Wheel spacer issues

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cclarke184

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'Ello

I Recently fitted Eibach spacers to my S3 (8mm front, 15mm rear) I now notice that i get vibrations coming through the steering wheel at 80mph and onwards. It feels like the wheels are buckled. I haven't had a chance to take them off yet an try with out them (spacers that is). Just wondering if any one has any ideas or has experienced the same thing.
I'll try it with out the fronts fitted when i get a chance and see how it feels.

Cheers

Chris
 
did you clean the surfaces up on the discs/wheels ???? and did you get longer wheel bolts ??? just first ideas
 
I didn't actively clean the hub or the wheels they had copper slip/ease of them, i suppose it is possible for some debris to have gotten stuck on it. i take it wouldn't take alot to produce wheel vibration?

Chris
 
Never had to deal with spacers but i know when you replace discs a small amount of dirt can cause vibrations .
 
A friend of mine has a 4Motion and he only put spacers on the back wheels because of this problem.

I would give um a good clean, but you might have to adhere to the inevitable /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Had exactly the same problem with Eibach spacers, they are NOT hubcentric and although they sit over the flange on the bearing hub, they DO NOT locate into the wheel at all leaving room for movement on the spacer to wheel contact surface.

Take them back and order some H&R hubcentric ones from AMD.
 
That's odd, cause I'm running 15mm at each wheel with no problems /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif Only thing is, when I put them on, I took a steel-bristle brush to the hub to make sure it was good and clean. AND I made sure I torqued the lug bolts down right /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I'd recommend checking the bolts for tightness first, then if that doesn't cure it, take 'em off and clean things out /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angel.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif

Whoops, now that I see Stewart's post..... mine ARE H&R's so he has a good point /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
lol, not just a good point but the answer to his problem, been there and been through the pain! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
I've got the same problem at the moment with my wheels! I just had new tyres fitted to the front and now I get a shaking feeling at 70mph upwards.

I took the car back to get the wheels re-balanced and they said that both of my front wheels have been buckled slightly (pot holes) and the spacers didn't help as they exagerated the problem. I haven't had a chance to look at it properly but I was gonna take the wheels off and clean everything up.

Hope this fixes things....
 
audi upgrades
Brother took miy car to work (audi dealer) the other day. Phoned him and he told me four of my wheels had flat spots. Said that most of the TTs and S3s he sees have buckled wheels.

Chris.
 
Easy guvnor. I agree. Spacers should locate the wheel as well, not just fit over the drive flange. Do Eibach really make 15mm spacers without trying to locate the wheel ? That not very good at all. Surprised.

Chris.
 
ant one got any before & after pics with spacers.

Think im gona order some 18" rs4's tomorrow and thinking of getting spacers but not sure yet?
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


Mine are hubcentric /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you sure? Do they locate into the wheel as well as sitting securely on the hub flange?

[/ QUOTE ]

Can you explain what you mean? When I purchased mine I had the option of going for hubcentric ones.

They are made by FK if this helps?
 
The 15mm Eibach spacer has what i can only assume to be a locating 'lip' on it but the 8mm (which i put on the front) doesn't, it pretty much just a 8mm thick disc.

looks like this
eibach-prospacer.jpg


this is a quote form this website

http://superstreetonline.com/techarticles/130_0411_eibach

[ QUOTE ]
Now we know a lot of you may wonder about tire shake at high speeds, but Eibach's Pro-Spacers are hub-centric, and meet ISO9001 Standards which quelled our initial worries

[/ QUOTE ]

So it could be buckled wheels...
sounds like a good excuse to get some RS4 reps

Chris
 
[ QUOTE ]
ant one got any before & after pics with spacers.

Think im gona order some 18" rs4's tomorrow and thinking of getting spacers but not sure yet?

[/ QUOTE ]

Spacers are well worth it ... make a nice difference to the stance of the car. Run 15mm rear, 10mm front on mine - bought from Forge.

Adam
 
Doubt it dude /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif Even though the S3 has wider fenders than my TQ, I think 25mm is a bit much. I've got 15mm spacers at each wheel and get a touch of rubbing when hitting speed bumps hard /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

HTH /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif
 
I have 15mm Eibach spacers on each side on the rear with standard 17" Avus and it makes the car look wider,
fills the archs out a treat. well worth the money if your fussy about the looks of your car.

Chris
 
Monty, when you bought your spacers from forge did they come with longer bolts ?

Chris.
 
whats better,
10mm front,15mm rear
5mm front 10mm rear?
 
audi upgrades
i cant run 5mm front /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

(i know you meant 15mm really. )

Amd advised me against 15mm on front for fear of scuffing the outer arch on bumpy stuff.

rear takes a bit more filling so ive got 15's on there.
 
[ QUOTE ]
8mm (which i put on the front) doesn't, it pretty much just a 8mm thick disc.

looks like this
eibach-prospacer.jpg




[/ QUOTE ]

5mm and 8mm spacers are simple alloy discs...as there isn't sufficient meat on the spacer to get it to fit over the hub's centre lip, and add it's own locating lip for the wheel.
Look at one...you'll see what I mean.
I have both at home...they are both as described and shown above.

By the time you get to 10mm, there IS enough metal there...so 10mm spacers of any qiality, should be hubcentric.

I have 10mm spacers on my GTI...I think they are Eibach (but they could be H&R!) and they are fine. No wobble...so problams.
They are anodised a silver-grey colour also, which helps prevent corrosion.

All 15/16mm spacers should also be huncentric - if they are made be a reputable company.
I ran 16mm spacers all round on my S3 with NO wobble or clearance issues at all...this was on ET33, 8" wide wheels.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Amd advised me against 15mm on front for fear of scuffing the outer arch on bumpy stuff.


[/ QUOTE ]

This is dependant on camber, wheel width and wheel offset.

On an 8" rim, ET33, you can run 16mm spacers at the front if you run some added negative camber.

I never once scrubbed an outer arch with mine fitted...but it was running plenty of negative camber.

On the rear...if you fit adjustable tie bars, and run 16mm spacers, then wind the rear camber back to factory specs...you can hit the outer rear arches!
I tried mine at 0 degrees rear camber...and it was too close...so I ran -0.5 degrees at the rear, and had no rubbing issues.

Spacer are one thing...
Wheel sizes / offset are another...
As is lowered suspension...

What may work with one...does not always work when another of the 3 above are changed.

Please bear this in mind when taking as gospel, other peoples settings!
 
audi upgrades
hmm ,i'm running 10mm on the front at the moment and was wondering what to do to the rear ?15mm?
 
[ QUOTE ]
With the 5mm spacers there should be a sufficient portion of the drive flange left exposed to locate the wheel.


[/ QUOTE ]

Ahh, yeah, good point, I had forgotten about the depth of the drive flange...

Still cant see why thin spacers cant be designed with a wheel locating lip..

Anyway I guess we will never know unless someone comes up with some facts and figures on the sheering forces at the hub.
 
5-8 can't be made hubcentric because the diameter you are locating off and the diameter you are trying to locate are the same size, i.e 57mm. With 10-12 thick spacers this is possibble due to the fillet angle between the wheel locator section and the spacer section. Otherwise both diameters would break into each other, i.e the c/bore on the back of the spacer and the locator on the front of the spacer.
If I get a chance I'll draw something up to illustrate.
Thin spacers just have the 45deg angle and no locator. They don't need the locator as there is sufficient location left on the drive flange to locate the wheel.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I've got the 18" TTs but mine are ET30. Are yours 8" wide ?

Chris.

[/ QUOTE ]

mine are OEM.

8J x 18" 9 spoke RSTT wheels.

are yours replicas?

replicas tend to have different Offset.
 
Here's one for you. They are exactly the same as OEM (ridges running all the way around the apeture) , Are made by Ruote ( MIM ) and have cast on to the back of one spoke " NOT OEM" . Came with the same centre caps as the first RS4s. Looked at them next to OEM wheels (off the car) and the only difference was the paint finish on the inner parts of the spoke. Better finish and more paint on the genuine ones.
From this I think that they are made in the same factory, but the genuine ones to a better standard. What do you think ?
I have had them for just over three years. Bought from the now defunct Racetech.

Chris.
 
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