A Different Type Of Question Regarding Wheel Spacers:

[mact3333]

Hi guys, I am going to get wheel spacers. After doing dd, it seem like the ones from BFI 10mm for front and back will be my choice. But I have read that for this set, that both a 35mm bolts(ball joint type) and 40 mm should be used. Can you guys confirm which length bolt is preferable.

Question number 2, I have had a horrendous experience with wheel spacers on a P car but managed to get them off with a tiny bit of damage to hat of rotor. But the problem is that they are frozen onto the hat of rotor after awhile with rust???. My last experience was with a M3 and I literally couldn't get them off. My wheel guy had to use a flat head screw driver with hammer technique. It was painful to watch this. He left huge gouges on the hat and I questioned whether my wheel would wobble. He ended up having to sand it down to get it as smooth as possible but I was kinda freaking out cause as I had track event coming up. It ended up being fine and several mechanic guys said it would be ok.

So what can I do to prevent this from happening again. Someone in the past said I should use some type of grease. Which kind?. Anything else I can do? Should I lightly sand the lip to get all rust off?

Here are some pics of the hat of rotor after it was sanded down so you can imagine what it looked before the sanding!.

[MrFunk]

I use a very very very small amount of anti-seize grease between the spacer and hub. I also remove the wheels after the summer and don't run spacers in the winter (which is typically where you have the bad weather that will cause the bonding). If you ever get bonding I'd use a rubber mallet to knock them loose. If you are paranoid you can "service" the spacers every 3 months - remove them, clean them and make sure they are not bonding then put them back on. 40 minutes work in your own driveway.

[mact3333]

I use a very very very small amount of anti-seize grease between the spacer and hub. I also remove the wheels after the summer and don't run spacers in the winter (which is typically where you have the bad weather that will cause the bonding). If you ever get bonding I'd use a rubber mallet to knock them loose. If you are paranoid you can "service" the spacers every 3 months - remove them, clean them and make sure they are not bonding then put them back on. 40 minutes work in your own driveway.

Did you use it literally between spacer and hat of rotor?..or just on the lip of rotor???....thx....Believe me, I tried a rubber mallet first and it wasn't bonding I had, it was nuclear fusion!...:)...you see that rust on the lip?

[MrFunk]

I used it on the entire surface of the spacer that touches any part of the hub/car. You can do the same on the side of the wheel... anywhere there is contact. a VERY small amount goes a long way, just rub it in like lotion all over :) - thin thin layer. It repels water etc...

I use - Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant: http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-80078.../dp/B000AAJTXY

[Patrick Bateman]

I used it on the entire surface of the spacer that touches any part of the hub/car. You can do the same on the side of the wheel... anywhere there is contact. a VERY small amount goes a long way, just rub it in like lotion all over :) - thin thin layer. It repels water etc...

I use - Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant: http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-80078.../dp/B000AAJTXY

...even though the above guy is a good buddy of mine... I am adamantly against his practice of putting anti seize on spacers... why? because im still trying to get the gobs of it that HE put on my spacers I borrowed him...Haha. Seriously, theres no reason to put this mess on your spacers...all it does is get on everything. Use a small rubber mallet to remove them when needed.

[mact3333]

I am going to use the anti-seize lub...trust me, with my last episode, there was no way to get it off with a rubber mallet!. I could barely get it off by driving a flat head screwdriver between hat and spacer. At the time I even vowed never to get spacers ever again...

[MrFunk]

...even though the above guy is a good buddy of mine... I am adamantly against his practice of putting anti seize on spacers... why? because im still trying to get the gobs of it that HE put on my spacers I borrowed him...Haha. Seriously, theres no reason to put this mess on your spacers...all it does is get on everything. Use a small rubber mallet to remove them when needed.

Where'd this guy come from!?!? LOL Out from the shaddows?!
Do you mean the spacers you LOANED me?!

It does not make a mess... picky effer! All it does is protect against bonding and rusting - there are nastier things that will make a mess on your spacers running through these street vs the tiny bit of anti-seize between the hub and spacer that no one could ever see or know about... Are you planning on framing your spacers after use?!?! LOL!!!

BOOOOOM!

[Enoonmai80]

Cover the back of the spacer with quality clear packing tape. It will prevent the bi-metal corrosion that happened before. I've done this on many cars without an issue.

[Phrost]

I dab little dots of antiseize all over on mine, and they come off like nothing after months of use. That's all you need. I learned the hard way first too and used a screwdriver/hammer :(

Make sure you get the correct lug bolt seat, yes stock is ball-seat

OEM is 14x1.5x27mm. Assuming you should just add 10mm to this to get 37mm, you could really go either way. Too short and you won't have enough threaded in, too long and your bolts will start hitting stuff.

If it was me I'd go with the 40mm to be safe but I honestly think either would work fine.

[blackfunk]

WD40, nothing works like it. And it will last one hell of a long time.