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[Bimmer-Bob]

Suspension: Bilstein PSS9's, Dinan camber plates in front
Wheels: BMW Style 216; 7.5x18 in front, 8.5x18 in rear
Tires: Dunlop Direzza Star Specs; 225/40/18 in front; 255/35/18 in rear

Sometime after fitting the coilovers and camber plates, I started to think about wheel spacers. The problem was that the additional negative camber in front had pushed the tops of the tires deeper into the wheel well, and the sunken look was further exaggerated by the dropped suspension (~1.2" in front):




Seen better here:




The back wasn't really quite as bad:




So I set out to find some spacers. Took the measurements and settled on 12mm for the rear, and 15mm for the front. Picked up a set of H&R TRAK+ wheel spacers from Turner Motorsport and got to work.

Rusty hub:




After a minute or so of WD-40 and some steel wool:




And the spacer mounted to the hub:




Finally, everything put back together:




All in all, a very easy job. I was a bit careless, however, when jacking up the front of the car. The jack was a little bit off-center and ended up cracking the underbody panel a little bit. Really annoying. Anybody know the part number for that thing? I couldn't find it on RealOEM. Honestly, it probably doesn't really need to be replaced, but I'm pretty anal and it will bother me as long as it's cracked.

And the second frustrating thing: rubbing! Just in back, when going over speed bumps. I figured I could raise the ride height a bit, and probably take care of it, but I really like where it's sitting and don't want to raise it up. So instead I removed the spacers in back and kept them on in front.

Anyone know if running spacers just in front is a bad idea? If anything, from a handling perspective, it should actually make the car more neutral. Although in reality the effect is probably negligible. Thoughts?

Will probably post some better "after" pics showing just the front spacers after I wash the car.

[mineo77]

i run spacers up front for the same reason for my DD set up and use the same spacers on my track set up cause otherwise there is no way i could squeeze 245 or 255's up front. No issues that i am aware of.

strange you are rubbing in the back, doesnt look like you are dropped too much..but the dunlops do run big.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by mineo77

strange you are rubbing in the back, doesnt look like you are dropped too much..but the dunlops do run big.

That's a good point - maybe I'll hold on to the 12mm spacers and try again if I run a different brand tire next time. Although the only other tire I think I'd consider at this point is Michelin Pilot Super Sports - I wonder how they compare as far as running big or small?

[mineo77]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

That's a good point - maybe I'll hold on to the 12mm spacers and try again if I run a different brand tire next time. Although the only other tire I think I'd consider at this point is Michelin Pilot Super Sports - I wonder how they compare as far as running big or small?

i am running those and they fit perfectly, i am pretty dropped too. I was originally going to go with the dunlops but heard from folks that sizing is a bit off. So far i love em, but i just use them for DD..use toyo r888's for track.