Stock 19Inch S4 wheels with spacers

[jayr1987]

was interested in keeping my stock 19s but thought about putting spacers, anyone have pics or suggestions

[Creatre]

IMO the stock peelers look great with the H&R OE drop and 5mm front, 8mm (or 10mm) rear spacers!

[jayr1987]

Thanks I was thinking of getting coilovers but their expensive as hell might be leaning towards the springs

[audirings4]

Thanks I was thinking of getting coilovers but their expensive as hell might be leaning towards the springs

You'lll be sorry. Wait until you have the money for coilovers or keep it as is.

[MrFunk]

I'd go 10-12's all round.
I've got 12's on mine with STaSIS 20's which have basically the identical offset as the stock 19 peelers.
FYI - Anything less than 12's won't be hub centric and thus difficult to center on the hub... off centered = vibration...
Also, only go with spacers if you drop otherwise I think it looks funny to me - sorta a 4x4 look...

[9Schnell]

I had 17mm front & 15mm rear, on H&R coils. Rode good, looked awesome. Rubbed in rear with more than me in the car, and me with full tank of fuel over sweeping bumps.

Changed to 10mm rear and 15mm front, same drop & no rubbing yet. Even rode on full tank with me +1, no problems.

Here is the 15mm rear, 17mm front spacer set up pic:

*pic via TurtleCam w/ TRUEVIEW 4000

[westwest888]

Does everyone who buys spacers also buy a torque wrench? Spacers loosen up over time. You have to re-torque the wheels.

[9Schnell]

Does everyone who buys spacers also buy a torque wrench? Spacers loosen up over time. You have to re-torque the wheels.

Not sure about everyone else, but yes I have one and re-torqued after a hundred or so miles.

After the initial re-torque, they tend to stay tight but always a good idea to check.

[SteveYem]

Does everyone who buys spacers also buy a torque wrench? Spacers loosen up over time. You have to re-torque the wheels.

The spacers don't loosen, the bolts do. If you use, for example, a 10mm spacer (and for good measure, new wheel bolts that are 10mm longer than stock), all you are doing is sandwiching a plate between the wheel and the hub. The spacer is captured between the wheel and the hub and cannot come loose. The wheel bolts can indeed come loose, which would allow the wheel to come loose as well as the spacer.
I agree it is critical to torque the bolts to spec (90 lb-ft for our B8's), and then torque them again 50-100 miles down the road. The hub, wheel and bolts heat up and cool down due to the heat from the brakes, causing the metal to expand and contract. This is the main cause for the bolts losing torque.

The the OP's question, here's mine with H&R OE Sport springs, stock peelers (19x8.5 +43) and 255/35/19 Continental Contisport Contact3's with 5mm front and 10mm rear spacers. Kind of wish I had gone with 12mm rear spacers:

[Creatre]

The spacers don't loosen, the bolts do. If you use, for example, a 10mm spacer (and for good measure, new wheel bolts that are 10mm longer than stock), all you are doing is sandwiching a plate between the wheel and the hub. The spacer is captured between the wheel and the hub and cannot come loose. The wheel bolts can indeed come loose, which would allow the wheel to come loose as well as the spacer.
I agree it is critical to torque the bolts to spec (90 lb-ft for our B8's), and then torque them again 50-100 miles down the road. The hub, wheel and bolts heat up and cool down due to the heat from the brakes, causing the metal to expand and contract. This is the main cause for the bolts losing torque.

The the OP's question, here's mine with H&R OE Sport springs, stock peelers (19x8.5 +43) and 255/35/19 Continental Contisport Contact3's with 5mm front and 10mm rear spacers. Kind of wish I had gone with 12mm rear spacers:

Those OE or Sport? I don't think there is an OE Sport? Car looks low for OE.

[tsaktuo]

Those OE or Sport? I don't think there is an OE Sport? Car looks low for OE.

The OEs are actually known as OE Sport Springs. http://www.hrsprings.com/products/springs/

[MrFunk]

I had 17mm front & 15mm rear, on H&R coils. Rode good, looked awesome. Rubbed in rear with more than me in the car, and me with full tank of fuel over sweeping bumps.
Changed to 10mm rear and 15mm front, same drop & no rubbing yet. Even rode on full tank with me +1, no problems.
Here is the 15mm rear, 17mm front spacer set up pic:

You wider spacers on the front vs rear? I've never heard of anyone putting wider spacers on the front... That would look really strange. Are you sure you didn't have the 17's on the rear and now have the 15's back there and 10's on the front??
I have 12mm's front and back as I said and have 0 rubbing even with 4 adults in the car . The Stasis wheels have a 1mm wider offset than stock peelers...

[MrFunk]

I torque my lugs to 100lb/tq => dealership recommended 100 with spacers. 90lb/tq with no spacers.
They have not loosened as yet. I re-check torque after initial install after a tank of fuel...

[jgreer3746]

OE Sport - 5mm front/8mm rear


Stock on the left my car on the right

[SteveYem]

The OEs are actually known as OE Sport Springs. http://www.hrsprings.com/products/springs/

Correctamundo!

Those OE or Sport? I don't think there is an OE Sport? Car looks low for OE.

These are the OE Sport springs. That pic makes them look lower than they really are. Here is a more accurate representation:

[LakeShow]

The spacers and the slight drop give the S4 a really nice and aggressive stance.

[Wilbur]

I'd go 10-12's all round.
I've got 12's on mine with STaSIS 20's which have basically the identical offset as the stock 19 peelers.
FYI - Anything less than 12's won't be hub centric and thus difficult to center on the hub... off centered = vibration...
Also, only go with spacers if you drop otherwise I think it looks funny to me - sorta a 4x4 look...

Thats not correct. H&R 10s work perfectly. Website says no but they do. Lots of guys here have less than 12 with no vibration.

[PitchS4]

Lots of bad information in this thread. Having run spacers for about 6 years now on my 3 S4s....

Spacers won't loosen over time
As long as spacers have the wheel centric lip that goes into the wheel so they center properly they won't vibrate (even 5mm spacers)
OE springs are great and lots of people on here are happy with them

What people are correct about is that the peelers look great with spacers. I am a big fan of OEM+ and run 5mm front 10mm rear.

[SteveYem]

Lots of bad information in this thread. Having run spacers for about 6 years now on my 3 S4s....

Spacers won't loosen over time
As long as spacers have the wheel centric lip that goes into the wheel so they center properly they won't vibrate (even 5mm spacers)
OE springs are great and lots of people on here are happy with them

What people are correct about is that the peelers look great with spacers. I am a bit fan of OEM+ and run 5mm front 10mm rear.

I agree with you. Regarding spacers and vibration, it's a bit of a weird experience coming to the Audi forums just 8 months ago after being on the 350z forums for the past 7 years. Over on the Nissan forums (and any other I've been to), it's very simple: if the spacer has a pilot fit onto the hub and provides a pilot fit for the wheel, then it is theoretically centered and the wheel will not vibrate. If the spacer does not pilot onto the wheel hub and/or does not provide a pilot fit for the wheel, the wheel will likely be off center and will vibrate.

The key with the 5mm spacers is that the relatively large 45 degree bevel at the base of the OEM hub requires a mating 45 degree chamfer cut into the back side of the spacer, which removes a good amount of material and weakens the structure of the spacer. The BlackForest Industries spacers have this chamfer cut into the back side, but then also have a 45 degree bevel on the front side of the spacer (i.e. it has to be cut from a plate significantly thicker than 5mm) which serves the following functions: a) mimics the 45 deg. bevel of the OEM wheel hub, and b) maintains a thicker cross-section through the spacer to win back some of the strength lost by cutting that 45 degree chamfer in the back.

I would argue that for thicker spacers, let's say 10mm and up, you can use a spacer with a straight hub centering ring, i.e. does not need to have the 45 degree bevel, even when using them with the OEM wheels. This assumes that the straight ring matches the diameter of the hole in the back of the wheel. The straight ring would need to be long enough to reach far enough into the wheel to get beyond the 45 degree chamfer.

Now, having installed a set of spacers myself on the S4 two weeks back, I didn't find anything that makes me think the principles of hub-centricity would apply any differently to my S4 than they do to my 350z.

[9Schnell]

You wider spacers on the front vs rear? I've never heard of anyone putting wider spacers on the front... That would look really strange. Are you sure you didn't have the 17's on the rear and now have the 15's back there and 10's on the front??
I have 12mm's front and back as I said and have 0 rubbing even with 4 adults in the car . The Stasis wheels have a 1mm wider offset than stock peelers...

Nope. Bigger in front because with the shape & flare of the fenders it need a little more spacer IMO.

As for the rubbing I had, my car could be different ride height than yours and I had 17mm in rear, rubbed too much so I got the 15's, rubbed a little and went to 10's because the 12mm's are a month or so out via H&R. Seattle has a lot of swooping bumps, potholes etc.


All spacers are for is personal preference. When I go on drives or to shows I will have the 17's on the front and the 15mm's in the rear. Maybe live dangerously on low loads and go wide!