Wheel Spacers?

chgofirefighter

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 13, 2012
Location
Chicago
TDI
2011 VW Golf 4 Dr
Ok guys, I have a 2011 TDI, Golf.. Want to make it look a lil bit more aggresive with a staggered setup... Wondering what size spacers would do the trick, 15rear/front 10mm or 20rear/front 15mm? Also, which vendor do I select? Ebay seems to be fulled w many who offer spacers.... :eek:


Thanks~
 

Bobo

Active member
Joined
Oct 4, 2011
Location
NJ
TDI
Jetta SWG 2012 6M Golf Variant 2000 6M
Ok guys, I have a 2011 TDI, Golf.. Want to make it look a lil bit more aggresive with a staggered setup... Wondering what size spacers would do the trick, 15rear/front 10mm or 20rear/front 15mm? Also, which vendor do I select? Ebay seems to be fulled w many who offer spacers.... :eek:


Thanks~
Check some videos on youtube how to measure what size spacers you need.

Cheers,
 

Manu

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 29, 1999
Location
Simcoe County, ON, Canada
TDI
2010 VW Golf Wagon 6MT Highline TDI
Depends on the wheel offset you have now.

I run 8mm front, and 10mm rear (could do 12mm rear) with the 17" OEM Avignon @ ET54 offset. I'm lowered on H&R springs too.

With the 16" Biolines @ ET50 offset, 10mm is the max I'd run in the back (4mm difference between the two wheels)

Hope this helps.

I buy my spacers from H&R too.

I have bought from ebay or online retailers, but ended selling them all, and buying all the spacers from H&R, mainly because of the diameter of the spacer.
The hub on Mk5/6 VWs are 150mm in diameter. All the ebay sellers I have dealt with, have 138mm diameter spacers, H&R ones, are 150mm diameter.

Hope this helps.
 

TDIAustin

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2013
Location
Austin, TX
TDI
2011 JSW, MT, Red/Cornsilk
Spacers do shorten the lug nut grip so you may want to lengthen those a bit to avoid any possible accidents. They can pull out or shear off if too much spacer is used.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
5mm front, 10 or 15mm rear is what I'd recommend with stock 17s. You'll want longer lug bolts for the rear.
 

uninc

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
Location
Kenosha WI
TDI
2012 GOLF TDI MKVI
I am running 10mm front and 15 rear on stock Salamonicas. Pretty much flush with no rubbing. I did do the front fender screw mod (check vw vortex for info).
 

Trimmy

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2008
Location
Ohio
TDI
2010 Jetta DSG
What about size for factory 18s on my 2010? I want a wider look and do not plan on getting rid if the 18s. Basically want to go out as far as I can without rubbing.
 

Trimmy

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2008
Location
Ohio
TDI
2010 Jetta DSG
Just put a vtec sticker on your car... About the same effect and more safe.
Are these your cars? I don't believe my car is registered to you so if you don't have anything to contribute to this conversation go clutter up someone else's thread. Plus my vtec sticker added 100hp
 

Trimmy

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2008
Location
Ohio
TDI
2010 Jetta DSG
18 inch goals.

Should be 18X7.5 ET 50. If you don't plan to lower the car and just want to widen the stance you can go with 7-10mm front and 10-15 rear; shouldn't rub anywhere. If you plan to lower it you'll need to go with less spacer or a narrower tire to tuck it on corners.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_VI--TDI/Wheels/Spacers/

Make sure you remember longer bolts.

Thank you that is what I was wondering. I love the way the car looks and do not plan on lowering it plus I drive way to much to want a lowered car.
 

chgofirefighter

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 13, 2012
Location
Chicago
TDI
2011 VW Golf 4 Dr
What wheels do you have? That will be the biggest factor, followed by how aggressive do you want to get?
I have the stock Portos, forgot to mention that, prior I had the detroits but decided that they did not provide a decent ride quality
 

DubFamily

Veteran Member
Joined
May 30, 2012
Location
Swan Point, MD
TDI
2014 BMW 328D xDrive
I have the stock Portos, forgot to mention that, prior I had the detroits but decided that they did not provide a decent ride quality
Your Portos are 17X7 ET 54 like the Avignons are; so you can easily run the same setup as Manu stated above:
I run 8mm front, and 10mm rear (could do 12mm rear) with the 17" OEM Avignon @ ET54 offset. I'm lowered on H&R springs too.
You can run a little more aggressive if you like as you didn't plan to lower it; so 10mm front and 15mm rear will be perfectly doable. That would give you an ET44 front and 39 rear; rear will be poked a hair, front will be flush.

Make sure your spacers are hub centric (That's for you too, Trimmy); IE they will have a "new" hub lip for your wheel to sit/center on. If you don't you'll be centering your wheels with only the lug bolts and they'll wobble and cause vibrations. Thinner spacers, like 3-5mm are generally fine without hub lips because the wheel will still reach the "true" hub; but I wouldn't go wider than 5mm without hub-centric spacers personally.

This is a "skinny" spacer (3mm) that is not hub-centric:


This is a thicker, hub-centric spacer:


H&R Makes great spacers if you want them; or the ECS ones I linked above are quality as well.
 
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soulflyer

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 16, 2010
Location
Ottawa
TDI
Sold: 2010 GSW Highline DSG
I tried 5mm on the front and 10mm on the back. The front ones did not have its own 'lip' to center the wheel and the back ones had. Like what you see in the post before this one.
I had to return them...
The front started to vibrate at speeds higher than 90kmh.Reason: the lip we all have to center the wheel was not long enough for the rim to center properly with the spacer installed, hence the wooble.
The rear: The 10mm spacer for the rear had its own lip but did not leave enough room for the original lip to slip in, so i was not able to put the spacer flush to the car.
I have the standard 16 inch wheels which have a about 4-5mm slant in the bore to facilitate centering the rim against the car.
The spacers were from novustech. Very good quality, excellent customer service (and made in Canada!!). I got fully reimbursed once I explaind my problem. So make sure you factor in everyting...
 

Manu

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 29, 1999
Location
Simcoe County, ON, Canada
TDI
2010 VW Golf Wagon 6MT Highline TDI
The spacers were from novustech. Very good quality, excellent customer service (and made in Canada!!). I got fully reimbursed once I explaind my problem.
I also bought from Novustech (first set), the 8mm didn't have the hubcentric lip, sold them, the 12mm, they wouldn't sit flush against the hub, contacted Ian, and he told me I'm out of luck, I should have read the disclaimer (NOTE2: For some models, in order to correctly seat the spacer against the rotor, the hub might have to be machined or filled down until the back of the spacer sits flat against the rotor. , or something like that.... Whaaaat??) Sold them!

Bought all the replacement spacers from H&R. A bit pricier but NO PROBLEMS.
Got them from www.rpiequipped.com, great people, great customer support. Tom J is the guy that looked after me. Great service and prompt replies to my questions. For US people, with the stronger US $, it may work out good too.

Spacers from 10mm up are hubcentric.
My H&R 8mm are hubcentric (with lip), and 150mm diameter.

Most places, you cannot buy spacers with less than 10mm that have the hubcentric lip.
NOTE1: spacers that are under 10mm will have no lip as it is not possible to put one on
They claim it cannot be done. H&R can (8mm only).

btw, CB must be 57.1mm, and if using OEM wheels, extended ball seat lugs nuts are needed

Do your homework!!
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Start with one lug, make it tight enough so the ball (or cone) seats into the wheel, but not tight. Do the same with the opposite one. Then do the rest, rotating the wheel as you tighten them.

I misplaced the centering rings for my Motegi Traklites a couple of years ago and I've just run the tires without them. Tightening the way I described they didn't shake, even at 115 MPH on the track. I have 5mm and 8mm spacers without centering rings, no problem.
 

Lyons17r

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Location
Southern Ohio
TDI
2005.5 Silver 5 speed TDI
Anyone have any pics of their MKV lowered with 18in wheels? I have the GTI wheels and want to lower and space them out a little bit and get a good stance but I want a pretty good ride as well... Here is my car now





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Zacharydfloyd

Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2019
Location
Bellevue
TDI
2013 jetta sportwagen
Depends on the wheel offset you have now.

I run 8mm front, and 10mm rear (could do 12mm rear) with the 17" OEM Avignon @ ET54 offset. I'm lowered on H&R springs too.

With the 16" Biolines @ ET50 offset, 10mm is the max I'd run in the back (4mm difference between the two wheels)

Hope this helps.

I buy my spacers from H&R too.

I have bought from ebay or online retailers, but ended selling them all, and buying all the spacers from H&R, mainly because of the diameter of the spacer.
The hub on Mk5/6 VWs are 150mm in diameter. All the ebay sellers I have dealt with, have 138mm diameter spacers, H&R ones, are 150mm diameter.

Hope this helps.
Do you happen to have a photo of the 8 and 10mm spacers on the 17x7 et54?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

JD_2012GolfTDI

Well-known member
Joined
May 5, 2019
Location
CA
TDI
2012 Golf Kerma tuned
I ordered 15mm rear spacers based on recommendation from Deutsche Autoparts. I also have stock suspension and Salamanca wheels. I'll post before/after pics.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Got longer bolts, I hope. Or do they bolt to the hubs? I know 10mm spacers don't.
 

DerekG

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Location
Oklahoma
TDI
'13 4dr Golf TDI 6-speed manual
I ordered 15mm rear spacers based on recommendation from Deutsche Autoparts. I also have stock suspension and Salamanca wheels. I'll post before/after pics.
Thinking about going 10mm front and 15mm rear as well with the same wheels. Looking forward to the update!
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Do you happen to have a photo of the 8 and 10mm spacers on the 17x7 et54?
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He posted that 6 years ago, so might not have the car or frequent the forum these days. If you look at my photos here, my car had 17x8 et35 wheels, which would be roughly the same as et54 with 10 mm spacers.
 
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Zacharydfloyd

Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2019
Location
Bellevue
TDI
2013 jetta sportwagen
He posted that 6 years ago, so might not have the car or frequent the forum these days. If you look at my photos here, my car had 17x8 et35 wheels, which would be roughly the same as et54 with 10 mm spacers.
Where can I find your photos? I'm just trying to figure out what's the largest spacer I can get on front and back with the 17x7 et54 lowered on hr sport springs with no rubbing.

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turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Where can I find your photos? I'm just trying to figure out what's the largest spacer I can get on front and back with the 17x7 et54 lowered on hr sport springs with no rubbing.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Click on photos on the bar near the top of the page and search my username. I only have a handful of photos. You shouldn't have any problems with that setup. My golf was lowered on sport springs with the same poke as the spacers would give you, and never once rubbed.
 

JD_2012GolfTDI

Well-known member
Joined
May 5, 2019
Location
CA
TDI
2012 Golf Kerma tuned
Thinking about going 10mm front and 15mm rear as well with the same wheels. Looking forward to the update!
Very happy with outcome of Deutsche Auto Parts 15mm spacers on rear wheels! They came with extended lug bolts.
This changed my Salamanca wheels from 51mm to 36mm offset. I also have the stock suspension.
Driving impressions will have to wait till tomorrow.

Before/After photos.



 
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