OT. Chop Shop.

I completely agree. In fact, I think even a 1 inch spacer is not conducive to safe motoring.

regards

David

I'm into the VW "scene" you might say, and I see people using spacers all the time - I wouldn't use them if you paid me. Some of the hub-centric ones are ok if used properly and in moderation but you can actually get flat-faced ones with no hub centre-lip, so effectively the wheel bolts are carrying all the weight - thats, is an accident (and quite a big one) waiting to happen.

And dont get me started on wobble bolts!

Are those for wheels of a different PCD?

I think spacers are a bodge full stop.

Yeah, not a fan I must say. Also, PCD adaptors give me the fear too - i.e

4x100 to 5x112 etc - I wouldn't do it. But I'm *relatively* picky about such matters - I've seen guys spend £1300 on some nice BBS LM's for example, only to wrap them in Sunitrac ditchfinders! Crazy.

One or two manufacturers have fitted them as OEM, though. (ISTR Fiat use

10mm spacers on the Seicento Abarth to get enough clearance for 14" wheels)

Not that I'd use them myself - although, if I were to use them, it would only be to correct a small offset difference.

At least there someone will have tested them properly, plus 10mm isn't much.

Seen this before? (long, but worth it for the WTF factor).

If wheels with wider rims are fitted, it might be necessary to use wheel spacers to keep the centreline of the rim the same as it was with the original wheels. Within reason, I see little problem with that as long as the tyres don't foul the bodywork, or the inner front wheel arch on full lock. Such spacers put very little additional stress, if any, on the axles etc.

In last nights episode, I was surprised to learn that the reason for them frequently getting the spacers wrong, was that they had been using a rule to measure diameters and the pcd's for the wheel bolt holes. How stupid can you get when a good digital vernier caliper can be purchsed for less than 10 quid ? Mike.

Oh, and here's how it was done:

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Chris Bartram saying something like:

I suspect so, and it's the kind of bone-headed thing that will get the Dept of Motorised Things to look seriously at making any sort of mechanical customisation illegal, in the long run. When I think back to the fecking lethal engineering used in some trike builds, I shudder, and I wonder if the riders ever pranged it big style when something broke.

Yeah, I admit a little bit of camber can *look* ok, but theres always scene queens who want to take things to extremes....

Strangely enough trikes actually have a very good safety record, hard to believe when you see the cheaper end of the range, but true. I think the mot weed out some of the worst and ensure the rough stuff is at least strong enough.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Mike G" saying something like:

Probably not a time-served mechanic in the lot of 'em, that's why. It's sheer bloody ignorance of the right tools.

Unless the hubs & bearings are re-engineered, that cannot be safe for road use.

Well if you're fitting something with a bizarrely different offset then you could end up with the centreline back where it should be. But I doubt that was the motivation or end result.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Chris Bartram saying something like:

Jeez, what a f****it.