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SAFETY WARNING - FITTING WHEEL SPACERS

RjRacing

Go Kart Champion
Location
Philly
RJ, what conversion kit did you use?

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I can't remember... I think I got them off amazon? It was a drunk 2am Saturday morning purchase just after i got my car lol, rarely do I make good decisions under the influence but these have been great :D. I bought the ones that convert them to the most common thread pattern 12x1.5, which every company makes lug nuts for as 95% of the cars on the road use these vs the VW thread pitch with is 14x1.5 if I remember correctly.
 
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Z27

Ready to race!
Location
New York
What's a good brand for stud conversions?
 

RjRacing

Go Kart Champion
Location
Philly

Z27

Ready to race!
Location
New York
Thanks RJ. What's a good brand that sells 27mm? Also does that kit come with the nut?

Btw a bit off topic. Regarding your Maxton lip, I see it comes with screws. Do you have to drill holes into the bottom of your bumper?
 

s7wag

Ready to race!
Location
Bedfordshire, UK
Thanks RJ. What's a good brand that sells 27mm? Also does that kit come with the nut?

Btw a bit off topic. Regarding your Maxton lip, I see it comes with screws. Do you have to drill holes into the bottom of your bumper?

I used self-tapping screws to fix the Maxton lip. See this thread
http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12435

Sounds like another conversion to lugs/nuts required!

Thanks all for feedback.

Steve
 

s7wag

Ready to race!
Location
Bedfordshire, UK
I'm sorry to hear this happened, glad no one was harmed as a result of this.

This is exactly why I converted my wheel bolts to lugs/nuts. Many racing organizations deem wheel bolts un-safe and require you to convert them. Wheel bolts put most of the stress at the threads of the hub, when you add spacers thats adds leverage which adds more stress and can cause them to work themselves loose or break easier. Wheel studs actually take that pressure and spread it throughout the length of the entire lug causing the whole thing to stretch slightly (just like your head-studs that bolt your head and engine block together), much safer and more durable design.

Great feedback RJ, really appreciated!

Steve
 

rapport25

Go Kart Champion
Location
Midlands
Just seen this thread WTF:eek::eek:. Glad to hear, you are all OK.

I have used wheel spacers in the past & never heard of this.

Waggers, slightly off topic :eek:. I guess your insurance know about all your mods?. Better to be safe, than sorry.

Rappy:cool:
 

Z27

Ready to race!
Location
New York

FROSTYmk7.5

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Denver Colorado
Car(s)
mk7.5 golf gti 6MT
Just a heads-up based upon first-hand experience. I've recently gone through the process of fitting VWR springs (professionally) with spacers/extended bolts front and rear.

Last night my wife and I were off to London to see a show - journey around 45/50 miles to Hammersmith in London. Just got off the M4 by Heathrow to join the A4 (after journeying down the M1 and around the M25 orbital) and what appeared to be front offside suspension knocking noises started. Seemed to be OK in smooth surfaces but any holes/un-even surface and front offside (drivers side) of the car seemed to knocking/rattling. Bear in mind the VWR springs had been fitted middle of last week - four days previous. I suspected some loose fixing bolts...I did a visual check, pulled the wheels about and checked lock to lock - couldn't see anything. We continued slowly to get to and park outside the Novotel whilst we then went off to the "Dynamo" show...whilst preparing for VW Roadside Assistance at 10pm.

Anyway, great show and walking back to the car we called VW Assistance. Said they'd be there in the next 55 mins and will call 10 mins before arrival. 20mins later we got the call and the AA man was there 5 mins later...

Quick road test in the service road of the hotel and car then jacked-up....suspension all looks fine BUT front extended wheel bolts had all come loose!!! Now I know they were all torqued up to 110nm (as I watched it being done).

He then checked all the other wheels and all bolts although tight were not at 110nm still. He told me this was common when using spacers and after-market extended bolts. He also suggested using thread-lock (lock-tite) on three of the wheels bolts as another counter measure.

We were LUCKY so a heads-up for you all - if you're using spacers make sure you check the wheel bolts regularly and ensure they are at correct torque setting. If it doubt also apply some thread-lock to at least two/three of the wheel bolts..

Steve
I really appreciate this post as I am going to install spacers on my car tomorrow!
 

jmblur

Autocross Champion
Location
Massachusetts
Car(s)
2017 Golf R
I really appreciate this post as I am going to install spacers on my car tomorrow!

Ignore the recommendation to use loctite. Use of loctite or lubricant will increase clamping loads and could cause damage to the wheel or bolt that will also cause you issues. Just make sure the bolts are the proper shape for your wheels (r14 for OEM, often conical for aftermarket), tighten to spec, and check again after ~50 miles. Doesn't hurt to check occasionally after that as well.
 

FROSTYmk7.5

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Denver Colorado
Car(s)
mk7.5 golf gti 6MT
Ignore the recommendation to use loctite. Use of loctite or lubricant will increase clamping loads and could cause damage to the wheel or bolt that will also cause you issues. Just make sure the bolts are the proper shape for your wheels (r14 for OEM, often conical for aftermarket), tighten to spec, and check again after ~50 miles. Doesn't hurt to check occasionally after that as well.
Thank you, will do. and did you buy a flush kit that came with the bolts or did you buy the bolts separate? I ordered a flush kit from URO tuning and it came with 50mm lug bolts for the 20mm spacers in the rear and 45mm lug bolts for 15 mm in front. Those are the right sizes, right?
 

OldVWFan

Go Kart Champion
Location
NW Arkansas
Car(s)
17 GTI Sport
Thank you, will do. and did you buy a flush kit that came with the bolts or did you buy the bolts separate? I ordered a flush kit from URO tuning and it came with 50mm lug bolts for the 20mm spacers in the rear and 45mm lug bolts for 15 mm in front. Those are the right sizes, right?
I am running the same spacer widths and use 47mm lug bolts for the rear and 45mm for the front and have not experienced any looseness, however I will have to say that I have not taken any really long trips. The OEM lug bolts are 27mm in length and what I have read is to increase the bolt length by the width of the spacer at the minimum to get the correct number of thread engagement as the OEM bolts before the spacers. So it appears to me that your lengths are good.
 
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