2021 Long Range Wheel Spacers - Size, Brand, AP Impacts?

[StormCruzzer]

Hey everyone, I have the 18" Aero wheel, hubs removed, on my 2021 LR. From what I've seen, Blox is the most popular brand and they look great, so unless someone has info saying I should go elsewhere, they're what I'm going to go with. I'd like to go with 20mm in the rear and 15mm in the front, but have a few questions first.

First - I've seen a few fitment problems with 15mm spacers in the rear on the M3P, but everything seems like it fits well on the LR and SR+. I know the 2021 wheels are very slightly updated from the 2020 and previous years and wanted to see if anyone had info confirming whether or not 15mm will fit in the front.

Secondly - Does anyone have any info on how spacers spacers may affect AP and FSD? I've seen a few people (not Tesla specific nor related to tesla at all, just in dealing with the handling and wear of suspension etc.) recommend getting the same size spacers for front and rear. Does anyone have any data on if that will mess with AP/FSD? I would assume different sizes front and rear wouldn't matter since it's really only the front wheels turning, but wanted to make sure I covered all bases before potentially messing something up.

Thanks in advance!

 

[GreenHokie]

Greetings. I have 15/15mm spacers from Bonoss (formerly Bloxsports) installed on my 2019 Stealth Performance with stock 19” wheels, which I believe has the exact same rotor/hub/brake size and set-up as the LR and SR+ models with 18” wheels. Someone can certainly check/correct me if I’m wrong. I am also not sure if Tesla made any changes to this area in their 2021 models. If no changes, then both of the following comments will be applicable to your situation.
1. I can confirm 15mm spacers (from Bonoss/Bloxsport) work just fine on the fronts. Fitment is actually perfect.
2. I can confirm 15mm spacers have no perceivable effect on AP and FSD.

As for spacers putting extra stress & wear on the hub & suspension, there is no credible data/proof of any real world negative impacts of reasonably sized spacers (like 20 mm or less), especially under “normal” driving conditions and when quality spacers are used and installed correctly. Any suggestion otherwise is just pure speculation/conjecture. Of course, if you are someone who is a track or autocross enthusiast, then spacers are probably not a good idea due to the frequent high loads/stresses on the suspension associated with that type of driving/use.

Also, if you are just adding spacers (and not also lowering your vehicle), then the general consensus from most suspension experts is you probably will not need to have an alignment done, assuming of course your current alignment is already good & within spec. Personally, I would have one done anyway after installing the spacers, just for my own peace of mind.

Good luck and post some photos for us to see after the install!!

 

[StormCruzzer]

Awesome, thanks for the info!

Are you happy with 15/15 or would you go 15/20 if you could go back and do it again? And do you have any pictures?? Would love to see 15/15!

 

[GreenHokie]

Awesome, thanks for the info!

Are you happy with 15/15 or would you go 15/20 if you could go back and do it again? And do you have any pictures?? Would love to see 15/15!

You’re welcome. I’m definitely happy with the 15/15 set-up. 15 on the rear produces a flush enough look for me. In fact, when viewed from certain angles, my rear wheels/tires actually sticks out a little bit from the edge of the fender/body. Certainly nothing wrong with using 20’s on the rear, especially if you really want every part of the wheel/tire to stick out beyond the edge of the fender/body. Personally, I think 20’s would make the rear wheels stick out too much... at least for my taste. So, zero urge to even try 20’s on the rear for me. Perhaps another small benefit of using 15/15 is... you have a completely symmetrical set-up.

Below are a few photos. The second photo shows just the rear.

One final note/disclaimer: I am not sure how wide your 18” wheel/tire/aero cover combo is compared to my stock 19” sport wheel combo. If your combo is same or wider than my stock 19’s, then I have no doubt you’ll be thrilled with 15mm on the rear. If your wheel/tire combo is considerably more narrow than mine, then well... you might prefer 20’s on the rear. Sorry to introduce yet another consideration/decision point for you, but I think this minor detail may be relevant in your case.

 

[Dilpickle]

You’re welcome. I’m definitely happy with the 15/15 set-up. 15 on the rear produces a flush enough look for me. In fact, when viewed from certain angles, my rear wheels/tires actually sticks out a little bit from the edge of the fender/body. Certainly nothing wrong with using 20’s on the rear, especially if you really want every part of the wheel/tire to stick out beyond the edge of the fender/body. Personally, I think 20’s would make the rear wheels stick out too much... at least for my taste. So, zero urge to even try 20’s on the rear for me. Perhaps another small benefit of using 15/15 is... you have a completely symmetrical set-up.

Below are a few photos. The second photo shows just the rear.

One final note/disclaimer: I am not sure how wide your 18” wheel/tire/aero cover combo is compared to my stock 19” sport wheel combo. If your combo is same or wider than my stock 19’s, then I have no doubt you’ll be thrilled with 15mm on the rear. If your wheel/tire combo is considerably more narrow than mine, then well... you might prefer 20’s on the rear. Sorry to introduce yet another consideration/decision point for you, but I think this minor detail may be relevant in your case.


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Can you post more pictures, maybe some before and after as well?

 

[GreenHokie]

Can you post more pictures, maybe some before and after as well?

Hey there. I really don’t have any before photos which show how tucked in the wheels/tires were without spacers. All of my before photos are either of the overall side, front or rear shots and do not show tire/wheel stance.

However, here are some additional after close-up photos. In the last photo (taken from the rear of the vehicle), you can see how far out the rear wheel/tire sticks out beyond the mud guards, even with 15 mm spacers. A minor negative to be aware of when using spacers is, you will get a little more dirty/mud splatter on the sides of the vehicle because the wheel/tire now sticks out a little beyond the edge of your wheel well and mud guards.

 

[Bluesmobile]

I just installed Bloxsport 15mm front / 20mm rear on my 21 M3 Performance with stock wheels and tires. Zero issues with fit, zero issues with FSD or anything else.

Only minor complaint is the included Bloxsport wheel nuts are a little weak. They do not torque quite as crisp as the OEM nuts. The Bloxsport nuts do torque but feels like there is material yielding before the torque wrench clicks.

 

[MODEL+]

As an alternative to look into:

H&R 14mm front / 17mm rear
#2865642MZ5
#3465642

 

[Uncle Paul]

While this is a great look, there will be concerns that you may experience some sand blasting effect that will degrade your paint behind areas that stick out beyond the wheel well protection. This is why some install small mud flaps behind the wheel wells as well.

 

[GreenHokie]

While this is a great look, there will be concerns that you may experience some sand blasting effect that will degrade your paint behind areas that stick out beyond the wheel well protection. This is why some install small mud flaps behind the wheel wells as well.

Good point. That’s why I have both mud flaps and full PPF on the entire vehicle. I’m riding around in a full condom!!!

 

[Eddie1218]

I just installed Bloxsport 15mm front / 20mm rear on my 21 M3 Performance with stock wheels and tires. Zero issues with fit, zero issues with FSD or anything else.

Only minor complaint is the included Bloxsport wheel nuts are a little weak. They do not torque quite as crisp as the OEM nuts. The Bloxsport nuts do torque but feels like there is material yielding before the torque wrench clicks.

I haven't found a pic of a M3P on Ubers with spacers installed.

Do you happen to have pics of your set up?

Are they flush? If not, how far do they poke?

 

[dingmah]

Installed a set of the 20mm BONOSS (formerly BLOXsport) spacers on the rear wheels only earlier tonight. I wanted to fix the rear first, as the fronts are nowhere near as ugly as the rears, then consider installing spacers on the front wheels.

I have Fast Wheel EV03 wheels, which have the same spec as the 18" Aero wheels (18" x 8.5" ET40) and mounted on the factory Michelin Michelin Primacy MXM4 235/45/18 tires.

The nuts supplied with the spacers seem weak because it does feels like the nut is giving way (AKA soft nut metal) when you are torqueing it. No instructions were provided in the box, so I torqued the nuts on the spacer to the hub to 129lb ft as most people have done.

I applied a generous amount of copper anti-seize both hubs (actual hub, and spacer hub).

Overall, I am very happy with how the rear looks now, and think that the 20mm spacer is a perfect fit for the rear of the Model 3.