Best spacers for OEM 21" Wheels?

[jpsjr]

Hi everyone. Quick question? What's the best size for front and rear spacers for those running Audi OEM 21" Wheels? Not looking for staggered look, but not happy with the tucked in look. Also, do I need to do a alignment afterwards? I never used spacers before so I'm sorry for dumb questions. I did a search on this forum but it's not very helpful, very mixed opinions. Last question? What brand works best?

Jose

[Jimminez@Nemesis]

Either 12 or 15 mm will make a huge difference. H&R spacers with 42mm ball seat bolts. No alignment needed after.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Here is 15/20. And its not a staggered look. The extra 5mm at the rear, makes for an even look. Looking down the side to see the fronts stick out more than rear, is not a great look. And I like H&R DR spacers.

MopsTE37-3908 by Audiyos, on Flickr

MopsTE37-3902 by Audiyos, on Flickr

[centowski]

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[centowski]

If memory serves, I went with 12.5 front and 20 rear

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[Drichardson72]

If memory serves, I went with 12.5 front and 20 rear

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I have 10mm front and 12mm rear and think it's just right for my liking.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jpsjr]

Here is 15/20. And its not a staggered look. The extra 5mm at the rear, makes for an even look. Looking down the side to see the fronts stick out more than rear, is not a great look. And I like H&R DR spacers.

MopsTE37-3908 by Audiyos, on Flickr

MopsTE37-3902 by Audiyos, on Flickr

Mops that looks awesome! That really is one sweet ride. Thanks for the information. Where did you get them from?

Jose

- - - Updated - - -

Either 12 or 15 mm will make a huge difference. H&R spacers with 42mm ball seat bolts. No alignment needed after.

Thanks pal.

Jose

[BG SQ5]

OP, you should really clarify for what suspension and tire width as well. Also, you're going to get the same mixed opinions in a new thread as searching the old ones!

With 255s on the OE wheels (20" and 21" have same offset) and factory suspension, 12.5f/20r seems to be the standard for a 'perfectly flush'. It ends up being personal preference though, as I think there's at least 10mm of visual difference from front to back (I'm more worried about the look from all angles than just down the side). However, ride height and camber play a huge role from both qualitative and quantitative point of views also.

Personally, I went with just a 12 in the rear, and I think it's a perfect match to the factory front. I don't like seeing more tire than I already do looking at the front end, I plan to go 265s as soon as I need tires, and don't want more crap kicking up on the sides than I already get. Lots of factors go into what works best for you, hence the differing opinions.

ECS has a fitting kit that you essentially rent that can be a great tool for figuring out your perfect setup. They also have good deals on spacers with the proper bolts (kits are currently 15% off!). However, I'm not a fan of the black spacer between a silver wheel and silver hub, so I spent the extra money for H&R DRs.

[jpsjr]

Either 12 or 15 mm will make a huge difference. H&R spacers with 42mm ball seat bolts. No alignment needed after.

Thanks Jimminez!

Jose

[jpsjr]

Here is 15/20. And its not a staggered look. The extra 5mm at the rear, makes for an even look. Looking down the side to see the fronts stick out more than rear, is not a great look. And I like H&R DR spacers.

MopsTE37-3908 by Audiyos, on Flickr

MopsTE37-3902 by Audiyos, on Flickr

Thanks MOPS! Your SQ5 is super sweet looking! That must be an old picture right? You are riding on BBS now? Thanks for the info!

Jose

[jpsjr]

If memory serves, I went with 12.5 front and 20 rear

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Thanks centowski, that's the answer and picture I was looking for!

Jose

[jomama229]

MopsTE37-3902 by Audiyos, on Flickr

fuHHHh!!! if i put spacers on my car, will it be this shiny too?

[Silverarrow240]

Here is 15/20. And its not a staggered look. The extra 5mm at the rear, makes for an even look. Looking down the side to see the fronts stick out more than rear, is not a great look. And I like H&R DR spacers.

Totally on point Ben as usual...

[jpsjr]

fuHHHh!!! if i put spacers on my car, will it be this shiny too?

Mine is shiner! I did a Modesta Coating and it's amazing. It's right on par with MOPS! Loving his silver though!

Jose

[jpsjr]

OP, you should really clarify for what suspension and tire width as well. Also, you're going to get the same mixed opinions in a new thread as searching the old ones!

With 255s on the OE wheels (20" and 21" have same offset) and factory suspension, 12.5f/20r seems to be the standard for a 'perfectly flush'. It ends up being personal preference though, as I think there's at least 10mm of visual difference from front to back (I'm more worried about the look from all angles than just down the side). However, ride height and camber play a huge role from both qualitative and quantitative point of views also.

Personally, I went with just a 12 in the rear, and I think it's a perfect match to the factory front. I don't like seeing more tire than I already do looking at the front end, I plan to go 265s as soon as I need tires, and don't want more crap kicking up on the sides than I already get. Lots of factors go into what works best for you, hence the differing opinions.

ECS has a fitting kit that you essentially rent that can be a great tool for figuring out your perfect setup. They also have good deals on spacers with the proper bolts (kits are currently 15% off!). However, I'm not a fan of the black spacer between a silver wheel and silver hub, so I spent the extra money for H&R DRs.

Thanks bg sq5.......
I staying stock with the suspension, NJ roads are not very good plus I use my SQ5 for commuting. Also I'm XPEL'd completely, road rash not a issue. I did a Stage 2 APR and love it, thinking of doing a AWE Tuning Exhaust but concerned about sound and I like the current valve system it has already.

Jose

[ThunderDent]

I've run 17.5" on my old Q5 and am going to run the same on the SQ.

I like mine to line up front to rear.

[jomama229]

Mine is shiner! I did a Modesta Coating and it's amazing. It's right on par with MOPS! Loving his silver though!

Jose

pics or it didn't happen!

i've toyed with the idea of getting my Q5 paint corrected and opti-coated. i'm now at 50k miles and it's hard to find motivation to pay that kind of money to get it done, esp living in a city that's absolutely filthy.

[jpsjr]

I've run 17.5" on my old Q5 and am going to run the same on the SQ.

I like mine to line up front to rear.



So just 17.5

So just 17.5mm in the rear? Interesting.

Jose

[jpsjr]

pics or it didn't happen!

i've toyed with the idea of getting my Q5 paint corrected and opti-coated. i'm now at 50k miles and it's hard to find motivation to pay that kind of money to get it done, esp living in a city that's absolutely filthy.

Help post pics and proof will be in the pudding, lol!

Jose

[jomama229]

Help post pics and proof will be in the pudding, lol!

Jose

upload them to a hosting site like http://tinypic.com/, and then just link to them using the "Insert Image" icon. easy peasy.

[jpsjr]

upload them to a hosting site like http://tinypic.com/, and then just link to them using the "Insert Image" icon. easy peasy.

Awesome! Thank you!

Jose

[ThunderDent]

So just 17.5mm in the rear? Interesting.

Jose

17.5mm front & rear

[Mops@Nemesis]

Thanks MOPS! Your SQ5 is super sweet looking! That must be an old picture right? You are riding on BBS now? Thanks for the info!

Jose

Yep, early on. I sold those wheels actually. And yep, LM-R, and CH-R coming to replace the OEM wheels. Thanks!

Totally on point Ben as usual...

Thanks buddy. I studied you guys to get the look I wanted.

fuHHHh!!! if i put spacers on my car, will it be this shiny too?

The warehouse has EXCELLENT lighting ;)

[chirish83]

Here is 15/20. And its not a staggered look. The extra 5mm at the rear, makes for an even look. Looking down the side to see the fronts stick out more than rear, is not a great look. And I like H&R DR spacers.

MopsTE37-3908 by Audiyos, on Flickr

MopsTE37-3902 by Audiyos, on Flickr

Did you have to get longer wheel bolts, or were the factory ones long enough?

[Q5OnTheMove]

ECS has a fitting kit that you essentially rent that can be a great tool for figuring out your perfect setup. They also have good deals on spacers with the proper bolts (kits are currently 15% off!). However, I'm not a fan of the black spacer between a silver wheel and silver hub, so I spent the extra money for H&R DRs.

Agreed 100% on the silver spacers and renting the kit if you want a specific look.

[SQive]

Did you have to get longer wheel bolts, or were the factory ones long enough?

You must get the proper size bolts for use with spacers. These are bolts, not lugs, so there is very little leeway and you don't want your wheels falling off at 80 MPH.

[ThunderDent]

I have 17.5mm all the way around

[chirish83]

You must get the proper size bolts for use with spacers. These are bolts, not lugs, so there is very little leeway and you don't want your wheels falling off at 80 MPH.

None of the sites that sell the spacers seem to have any recommendations on the bolts - do you know specifically what length a 15/20mm spacer set up requires? Thanks!

[Mops@Nemesis]

None of the sites that sell the spacers seem to have any recommendations on the bolts - do you know specifically what length a 15/20mm spacer set up requires? Thanks!

For 15mm spacers you want 14x1.5x45mm bolts, and for 20mm spacers, you'd want 14x1.5x50mm bolts. I can source the spacers and bolts for you.

[cheewy16]

Running 15/20
14x1.5x45 R14 ball seat bolts for 15mm spacers
14x1.5x50 R14 ball seat bolts for 20mm spacers

Stock Q5/SQ5 bolt size is 30 in length, R14 ball seat. For every mm u add in spacer u add the same to the existing 30 length.

[AUDuffer]

For 15mm spacers you want 14x1.5x45mm bolts, and for 20mm spacers, you'd want 14x1.5x50mm bolts. I can source the spacers and bolts for you.

This for sure; Mops got me everything I needed and I installed everything this past weekend easy peazy!

[chirish83]

For 15mm spacers you want 14x1.5x45mm bolts, and for 20mm spacers, you'd want 14x1.5x50mm bolts. I can source the spacers and bolts for you.

Thanks. I have the ECS Tuning spacers already, but reading the comment above regarding them being black with the silver hubs/wheels is having me consider H&Rs. I'll see about returning them and will be in touch if I do.

[SQive]

I had the ECS spacers and never even noticed the color difference.
You would really have to be looking for the spacers, and then, you'll see them no matter what color they are.
Just slap 'em on and be done with it.

[BlackSVT]

I had the ECS spacers and never even noticed the color difference.
You would really have to be looking for the spacers, and then, you'll see them no matter what color they are.
Just slap 'em on and be done with it.

I have to agree with this.

But FWIW on color, assuming you do look for them and see them, my reasoning was that the silver was never going to match both the wheel and the rotor hat so there'd be yet another silver mismatch/variation. That would have driven me crazy Black at least gave me some purposeful contrast.

[Yoshimura]

ECS has a fitting kit that you essentially rent that can be a great tool for figuring out your perfect setup. They also have good deals on spacers with the proper bolts (kits are currently 15% off!). However, I'm not a fan of the black spacer between a silver wheel and silver hub, so I spent the extra money for H&R DRs.

Their kits include R13 ball seat bolts while the Q5/SQ5 uses R14 ball seat bolts. Furthermore, their kits assume that stock bolts are 28 mm in length. Q5/SQ5 stock bolts are 30 mm.

[ThunderDent]

Having black hub/black wheel combo, I want black spacers anyway, but the big draw is they make it easy to get proper bolts (you can get in black or silver) and even offer locking wheel bolt kits in those various sizes (which I did as well).

[BG SQ5]

Their kits include R13 ball seat bolts while the Q5/SQ5 uses R14 ball seat bolts. Furthermore, their kits assume that stock bolts are 28 mm in length. Q5/SQ5 stock bolts are 30 mm.

All I see is M14x1.5x__mm on all the kits, and 10s come with 40mm; 15s with 45mm; and 20s with 50mm...

Even if it was based on 28mm, the 2mm is not going to make any difference. But hey- keep throwing shade at them if you want. I'm pretty sure there are dozens of satisfied customers with their spacer kits around here though.

[Mops@Nemesis]

H&R does black spacers now FYI.

And our Supreme branded spacers arrive any day now. All black.


Mops on the move

[Yoshimura]

All I see is M14x1.5x__mm on all the kits, and 10s come with 40mm; 15s with 45mm; and 20s with 50mm...

Even if it was based on 28mm, the 2mm is not going to make any difference. But hey- keep throwing shade at them if you want. I'm pretty sure there are dozens of satisfied customers with their spacer kits around here though.

It doesn't change the fact that their kit doesn't have the correct ball seat diameter. And 20s come with 47 mm instead of 50 mm.

https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-SQ5--...ers/ES2177173/

[BG SQ5]

It doesn't change the fact that their kit doesn't have the correct ball seat diameter. And 20s come with 47 mm instead of 50 mm.

https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-SQ5--...ers/ES2177173/

Fair enough. I wasn't aware of the ball seat specs. I mean if we're being purists, which I claim to be, the stock bolts are a 2 piece design as well...making for an even better seat. Regardless, I retract my shade comment. It's good feedback, and I'll make sure I'm getting r14 for my future setup. How do you know ECS current kits are shipping with r13?