Got new wheels. Only a credit card width between control arm and rims. Is it safe?

[tyuo9980]

I got TE37s SLs with hubcentric rings installed on it 18x9.5+40. The tires are 245x40/18 bridgestone s007a. I have 5mm spacers for the front that came with the wheels. My car is not lowered, at OEM height, and was running OEM 19" sport wheels.

When I went to get the wheels installed, the mechanic said that there is very little space between the rim and front control arm, about a credit cards width. He took it out for a test drive and told me that it drove fine and there shouldn't be any problems.

We tried out the spacers and the guy said that the lugnuts only turn about 3-4 times and that it wasn't safe below 7. The center ring also didnt fit all the way. We ended up just installing the wheels without the spacers but I have some worries with the rim being so close to the control arm.

1. What can cause the rim to touch the control arm? Hitting a pothole? Sharp turns?
2. What are the risks to touching the control arm?
3. I heard that there are spacers that have bolts to them that can "extend" the ones from the rotor. Which ones should I be looking into?
4. Is there anything else I can do or be aware of?
5. Should I uninstall the wheels and put the OEM's back on? Is my current setup safe to drive?
6. If I lower the car, I'll need spacers for sure. Is there also any way to cancel out the camber added by the lowering?

 

[MasterC17]

Not trying to be a debbie-downer, but why did you buy such undersized tires? The overall diameter is 25.7", which is almost a full inch smaller than the stock 19" tires. This may cause issues with the traction control/ABS/etc. The clearance to the knuckle should be fine.

 

[tyuo9980]

i dont think i quite understand. the stock tires for oem 18s are 235/45/18 which should be of very similar size.

are 18 aero wheel suspension settings different?

i have the wheel configuration chnaged to aeros, so odometer and such should be adjusted for accordingly

 

[MasterC17]

i dont think i quite understand. the stock tires for oem 18s are 235/45/18 which should be of very similar size.

are 18 aero wheel suspension settings different?

25.7" vs 26.3" is not what I would consider similar size. If you wanted 245's I would have gone with 245/45/18.

The suspension is the same.

 

[dsgerbc]

Is there a documented case of smaller rolling diameter causing definitely causing issues?


Onto OP's questions:

1. Nothing. If the rims bend a few mm you have larger issues to deal with.
2. Minimal

5. Should be fine. I doubt it'd cause issues with ABS/stability. I personally rolled on 26" diameter tires on 19" rims (vs 26.4" OEM for 19" diameter setting) for quite some time with zero issues. But it's possible I guess, so, take it easy for a bit.
6. Nothing extra is needed for lowering. The spacing between the wheel and suspension will stay constant.

 

[tyuo9980]

Ah ok. I didn't know that it made such a difference. The previous owner had no issues with this.

I looked more into this and it just seems like I got the wrong offset. I think the issue is that the studs are not long enough to fit aftermarket wheels with spacers without studs. The ones with studs are at least 15mm and that would cause the wheel to stick out a bit too much.

I think for now I'll try to get a smaller spacer, maybe 2-3mm.

 

[MasterC17]

Ah ok. I didn't know that it made such a difference. The previous owner had no issues with this.

I looked more into this and it just seems like I got the wrong offset. I think the issue is that the studs are not long enough to fit aftermarket wheels with spacers without studs. The ones with studs are at least 15mm and that would cause the wheel to stick out a bit too much.

I think for now I'll try to get a smaller spacer, maybe 2-3mm.

The problem with a smaller spacer is that it will decrease the clearance to the knuckle. If you only have a credit card now, you'll have nothing after moving to a smaller spacer. A 5mm spacer on Base rotors is fine. I wouldn't go any larger than that, though.

 

[dsgerbc]

The problem with a smaller spacer is that it will decrease the clearance to the knuckle. If you only have a credit card now, you'll have nothing after moving to a smaller spacer. A 5mm spacer on Base rotors is fine. I wouldn't go any larger than that, though.

I read OP as he's not currently running a 5mm spacer, due to his mechanic claiming there being only 3-4 turns.

I find it hard to believe, since I got >7 turns with 3mm spacer and performance rotors, which should be equivalent to the 5mm spacer for non-Performance rotors. But maybe those Volks have really thick lug seats.

I'd verify the mechanic's claim on my own. Doesn't take much time to pop the wheel, put on a spacer and tighten. Just make sure to tighten gradually and in a star pattern, seeing that you're not running the centering ring.

 

[tyuo9980]

Ran an allen key through the gap to get a measurement. Could pass 1.5mm, and probably a bit more.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

They make special lug nuts to work with spacers. I don't know which ones you need, but they will look something like this:

Amazon.com: 12x1.5 Extended Open Ended Lug Nuts, KSP 24PCS 7mm Shank Thread Pitch M12x1.5 Aftermarket Wheels Lug Nuts: Industrial & Scientific

Buy 12x1.5 Extended Open Ended Lug Nuts, KSP 24PCS 7mm Shank Thread Pitch M12x1.5 Aftermarket Wheels Lug Nuts: Lug Nuts - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

I will say, your wheel/tire combo looks comically small in those big wheel wells to me. I would definitely get bigger tires.

 

[dfwatt]

The problem with a smaller spacer is that it will decrease the clearance to the knuckle. If you only have a credit card now, you'll have nothing after moving to a smaller spacer. A 5mm spacer on Base rotors is fine. I wouldn't go any larger than that, though.

I could be getting this mixed up but I've got RB aftermarket rotors which are about as thick in terms of the rotor hat anyway as base (non-performance) rotors and I've only got eight turns on the lug nuts so taking 5 mm away from that would not be safe.

 

[tyuo9980]

I ended up getting these: 3MM WHEEL SPACERS FOR TESLA MODEL 3 (2017-2020) 5X114.3 CB 64.1 BLACK ANODIZED. | eBay

Did some rough math... lug nuts are 19mm, so 19/1.5 = 12.66 turns. Counted by eye around 12 turns as well. My wheels are tightened with 8 or 9 of the 12. With the 3mm spacer, that should take away 2 turns, so i'll be left with 6 or 7. I think my numbers are realistic/on the side of conservative. so maybe 6.5 or 7.5 in reality. Would that be a safe amount of thread engagement?

I feel like even 1-2mm spacers would work, since it would require a much more significant amount of force to bend the wheel onto the knuckle the farther away it is.

Also looking into wheel locks but not sure which ones would fit.

 

[tyuo9980]

They make special lug nuts to work with spacers. I don't know which ones you need, but they will look something like this:

Amazon.com: 12x1.5 Extended Open Ended Lug Nuts, KSP 24PCS 7mm Shank Thread Pitch M12x1.5 Aftermarket Wheels Lug Nuts: Industrial & Scientific

Buy 12x1.5 Extended Open Ended Lug Nuts, KSP 24PCS 7mm Shank Thread Pitch M12x1.5 Aftermarket Wheels Lug Nuts: Lug Nuts - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

I will say, your wheel/tire combo looks comically small in those big wheel wells to me. I would definitely get bigger tires.

I will probably look into lowering by an inch, and getting larger tires.

 

[Sam1]

Seems like a lot of trouble to go through when you could've got a set of forged wheels from Jova custom cut with better measurements for probably as much as you paid for those things.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

I will probably look into lowering by an inch, and getting larger tires.

That will make it look great, especially with your wrap that begs for an aggressive stance.

I think the extended lug nuts will be an easy solution to solve your issue with the 5mm spacer while still having plenty of turns. The spacer will give you an even better stance with lots of clearance.

 

[tyuo9980]

Seems like a lot of trouble to go through when you could've got a set of forged wheels from Jova custom cut with better measurements for probably as much as you paid for those things.

I agree. I may have rushed a bit since it's my first time doing any of this. Learned a lot in the process though. I think the easiest solution may have been to go with 19x9.5 with correct offsets. That way I can avoid lowering and all this spacer stuff.

The previous owner did have his stealth 3 lowered by an inch

 

[dsgerbc]

I could be getting this mixed up but I've got RB aftermarket rotors which are about as thick in terms of the rotor hat anyway as base (non-performance) rotors and I've only got eight turns on the lug nuts so taking 5 mm away from that would not be safe.

I was probably confused. My 3mm spacer on performance rotors is more like 1mm spacer on a non-P rotor.
So, OP might get 6.5-7 turns with 2mm spacer.

 

[dsgerbc]

Seems like a lot of trouble to go through when you could've got a set of forged wheels from Jova custom cut with better measurements for probably as much as you paid for those things.

With how screwed up international freight is at the moment, good luck getting a fresh Jova order delivered by September.

 

[tyuo9980]

Does anyone know what a safe thread engagement actually is? I've heard 7, I've heard its diameter / thread pitch, but interestingly enough the OEM lug nuts only have a maximum of 8 rotations (rough count with my eye), which is below the recommended 14/1.5=9.33.

 

[MODEL+]

Sorry got to this thread late. Seems like most points have already been touched upon.

One more suggestion would be to go with restudded 15mm spacers.
This will solve all your immediate concerns at hand...

-Put your inner wheel barrel far from the suspension arm.
-Safe thread engagement.
-More aggressive stance (Effectively 18x9.5 +25)

Your current tire's diameter is a bit undersized however. If you don't mind it and it's not giving you any traction/stability control issues then that's fine bye me.

Spacers here:

Aspira Auto Design Wheel Spacers

All sizes in-stock ready to ship. Hub-centric design with notch cut out. Compatible with ALL versions of Model 3 & Model Y. 6061-T6 billet aluminum keeps things strong and lightweight. Anodized Black finish is just plain sexy, and will remain that way throughout the seasons. 12.9 top-grade...

modelplusstudio.com

Danny