To avoid cluttering the 949 wheel pic thread, I decided to make my a new thread to ask a question. At what thickness are extended studs or some other alternative required? I've heard the 3 mm spacers won't required anything else. What about 5 mm?

It seems like 10 mm is where either extended studs or different style spacers (bolted to hub w/stock studs) come into play, but can people with experience chime in? I'd really like to just throw on a 5 mm spacer and see if I can avoid rubbing inner-body, but it's probably not that easy of a fix.

Thanks in advance...

 

you'll have no problems with 5's... I have run 8's on plenty setups without issue. Just tighten the shit out of your lugs. I don't think I would track on 8mm's though.

 

ALFY, I've been going back and forth on this as well. IF I end up going with spacers, I'm going to have long studs press-fit into them. With the 949 lug-nuts we have plenty of room for extended studs, and it's a much safer approach for racing applications. In general, it's much safer to have extra thread contact @ normal torque specs, than over torquing the few threads that you have.

Using fewer and fewer threads makes me a little nervous when grip levels increase on the track...But for street use, like alex said, 5mm usually doesn't mandate new studs; but it's recommended.

 

We would always recommend longer lugs with a spacer. You need to be able to torque the lugs down to factory spec. I guess I don't really see the difference between they are OK for the street and not for the track. If a wheel came off at highway speed and you are not expecting it you can have a big problem on the track or on the street.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

I was thinking a little more about this, and what I think it comes down to is thread engagement - are the lug nuts fully engaged, and how many threads are left over. The thread engagement is what provides the friction that holds the wheel down. You can torque lugs down to factory spec and still not have the threads on the lug nut fully engaged.

I feel like this is going to be an experiment with whatever lugs I order (open-ended so I can observe this) and how well they are engaged. Luckily there are universal 3-5 mm spacers available for relatively cheap. The spacers that require extended studs or bolt to the hub studs and provide their own studs are $$$$$!

 

Thread pitch is 1.5mm. You would lose 2 full turns of the lug nut with a 3mm spacer. If that is all you need to clear the inner suspension at full lock then I wouldn't have a problem running that. I have run 5mm without issue, but looking back I probably would not do it again.

 

i started a thread on this i was convinced its not safe to run the 5MM without the extended lugs.. I tried it on the front and only got 3 1/2 to 4 turns also had a guy post that he lost his wheel with the 5mm so i didnt want to risk it i didnt feel safe so i removed them..

 

Some of you have probably seen my post about this, but my s2k had some 5mm spacers on the front when I bought it. Had it a year and a half, with different wheels also with no problems at all. I drive on the highway all the time too. Im not saying its safe, but I havent had any problems with it. I just check to see if my lugs are tight every week or so.

 

I'm running 3mm spacers and I installed longer studs. Just not worth the risk.

Over torquing your lug nuts to make up for lack of threads is a poor idea. In the end you risk stretching the bolts, which will make them even weaker.

 

A really interesting topic. Let me add that if the car will be used on the track, it is really important to add longer studs regardless the mm size of the spacer you will fit.