Wheel spacers
 

Can anyone please explain the purpose of them, advantage and disadvantage?

Re: Wheel spacers
 

purpose/pros: helps clear bbk, makes wheel flush to the fender
cons: may cause wheel vibration, possibly increased stress on the suspension

Re: Wheel spacers
 

Looks & Clearance...

Sometimes you get wheels, which look great and suit your car, however don't fit to your liking as to backspacing (the width, where your car is situated in the wheel well of your car). In order to bring the wheel out more wheel spacers are used.

Secondary use is when you have brake kits, or special rims, that just barely do not clear your brake calipers. In this case the spacer is used in order to provide more clearance for the caliper.

Be careful when installing wide spacers... you may have to change your lug nuts to add length to them... this is a safety precaution in order for the thread to have enough "hold" in the hub.

Re: Wheel spacers
 

Thanks for the insight. I like the sounds of it and what it will offer in terms of look but not really sold completely cause of wheel vibration and possibly increased stress on the suspension.

Anyone done it?
Any problems?

Re: Wheel spacers
 

No problems with mine over 2 years of running them. Make sure you get hubcentric spacers AND longer bolts. Here's a couple of pics of my B6 with 8mm on the front and 15's on the rear:

Attachment 16020

Attachment 16021

Re: Wheel spacers
 

I like it!:D

I see that your sig says "B7 S4 Avant", stupid question: I bought my mine in Dec. and its a 2007/2008 A4 avant. is it a B7 platform or B8?

Re: Wheel spacers
 

Thanks. Yours is a B7 as the B8's aren't out yet.

Re: Wheel spacers
 

is that an aftermarket FMIC I see peaking through?

Re: Wheel spacers
 

Yup, an essential supporting mod for the BT :-)

Re: Wheel spacers
 

naturally... it increases gas mileage...

Re: Wheel spacers
 

I have spacers on my 2001 s4, and im getting some vibration off them. im thinking of taking them off. but it's fine for when it's parked, which it is now....

Re: Wheel spacers
 

Stupid question: What is FMIC?

Re: Wheel spacers
 

FMIC = Front Mount InterCooler basically stock upgrade mounted in the front.. you have to change most piping in order to fit it... in most cases it is bigger then the one you're replacing... and more efficient...

more efficiency equals cooler intake charge and more power...

Re: Wheel spacers
 

lol ... as if more power and the desire to feel it, increases gas mileage ;-)

To add to Black_RS4's info ...

It does reduce heat soak (ever felt the difference in power between a hot summer day and a cool night?). That said, when running a big turbo and much more aggressive software, it is imperitive to keep the car running safely incl. keeping exhaust gas temps within safe parameters and CF's in check otherwise you can run the risk of blowing up your engine.

Re: Wheel spacers
 

leadfoot syndrome taints gas mileage... lol

Re: Wheel spacers
 

Damn it guys: I was so sure that driving hard is good for the fuel economy!

In my youth when I was driving a "true" Beetle someone told me that driving as hard as you can does it good... could not kill that engine!

Thanks for the "FMIT" translation!

Is there a merit to the idea that changing a car to wheel offsets changes its geometry and the driving could be unpredicatble at extreme load?!

Re: Wheel spacers
 

lol - better for the engine but not gas consumption.

BTW, its FMIC - Front mounted intercooler

Not sure about your question about wheel offsets. Although I did not feel it, I've read that a wider stance in the rear provides more understeer. That said I don't believe for a second that widening the stance equally on all 4 corners will cause any unpredictable behaviour whatsoever.

Re: Wheel spacers
 

Avantquattro,

The fingers are faster than the eye... yes it is FMIC!

I heard talk that these German machines are geometricaly refined for the best performance; changing certain parameters (wheel offset) could/may make the car behave unpredictably.... computers... AWD stuff... power applied to the wheels... what do I know? ... I drove a Camaro until the AUDI Fox was forgotten so I can buy a real car from them!

Re: Wheel spacers
 

dude, awesome looking S4 Avant! I've got a 2004 Avant, but only the 1.8T with Sports Package. Thinking of upgrading the suspension and getting wheel spacers along with an ECU upgrade. Do you have problems driving over bumps with the wheels so far out?....doesn't look like your tires have much room to go up in wheel well. Any risk of the wheels hitting the well in day to day driving? Also, are those 18s or 17s? thanks...

Re: Wheel spacers
 

Thanks ! Firstly, the A4 Avant has the USP package which includes 18" rims. I had no problems running with that stance until I replaced the Toyo T1R's with Goodyear F1's. The F1's are slightly wider than the Toyos (even though they're 235's also) and had very minor rubbing when going over dips on the highway. I ended up selling the 15 mm spacers and put the 8's in the back.

With respectto doing the ECU, do not wait to chip your car - you will wonder why you did ! JUst remember that the modding is a slippery slope ...