What kind of effects would you get from widening the front wheel track by 30mm total using wheel spacers and extended wheel studs?

 

do you mean in the sense of offset?

 

Other than changing the scrub radius, and changing the wheel rate?

 

I was wonderig in terms of handling if there were to be any benefit to it. I was thinking about it because I was going to get longer studs so that I can get more threads in the lug nut then I have now. If I get Acura TL studs they will fit the lugs perfectly and if I get ARP extended studs I can fit a 15mm spacer.

If there is no advantage to widening the wheel tack then I would just go with the TL studs.

 

Right now the rims i have are a 35mm offset vs. the typical 40 and 45...
My car does handle better then it did with a higher offset...
From what I understand wider in a sense is better...

 

You will need to be 15 mm further away from cones when you pass by them, think about that passing through six cone slalom, Haha! Narrower has it advantages.

Need to increase your effective spring rates, scrub radius, wear, tear on hubs and hub bearings, air resistance because your tires are exposed more……..

 

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Unfortunately as you use excessive wheel offsets you muck up the front end geometry and produce prodigous loads in the outer CV joint. The car tends to steer funny, as the caster and resulting on-center force is amplified, as well as wearing out the CV joint in a big hurry. It will give a wider track, but if you slant your offset to a great enough degree to produce much of a change your CV joints will hate you and the car may not drive as well.

Just like excessive lowering without relocating the contact points for the A-arms signifigant changes in wheel offset cry out for geometry correction to prevent degredation of the car's manners.

 

use less brakes in the corners, let the tires scrub the speed!!!!!!

I run 13x7's with ZERO offset, I gain 40 mm PER SIDE!!!!!!!

 

is 35mm offset for a rim to excessive?
or should i get the rim machined to a 40mm...
what do you guys think?
Thanks..

 

Really- zero offset? That'll put you in possible a + scrub radius situation which I've read to be evil and people said scary things when I suggested a similar setup.
But all that is apparently rubbish- how does it drive? Any violence from the steering wheel?

Thanks
Ben

 

I just switched from a set of 13" x 9" wheels with 4" backspacing to the same size with 5" backspacing (same tires, hoosier bias ply's). I was unsure how it would affect my handling, and I was definitely in for a surprise. Turn-in was *much* quicker. It felt like I had suddenly switched to radials or something. Even though my track width was effectively 2" narrower, I found myself hitting cones with the inside wheel because my car would turn in earlier than I was (am) accustomed to. As a result of increased turn in, oversteer has also increased (i guess that's why...).

I have no idea how to explain the physics involved. I'll leave that to the engineers, but with the same wheel size, same tires, same pressures, (virtually) same conditions, same shock settings, etc... the result of increased backspacing was increased turn-in and increased oversteer.

 

car drove just find in my opinion..........



1998 CincySCCA Solo2 DSP points champion..........

 

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In the sense of dynamic weight transfer, for the same given ride height, wider track would decrease weight transfer thus providing higher grip. So geometrically speaking, the lower and wider the car, the more grip the tires can generate in corners.

But as you widen the track using spacers, the motion ratio would be retarded and stiffer springs would need to be used. And as many has already mentioned, spacers put more stress on the wheel bearings and increase the scrub radius so those are the drawbacks that need to be considered.