What are wheel spacers?

Answer 1

Wheel spacers fit between your car's wheel and the hub that the wheel mounts to on the car. Spacers push the wheel away from the hub ("spaced out"). There are a few reasons why you NEED spacers and also reasons why you might WANT spacers -

Correction. You may have bought a set of wheels that don't have the correct offset for your car. The offset may be too high, resulting in the wheels sitting too far inward. This is both ugly and incorrect as the tire can now rub on the inside wheel well, or on suspension components, etc. A wheel spacer will push the wheel out and 'correct' the offset.

Clearance. Many wheels are not compatible with big brake kits. The spoke of the wheel will scrape the new brake caliper and you need a wheel spacer to push the wheel spoke away from the caliper.

Appearance. You want to push the wheels out for a better stance and more aggressive look.

Handling. By spacing the wheels further apart, you can make the car more stable and corner better. You can gain a similar effect as adding a wider wheel without the added weight and expense.

Wheel spacers vary in size so it's very important to measure for the size you need. Too much of a spacer will lead to contact between the tire and the fender. Too little of a spacer may not suit your needs. It's also required to check your wheel bolts or studs to ensure there will be enough thread engagement to secure the wheel. Some wheel spacer kits come with longer studs, others use bolts that need to be ordered separately.

The quality of spacers also varies. Some are universal fitment - meaning they will fit multiple applications of cars. Other, more expensive, spacer kits are built specifically for particular models. Universal spacers tend to have more fitment issues, leading to wheel vibrations. A spacer that is designed to fit a specific model should be a 'perfect' fit with the bolt pattern, wheel center bore, fastener type and size, all matching original equipment specs. Most of the more expensive spacer kits also come with some kind of quality guarantee or meet international standards.