Wheel Spacers installed with 19” Aero Wheels

[doubletwist]

What I find interesting is that I’ve only seen two lowered Airs in this forum

How much lower could one possibly want this car? I already have to slow down to a crawl coming in and out of my not-even-remotely-steep driveway to avoid scraping the hell out of the front underside. Even a residential intersection near me I have to approach at a sharp angle to avoid scraping. And I'm not exactly in an area known for sharp terrain changes (N Texas).

At my wife's work I can't even go in/out half the entrances to the parking lot as the car bottoms out HARD. Damn near gave me a heart attack the first time I went there. It hit hard enough that I worried about puncturing the battery l, despite the steel plate.

I can't imagine usefully trying to go anywhere with the car even lower than it already is unless living in Flatland.

 

[terrycs]

How much lower could one possibly want this car? I already have to slow down to a crawl coming in and out of my not-even-remotely-steep driveway to avoid scraping the hell out of the front underside. Even a residential intersection near me I have to approach at a sharp angle to avoid scraping. And I'm not exactly in an area known for sharp terrain changes (N Texas).

At my wife's work I can't even go in/out half the entrances to the parking lot as the car bottoms out HARD. Damn near gave me a heart attack the first time I went there. It hit hard enough that I worried about puncturing the battery l, despite the steel plate.

I can't imagine usefully trying to go anywhere with the car even lower than it already is unless living in Flatland.

I was just noting how the camber doesn’t change much on a lowered Air as it does on most ICE cars.

On a side note … every car I’ve ever owned since the age of 16 have been lowered. I’m still on the fence about my GT though. The idea for lowering a car is to reduce drag and lower the CG for better handling. The Air already has the lowest drag coefficient and a low CG. So all the performance reasons for lowering it are no longer there. It would only be for aesthetics and reducing the gap between the tire and the fender arches.

 

[pandaisftw]

@Cabonzhp

Thinking about doing 15mm front and 10mm rear based on my measurements on my 20" wheels - did you have any difficulty removing the existing studs? I assume you just jammed 2 nuts together and that was enough to break it free?

 

[terrycs]

Link to pics of an Air with 20mm spacers:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/5534731763266162/permalink/25701840529461988/?

 

[Pragmatic]

I would think the lugs pound out like most cars. Not sure the diameter of the splines nor the length of the lugs.

 

[vvspeedy30]

I would think the lugs pound out like most cars. Not sure the diameter of the splines nor the length of the lugs.

allegedly he didn't need longer wheel studs on a 20mm spacer. i think i'll be able to get away with 5mm on the stock studs

 

[pandaisftw]

allegedly he didn't need longer wheel studs on a 20mm spacer. i think i'll be able to get away with 5mm on the stock studs

I have no idea how the guy in the FB link fit a 20mm spacer on stock studs - there is like... maybe 3-5mm of extra thread on the existing studs, and those 3-5mm start tapering so the thread wouldn't even engage (perhaps it varies from wheel to wheel? I am on the 20" aero lite stealth wheels).

If we utilize 14x1.5 ET (extended thread) lug nuts as OP mentioned initially, then you can get some more thread engagement with spacers - however I have a really hard time trusting that the thin ET portion of the lug nut will hold a 20mm spacer. 5mm should (probably) be fine. As long as you ensure the ET lug nuts don't bottom out, which would cause the wheel to be loose.

Ideally, we would utilize something like this, however I think OP noted that the stock studs would hit the back of the wheel (I assume the wheels don't have voids machined out between the holes if this is the case. I haven't checked myself), thus realistically that leaves us with 2 options: 1) press the existing studs out and get longer studs, or 2) use ET lug nuts.

1) would be the proper solution IMO, which is kind of a headache because I am leasing and don't want to be messing with that.

 

[terrycs]

I have no idea how the guy in the FB link fit a 20mm spacer on stock studs - there is like... maybe 3-5mm of extra thread on the existing studs, and those 3-5mm start tapering so the thread wouldn't even engage (perhaps it varies from wheel to wheel? I am on the 20" aero lite stealth wheels).

If we utilize 14x1.5 ET (extended thread) lug nuts as OP mentioned initially, then you can get some more thread engagement with spacers - however I have a really hard time trusting that the thin ET portion of the lug nut will hold a 20mm spacer. 5mm should (probably) be fine. As long as you ensure the ET lug nuts don't bottom out, which would cause the wheel to be loose.

Ideally, we would utilize something like this, however I think OP noted that the stock studs would hit the back of the wheel (I assume the wheels don't have voids machined out between the holes if this is the case. I haven't checked myself), thus realistically that leaves us with 2 options: 1) press the existing studs out and get longer studs, or 2) use ET lug nuts.

1) would be the proper solution IMO, which is kind of a headache because I am leasing and don't want to be messing with that.

Correct … thread engagement is important so the only time the factory studs can be used to secure both spacer and wheel is if the spacer is thin enough.

A 20mm spacer is almost an inch thick so he’s probably using spacers similar to the ones you have linked.

Also just fyi the backs of the wheels have pockets as you described. At least on my AeroSports:

 

[pandaisftw]

Correct … thread engagement is important so the only time the factory studs can be used to secure both spacer and wheel is if the spacer is thin enough.

A 20mm spacer is almost an inch thick so he’s probably using spacers similar to the ones you have linked.

Also just fyi the backs of the wheels have pockets as you described. At least on my AeroSports:

So you inspired me to go take my front wheel off and take a look for myself, and indeed the 20" wheels have the pockets as well. The pockets are 6mm deep at the shallowest point. Your 21" aero sport wheel pockets look much deeper, maybe 10-15mm!

That being said... I forgot to measure the length of the stud which would inform you the minimum spacer width required to fit the wheel over the stud, accounting for your particular pocket depth. Based on the image and counting the M14x1.5 threads + the end of the stud, I'm arriving around 30mm in total stud length, but it's hard to tell because I do believe a few threads go below the rotor surface.

So I think for me (with the 20" aero lite wheels)... because the pockets are so shallow, I would need at minimum 25mm spacers, which would cause the wheels to poke out way too far for my liking, which only leaves me with the 2 options I mentioned earlier. Sadly, I may just have to deal with the fitment as it is since I'm leasing.

 

[OSUMessiah21]

The Lug studs measure 1.5 inches in length. I have a winter wheel and tire package from my EQE (255/45R19, 48 offset) that I'm trying to fit onto my Air Touring. I am using wheel adapters since the PCDs don't match (5x120 vs 5x112), but the 25 mm adapters I initially ordered didn't work since the studs protruded too far past the adapter and my wheels do not have deep pockets in the back.

So my solution is ordering 1.25" (31.75 mm) hubcentric adapters, which should leave much less of the stud exposed and allow me to install the wheels. They will poke out a bit, but they also did so on my EQE with spacers, and it actually didn't look bad and improved the stance.

 

[pandaisftw]

Thanks for the confirmation - I did end up messaging the company I linked above and they confirmed that the studs are indeed 1.5" and any spacers less than 35mm on the 20" wheels would require the studs to be cut (at that point, seems easier to just switch the studs out IMO).