears. Of course, this means less stud will thread into the lug nuts. I counted how many turns were different.


On the chromie wheels WITHOUT spacers, I have 12 turns before tight. On the SRT wheels WITH spacers, I have only 5 1/2! You can see where the edge of my thumbnail is... that's where the lug nut ends tight. Not very much!


So I will need longer studs. I assume these are available....? Anyone know how much? Do I just tap them out and tap them back in?

The other problem I personally have is that the passenger rear hub is missing one stud. That's because I found out the previous owner stripped the splines. So I found and bought a pair of SRT-4 rear hubs (or knuckles some people apparently call them).

Can I use those in place of the ones I have? I can restud them while they are out, restud the front, and then this will all work.

Anyways, if swapping to longer studs turns out to be cheap/easy, then perhaps these cheap but quality spacers are something many 2Gn guys would want. You could run on a 17 with a little more rubber than 40 series, OR you could run on 18's with just lowering springs and these spacers. He can make them from 3mm to 7mm, and I think 7mm would give you LOTS of room for 18's with good rubber. If anyone is interested, I can post the guy's email address. He's in Canada, but he ships priority mail and he doesn't sit around (he shipped mine the same day I paypalled him).

I guess what I'm thinking is this:

- (for people who want to use SRT wheels) Is it alot cheaper to get these spacers (in 5 - 7mm) and four sets of longer studs than to buy and have swapped on a set of 40 series tires (instead of the SRT's stock 50 series)? You could use lowering springs like you did with the 40 series, regardless.

OR

- (for guys who want to run 18's with decent series height, not pancake thin) Is it alot cheaper to get these spacers (in 7mm, say) and longer studs than to get coilovers that let you use 18's? (you could still use lowering springs).

Just wondering if that could be a cheaper visual alternative.

OH while I'm posting, I received something else today:



2Gn.org decal! Thanks, Jason The backing tore off on the org's "G" but I managed to clear it loose and I think get all the air bubbles out.



Now I'll go to the 18th PCH cruise with some representation. Oh, and I'll hand out the cards you included to any neons.org or SRTforums guys who want them. Pretty slick lookin' cards.

Invest in some hub centric spacers. The use your stock studs to anchor them to the hub, and come with full size eccentric studs that allow you to mount the wheel as if it were stock. Standard spacers have some play and may cause some strange feelings/sounds/problems. Thats why they dont cost very much

Not to be an ass but we carry spacers like that at my work for only $5 a piece but they are made for direct bolt patterns not universal

Eibach makes them for Neons...

$101.95 for front pair, $101.95 for rear pair.

202.95 + S&H.

Looking at those, I can't see how a 5mm spacer is going to be able to use the stock studs to hold it on, without those getting in the way of the wheel's mating surface. Maybe if they were larger 30mm units (which Eibach makes but are MUCH more expensive), but even then it looks like you will have about the same amount of thread grip that I have right now.

Maybe I found a bad example of hub-centrics...? The pictures I found look pretty thick, I can't see how a 5mm one can use my existing studs without them interfering with the wheel. ??

The ones I have are aluminum, and if you torque down the lugs on the wheels after they get warm, the wheel mating surface and the aluiminum spacer should ever-so-slightly conform to each other. I'm not worried about play. And if I feel something weird, I'll take them off -- they won't be immediately in danger of throwing a wheel off the car.

SlvrACR wrote:Not to be an ass but we carry spacers like that at my work for only $5 a piece but they are made for direct bolt patterns not universal

Nah it's cool... anyways think of this... 5x4=20 plus shipping which is about what I paid, maybe I paid a bit more. I would have preferred something direct fit but these are pretty sturdy looking and I'm not too worried about that (although I think if people want to do this, they should hit you up definitely!).


Edit: I just saw this:



So it uses little short lugs. But that's about how much length my current lugs grab. So going hub-centric means the spacer will be grabbing as little as what I will have as of right this moment. Do I need longer studs or maybe what I have left on the existing ones is enough...???? Argh my head is gonna explode, and not the fun one

Pfft, I used 8mm spacers on my car for 2 years, my buddy turbotrix2004 has been on them for three years, now Josh has mine on the rear of his car going on a year, no problems for any of us. I know of at least three more people running them for over two years, and another just over a year. Thats 130 lugs with no problems on daily drivers.

You will be JUST FINE on the 5mm spacers.

And I second the $5 each, they can be purchased at any wheel/tire shop dirt cheap.

my buddy had spacers like the sportlines on his explorer. He went off-roading and came back home with one lug stud left on one tire. All the rest of the studs sheared off. It took a week to get his truck back and running. It was not fun.

ragek23 wrote:my buddy had spacers like the sportlines on his explorer. He went off-roading and came back home with one lug stud left on one tire. All the rest of the studs sheared off. It took a week to get his truck back and running. It was not fun.

The kinds of stresses I'll see are far from anything experienced when off-roading.

LOL, I was just about to say the same thing.

You will be fine, don't be paranoid, there are more spacers used on cars than you think.

Should I just go with the current studs? I've got about an inch or so that goes into the lugnut w/ the spacers on.

Anyways this is just for street driving until I get the coilovers in (eventually).

Your studs and lugs will be just fine.

So what you're saying is those guys were running 5mm spacers like I am, and stayed with their original studs? Any of them run SRT wheels? Sorry not trying to be paranoid/anal, but just making damned sure, which is partially due to your own concerns awhile back that I didn't approach an issue with caution...

While I don't support cutting a weight bearing part of the car, I think first of all five lugs on our cars is overkill, there are many other HEAVIER cars with four studs of the same size as ours.

And the individuals I speak of, including myself, were using 8mm spacers on stock studs, not 5mm.

I have zero issues running with my spacers on the rears.

w3rd.

i did mines with 5mm spacers for 3 years before up grading them, got em from pep boys for 15 bucks.

On stock studs? Hmmm so this is further paranoia but all years have the same stud lengths, right?

Arro wrote:On stock studs? Hmmm so this is further paranoia but all years have the same stud lengths, right?

yup on stock studs..

I believe they are the same.