Wheel spacers suck, it's disappointing!

[DS_BMW]

I have tried two different sets. On my two F80s.

First I tried 12mm Renn spacers all around. It gives the car vibrations through the wheel and also makes the suspension feel more harsh. Like something is just not right. It must really mess with the geometry of the suspension.

So on my next F80 I thought I would give them a try again. BAD Move So I went with more expensive Macht Schnell 10mm spacers. Thinking maybe the cheaper Renn spacers were not machined correctly.

I wire brushed and cleaned everything spotless just like before. Installed, torqued lugs. Same thing just like before.

Its a shame because it makes the car look damn perfect!! Anyone else experience this?

[Blksnowflake]

Nope, have Supreme Power jobbies, smooth as butter. But mine are offset, can't remember but the back had smaller ones.

[allinon72]

Few things to verify -
1. A wheel slightly out of balance, amplified by the spacer
2. Lugs not torqued properly in a star pattern

[Kooch]

Originally Posted by allinon72

Few things to verify -
1. A wheel slightly out of balance, amplified by the spacer
2. Lugs not torqued properly in a star pattern

And 3. Spacer fully seated on hub. I tapped mine down with a rubber mallet when mounting as I noticed just placement by hand was slightly lifted due to the hub centric tabs. Make sure there is nothing underneath the spacer as well - would only take a little debris underneath to cause your issues.

[DS_BMW]

Originally Posted by Kooch

And 3. Spacer fully seated on hub. I tapped mine down with a rubber mallet when mounting as I noticed just placement by hand was slightly lifted due to the hub centric tabs. Make sure there is nothing underneath the spacer as well - would only take a little debris underneath to cause your issues.

I have done all this down to taking a . 001 feeler Guage to make sure that the spacer is seated flush against all the way around.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by allinon72

Few things to verify -
1. A wheel slightly out of balance, amplified by the spacer

Could be this. Only time I have ever experienced wheel vibration with spacers was when a tire was slightly out of balance. It only became apparent after installing the spacers. Once the tire was rebalanced there were no issues.

OP, unless you somehow got a bad batch of spacers, it is likely something with the install or a wheel balance issue causing the problem. Many people on here (myself included) have run spacers on their F80s and many other cars and never had an issue.

[kerkiraios00]

So the brand shouldn't play a role?

[iamvietness]

have MS ones and zero complaints. switch brands.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by DS_BMW

I have tried two different sets. On my two F80s.

First I tried 12mm Renn spacers all around. It gives the car vibrations through the wheel and also makes the suspension feel more harsh. Like something is just not right. It must really mess with the geometry of the suspension.

So on my next F80 I thought I would give them a try again. BAD Move So I went with more expensive Macht Schnell 10mm spacers. Thinking maybe the cheaper Renn spacers were not machined correctly.

I wire brushed and cleaned everything spotless just like before. Installed, torqued lugs. Same thing just like before.

Its a shame because it makes the car look damn perfect!! Anyone else experience this?

There are many M3/M4 owners running spacers with no issues. If you are experiencing the same issue with 2 different brands of spacers, the issue likely lies somewhere else. Follow the steps outlined in our DIY here:

F8X M3/M4 Macht Schnell wheel spacer reference thread
http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...81&postcount=2

Also make sure the wheel hub is clean and free of any surface rust, torquing the wheels in a star pattern is a must! If you continue to experience vibration, have the wheels road-forced balanced to double-check.

[DS_BMW]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

There are many M3/M4 owners running spacers with no issues. If you are experiencing the same issue with 2 different brands of spacers, the issue likely lies somewhere else. Follow the steps outlined in our DIY here:

F8X M3/M4 Macht Schnell wheel spacer reference thread
http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...81&postcount=2

Also make sure the wheel hub is clean and free of any surface rust, torquing the wheels in a star pattern is a must! If you continue to experience vibration, have the wheels road-forced balanced to double-check.

I have done all those steps. Are the Macht Schnell spacers sopose to have slop on the hub? None of them are a tight fit on mine. The set I got from you are sloppy on the hub.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by DS_BMW

I have done all those steps. Are the Macht Schnell spacers sopose to have slop on the hub? None of them are a tight fit on mine. The set I got from you are sloppy on the hub.

There is a slight bit of clearance in order to fit over the hub properly.

[e90-4aj]

lots of people running spacers with no issues

[whoop_ass]

15F and 12R Burger Tuning
no issue at all..

[hyperspeed]

No problem running Renn spacers for 3 years

15/12

[TheShaddix]

also depends on how/when the wheels are tightened. I prefer to tighten/torque them when they are lifted, otherwise the weight of the car forces everything upwards making that star-shaped tightening a bit useless. I run 15/20 Macht Schnell, no issues. But i've had an identical issue with spacers before as the op does. It's always either the tires unbalanced or the wheels not sitting 100% centered. I've run spacers on almost every car i've ever had and only had that vibration issue once. Even with spacers as large as 30mm, no problem.

[F80 / AW / 6MT]

I have Rogue Engineering 12mm F and 10mm R with no issues at all. I would just double check the installation.

[ellipsis212]

10mm Turner spacers all around. No issues at all.

Definitely want to begin with a super clean hub/flange and tighten bolts methodically in the aforementioned star pattern.

[mcvaughan]

10mm Turner spacers up front. No issues.

[DarksideM4]

Had MS 15mm front and 12mm rears on the M4 for 1 year 15k miles before getting HREs and never had vibration or issues you are reporting. TBH could be the install and proper torquing of lugs. My shop made sure it seated perfectly and level across the hub spacer before putting wheel back on and made sure lugs were optimally torqued.

[Shoof]

MS 12F/10R here, no vibration issues at all!

[M3SQRD]

Turner 5/8 mm spacers on e92 M3 and f82 M4 - zero issues. Also, I use Turner 18/20 mm spacers on a set of winter wheels and still no issues.

[Rik84]

I've had 15mm on my car for 14 months. Multiple 1/3 mile race events, Hwy rolls and commuting. In snow, getting stuck in snow. Absolutely 0 issues.