Pros and cons of fitting wheel spacers ?? I see quite a few people have done it and it in proves the looks but at what cost ?
Pros....car will give you more stance and fill the gaps Cons.....Prepare for stone chips. Lots of them Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Mate ran them on his r26 track car for a year with no issues, probably did 6+ track days in that time, was running 20mm on each corner with longer bolts.
I’ve driven an R26 with 20mm spacers all round. It torque-steered and bump-steered noticeably more than my car without spacers.
As correctly stated spacers change the scrub radius, and so do wheels with a non-standard offset (ET). One of the reasons Renaults handle and steer so well is because they get this so right and are not slaves to image. The nearest to o.e that I could get with Team Dynamics wheels was 10mm less ET and the difference is just about noticeable. When the season re-starts (long wait I'm afraid) I am tempted to fit my R888R to the standard wheels instead.
you would think its actually a cheap way of increasing the track of a car. but as it effects the way the car feels and reacts..unless you are more interested in looks than handling..then leave it alone. many people on here run low offset wheels and spacers though.
If looks are a priority then yes. However for performance it's the other way around. Spacers can improve ultimate cornering ability on smooth tracks. On our bumpy roads however, spacers will increasing tramlining and torque steer.
I see lots of people fitting spacers and I see the visual advantage but if it’s going to compromise handling then I won’t be fitting any
Good decision. I will freely admit to being a snob when it comes to this, but am shocked by how many people who drive RS cars known for their finely-judged handling characteristics will happily compromise their cars' best feature for sake of "filling the arches". If that's what matters then buy a VAG product or something.
This is why I've only fitted spacers to the rear (13.5mm). Only difference I've noticed is the rear seems more stable, road driving btw no track work. Maybe someone with knowledge can say otherwise but I've not noticed any downsides to just fitting rears.
That's a good question... I only have 20mm spacers on the rear, but many guys use all around, but it has any effect or it's just "look"?
From my experience, front axle ALWAYS must be width than rear. I have it tested and more width on rear makes the car a lot understeer. And like I say, if the front pass, the ass pass. From respect, I don´t understand people who make worst the handling because the look, but it´s only my opinion!!
i suppose manu its because a lot of people do prioritize looks. not everyone really drives there car hard enough to notice changes in a car behavior. like you though....i have nothing on my car modified,that wont improve the way it goes round corners. Each to there own i suppose.
In my opinion(and just is my opinion!), don´t like spacers. And in case of use them, all around with studs and nuts, not bolts. If I would like make width the car I would fit wheels with less ET.
Splitting hairs but lower ET wheels would get around another problem with spacers which is extra stress on the hub and wheel bearings. You still have the issue as mentioned of changing the geometry.
I believe that ET Wheels and spacers will both affect scrub radius. A 20mm spacer on a std setup R26 will make the scrub radius close to zero which I think means the inner and outer tyre are trying to go in opposite directions. I had 20mm spacers with std suspension, while it felt stable there was less feedback, much better without them for track work. But then the car looked so much better with them on. Maybe depends what you want?
Renaultsports do seem to be the only ones, that have the wheels sat so far inside the arches,and ride so high. They are the masters of handling,so there must be very good reasons for it.
I know this is an old-ish thread but ive had 4 r26 megs the last one had spacers when i bought it. it looked mint but driving b roads to work daily it wasnt right, so i inspected bushes/bearings etc which were fine shocks an springs were standard so i removed the spacers "20mm on the rear an 10mm on the front" iirc an the car was back to perfection bump steer gone torque steer less as it was running nearly 300bhp, so my only prob was the drive to work wasnt long enough an imo if youve bought the best handling hot hatch money can buy dont piss about with the suspension unless its a track car
just been out in mine at mach 3 for its first fast run since its major overhaul. back onto oem eibach springs..which are shockingly expensive. But the car is back to its brand new best...on a twisty road when all is well,the R26 is a serious point to point machine. This road works the suspension to the max,which is all taken in its stride by the oem suspension set up. No way you could carry that much cross country pace, when the car was lowered,or on low offset wheels. You can use all of the 290lb/ft everywhere..no torque steer,no fear of being bumped off line..just blistering pace. I doubt if many cars could do that..the genius of Renaultsport suspension set ups.
