Quote:
Originally Posted by dananelson1
|
That threads reads a bit like: "Spacers caused my arthritis and my brother's divorce. Spacers are the worst." The comments are not particularly wrong, but with a little conservatism and care, the reality is more benign. My summary:
- anecdotally, I've used spacers on multiple bimmers, including an M3 and the G05 X5 now, but in all cases the intent and result was to get offsets back to stock; have not tracked with spacers, track wheels were always one piece with offsets specifically designed for the platform
- if spacers are used to bring custom rims back to stock offsets and placements, they are, in fact, very beneficial for restoring "per factory" setup
- if spacers are used JUDICIOUSLY (ie conservatively ie small offsets) for only aesthetics on stock rims (the majority of this current thread), there should really be no noticed negative issues as the small spacers are very likely well within the design margins on the setup
- I don't think many of us track G05 X5s (or even X5Ms), but I would personally feel more comfortable without spacers and, in general, minimum components that can break for the high-stress of a track; I've seen a few crazy mechanical failures on the track, including our "high performance" and "high reliability" bimmers (usually steering, suspension, brakes, and the occasional engine)
- large spacers (say more than 30mm on stock rims, just an unjustified guess) probably do have a negative impact on handling, possibly long long term reliability, and may even have (unlikely, but non-zero) increased safety concerns, particularly on a heavy SUV; I don't recall anyone here going that crazy and if you do, you're already into pimping out your ride and have other priorities
- do small spacers increase launching of road debris at self or others? maybe, but I doubt it could actually be quantitatively measured to be a fact as you're only moving the non-contact patch part of the tire out by a few millimeters
For myself, I don't need the aesthetic "improvements" of spacers, but properly adapting non-stock rims is routine.