frankvan

topic beaten to death but just looking for some feedback. (i've read all the posts, and used the rim offset calculator, etc.... just can't make a decision!)

Once the snow melts i'll be putting my 10x18's back on the car and want to know what offset would be best. Currently the tires are 265/35 and ET is 58. I clear all the suspension bits (i can slide a piece of paper in there!) but get some rubbing on the driver side inner fender when the suspension is compressed. No rubbing on the passenger side surprisingly (car has the "flat" style oil tube).

So the question is about spacers. H&R make 7, 14, 15 and higher spacers. SO the effective ET choices i get are 51, 44, 43, etc... I looked at SML's thread on his wheels with ET40 and they look too far out in that my tires would be hitting the fender lip. I'm curious if the 43/44 options would also be too far out? I'm sure the 51 would be fine but I am looking to fill out the wheel well so might not stick far enough out?
Finally does anyone have experience with the different H&R spacers DR, DRS and DRM?

This is all planning for the spring freshening when i will replace the boges with Bilstein HDs and either red or green H&R's (i've read lots on that and still can't decide ).

crg53

I read somewhere on here, that 8.0x18 ET 52 with 225/40/18 and 10.0x18 ET 47 with 265/35/18 is a good setup for a NB 964, I have no personal experience with this so hopefully someone else will chime in.
Which type of wheels and tires are you installing?

sml

you missed critical information in your thread ... camber.

when I watched the guy adjust the camber, adjusting from -1/2 to -2 degrees probably created about 5mm to 7mm of extra clearance to squeeze in my 10ET40.

what rear camber are you planning to run?

from my research 10ET43 or 44 was popular. i agree my 10ET40 was very tight!

obviously ride height & stiffness is important but I don't know the rates & height of your proposals off the top of my head.

but based on the info at hand and your H&R options, I suggest going out to your car and carefully measuring an extra 7mm outwards and if you still think it is not out far enough, then your next option is 14mm to give 10ET44.

i would go for the 14mm spacer.

frankvan

I will have to measure come spring time as the snow tires are on the car right now. I won't be running excess camber as it's purely a street car but ride height will definitely be lower with the H&Rs. I have to ask (SML) if, given your experience with the ET40, you think the outside will still clear with normal camber with ET43/44.

FWIW my fronts are 8x18 ET47 and i have a bit of negative camber for outside clearance there as it is quite tight on the outer edge with the fender.

Wheels are the 18" twist design from an 02-03 boxster.

sml

haha .. you make it sound like I know what i am talking about .. i just spent too long trying to read threads and find a conclusive answer and in the end the best way is to understand & measure from your car.

you should be able to find a few guys with 10ET43 or 44 and ask them what camber they are running. it definitely seems to work without fender rolling because there have been 3 or 4 guys at least, suggest that it works fine but I guess we dont know the camber (unless they mention it in their posts .. generally they were enthusiasts or track cars so my guess would be they are a few degrees negative.

anyway .. you have it seriously EASY .. you have the car & wheels & tyres ... just bolt them on and make up some spacers with washers or nuts from a hardware store and take a look .. and you will be guessing anyway even at that point! i still dont know if my setup is ok .. i check the tyres after a drive wondering if all is ok because i haven't been to the track yet nor hit too many big potholes. so i guess i'm saying you're never going to get a 100% perfect answer .. and you have it EASY because you are only talking about adapters (not spacers) and they are relatively inexpensive and not too painful to sell on ebay if you get it wrong.

cobalt

I am running 265's on either 9.5 x 18 ET 44 no spacer or 10 x 18 ET 61 with 7 mm spacer and 2+ degrees negative camber. I found the ET61 with 7mm spacer to be the optimal all around fitment myself with heavy negative camber. Best clearance all around both inside and out.

frankvan

Both, thanks for the info.
next question, how hard is to remove the old wheel studs and replace with longer ones (esp keeping in mind those studs have been there for 20 yrs and may be a "little" stuck in place!)

sml

why dont you just use the H&R adapters? (or were you thinking for just testing purposes)

are the current studs not long enough just for testing purposes with some dodgy washers? (ie just leaving the car stationary in the garage - you dont need to drive the car to test the fit)

what is the limit for length of new studs that can be used whilst still being safe?

frankvan

If i go with the H&R 14 or 15mm spacers they come with new longer studs. No idea what the length of stock vs new studs is. From what i have read if you go bigger than 5mm spacer you should go with longer studs.
Smallest H&R adapter kit is 21mm (ET37!) which might be a bit excessive

frankvan

http://www.fvd.de/index.php?VID=1069...em=FVD35161115

Anyone use these spacers from FVD (no affiliation, etc...)? At 15mm they seem kind of thin to have the studs built in, but they are TUV approved.
Looks like i wouldn't have to replace the studs if i used these - plug and play so to speak. And I'm all about having to do less work to achieve the same goal.

sml

looks perfect.
have you bought yet?

frankvan

not yet. but even with shipping it's cheaper from europe and euro conversion from FVD than from the canadian distributor - although different brand.
order will be done in about 15 minutes....