Marine Blue

I’ll pile on to this thread with a question, if you install 5 mm spacers up front will that interfere with the tracking/alignment if you don’t add the spacers in the rear?

Also will adding 5mm spacers require changing the bolt length or is the current length adequate?

darylbowden

I'll let someone better informed answer the tracking/alignment question with certainty but I haven't noticed any ill effects since i put 5mm spacers up front.

As for the bolt length, 5mm spacers will work just fine with stock bolts. Any bigger and you need to up them.

911pcar

Thanks for the advice. I ordered the 5mm spacers. I will let you know how they work out.

Marine Blue

Excellent, thank you!

Vandit

Spacers will not affect alignment.

Spacers will affect track width and other dynamics such as steering scrub angle, but a 5mm is so minor, I would not worry about it. In theory, you are adding grip to the axle you widen, but stuff like that will only affect dynamics at the very limit. Again, I wouldn't worry about it.

911pcar

I installed the 5mm spacers on the front wheels and the tires still rub the chassis.

Should I be looking to install the wider washers on the steering rack? How difficult is it to replace? My biggest concern is to be able to install without having to re-align my front end.

Thanks

JohnK964

Replacing the washer on the rack is pretty easy. As for doing it with out changing alignment that will be different. Being careful you could get it close. My thoughts are an alignment would be cheaper than new tires or repairing damage to the car

Vandit

You can go through the trouble of adding the updated steering stops, but you will probably still rub.

You're running an 8" wheel on the front axle. I run a 17x7 +55 with a 225/45 with the thicker steering stops and I still rub. Your setup pokes inward an extra 10mm even after factoring in your 5mm spacer.

Are you driving around in a tight parking lot using the steering angles from lock-to-lock all day? Is the rubbing really affecting your day-to-day usage that much?

You can DIY the install of the rack spacers. It's been close to a decade since I did it, but there is a thread I created where I ran through the process and posted pics. You're going to have to pop the ball joint off the spindle to be able to spin off the whole tie-rod assembly off and swap out the stops. I think you'll still have to loosen up the tie-rod adjustments in order to clock the balljoint to the spindle to compensate for the different thickness of the new stop.

Will the alignment be perfect afterward? Probably not. Will it be way off? If you took care, probably not. Do 911s even wear out their front tires anyway? haha.

911Jetta

Right!