Hi Guys, Do you think wheel spacers effect handling? Wider track and all that... My loose plan is wheel spacers and some Cooksport springs. I love the way my car currently handles so any advice positive and negative would be much appreciated. Cheers, Richard
from my experience with the good old pug, the wider the rear, the more planted rear but you lose the happy tail fun-factor. for the front, losing agility slightly is expected. also, the wider you have the shorter the life of the wheel bearing. different cars response to track width differently so you may start with 5mm spacers to try and error.
I'm running 5mm spacers and Cooksport springs. 5mm spacers make the R26 match the track of the R26.R . Looks slightly better as well I think but I wouldn't want it to look any wider. Regards, Jonny.
I dont run spacers I just have an increased ET on my wheels. Iirc the cup racers ran them to help give the slicks more clearance from the arches etc. Id expect a more stable rear from fitting rear spacers but with hubs being a common weak spot id avoid them personally.
Bear in mind that changing the offset of the front wheels will also affect the scrub radius - which has an important part to play in steering feel. The RS Megane's have negative scrub radii as standard, to minimise torque steer. If you increase wheel offset, your scrub radius would also increase (become less negative i.e. closer to zero, or even positive). Exactly what effect that would have on the feel I don't know - Maybe good, bad or simply not noticeable. I'm sure someone with more practical experience of suspension geometry set-up would be able to advise. I'd be interested if anyone does know the exact scrub radius values for the 225/230/R26 and the R26.R?
Great stuff keep it coming guys. Jonny (TFD)- Do you think the 5mm spacers and Cooksports was the right move? How much did it change the car?
Exactly mate. The cup cars ran big camber and larger dampers and springs so clearance from the suspension and inner arch may have been tight. For the road I imagine the improvements are small and for track you want suspension you can adjust before you look at any other geometry. With the increased ET mine still had about .5 negative before fitting adjustable suspension. For road use though a set of cooksports and some decent super sport tyres gives a good mix of grip and the ride isnt to busy over bumps. Dave
