my first 911

I just installed some new aftermarket wheels with winter tires. I added 7mm spacers in the front and 15mm spacers in the rear. The rears have a flange that that sticks out that mimics the hub but the fronts do not. I am getting a vibration in the steering wheel. I went back to the tires shop to have the balance checked and they were perfect. Are their any tricks to installing the spacers without the flange to help get them perfectly centered. The shop had me hold the brake while they torqued them with the car still off the ground. They said some time that helps (in my case it did not). Any other tips??

extanker

see if you can get front spacers that are hub-centric

my first 911

these are hub-centric according to the add. What i have learned is that under 10mm, very few have the flange. It seems a lot of people use these with no problems so I am trying to find out any tips to the installation process that may help.

OKB

your wheels and tires are probibly out of balance or bad

semicycler

I had this same problem with OEM lobster wheels and 7mm flat spacers in the front. Not all wheels have this problem with the 7mm flat spacers but the OEM lobster wheels do. Vibrations at highway speeds just like a wheel that is missing the balancing weights. Remove your center wheel cap while installing the front wheels and you can see there is play between the wheel and the hub with the 7mm flat spacer version.

Front spacers with a lip fixed it for me. The lip is segmented to interlock with the OEM hub. Brey Krause or Ruf make them but they are a bit pricey. Something like this:






Another option is to step up the to 10mm version with a lip. They are readily available from most spacer manufacturers. The extra 3mm in front will not make a difference. H&R's are one example (see the 10mm version towards the left):

177mph

Interesting post. I have the 7's in the front without a lip and have no issues. Your explanation makes sense.

Rikky001

Get 2 guidance rods and when you install the spacer and wheel it will be nicely centered with no vibrations as result. Best is to use hub centric ones as already mentioned.
I have 7mm in the front, hub centric spacers without a lip and no vibrations.
Avoid the spacers which are slotted but use the ones with the proper holes drilled instead.

der Geist

I had the same problem with my previous Boxster. Non hub centric spacers on the front worked fine with the Michelins but when I replaced them with Nittos the steering wheel shook like crazy. Problem disappeared when I replaced them with hub centric spacers. You do need the spacers with the lip. I have the ones from Adaptec (no affiliation) on my C4S now and I have no problems. He is a board sponsor, sells a quality product and gives a decent discount to Rennlisters.

RichFL

I tried 2 different brand of spacers with my 19" Carrera Sport Wheels on a PASM equipped car and they both caused vibrations. I gave up on the idea.

Quadcammer

have a look at ECS Tuning spacers. I believe they have a lip on the small ones.

awrryan

try the oem 5mm spacers. They are thin enough that they leave enough space on the hub so that they do not need a lip on which the wheel is mounted. When I tried H&R spacers without that lip, the wheel was not secure enough to the hub and it shook like crazy. the oem 5mm spacers make enough of a difference to me to have them installed.

my first 911

Update...3rd time is a charm. Today I took the wheels back off, took out the center caps, and remounted the wheels. I was able to look inside the wheel hub to see when the margin was the same on all sides between the hub and the wheel. I kept loosening the nuts and rotating the wheel and then tightening them until it looked good. Had my son hold the brake and torqued them while off the ground. Test drove and the vibration is gone. If I had it to do again, I would make sure the spacers have the flange. It's a little bit of a PITA but I got it. Maybe it will be easier with the summer wheels. Thanks to everyone for the help.

OKB

If you can see a gap then you need a spacer with a flange. apparently the 7m spacer it enough to keep the wheel hub to far away from the hub flange. The hub flange is what centers the wheel on the hub. NOT THE LUGS. The lugs cant do it. Since you have identified that, you should just go ahead and buy some $50 spacers with flanges.

Hothonda

Got these from Adaptec (forum sponsor) 7 & 15mm. Like you had a problem with non flanged on the 7MM