Welding spacers?

[9524tee]

Hey, got a random question... I think it would work and, be safer... But I'd like to hear ideas before I go out and do it and miss some good advice...

I have aluminum wheels, and all I want is 3mm deeper on the offset, so.... I was thinking of welding some 3 mm spacers onto my wheels instead of just slapping them in between and calling it a day... Would there be any advantages or disadvantages of doing this VS doing it the regular way?

BTW... I will surface them ( sand down )to a precise level before welding so they snug together perfectly too, I figured that would be safer so I dont have a floppy wheel if they got welded on and werent perfectly aligned...

Feel free to bash but I'm on a budget and like to do things the right way if possible, if not possible I won't do it... Just curious if anyone has done this before... Oe possibly heard of people adding metal to they're existing wheels... Well you catch my drift, thoughts please, thanks!

[luisgonz]

Dont do it.......USe hub centric spacers....

[RightWheelDrive]

Sounds like a little too much work than its worth. Hubcentric spacer would do the same job without all that hassle since welding on the spacer would not give you more threads for your lugnuts, which is your primary concern when using spacers. When you torque the wheel down, it doesn't matter if the spacer was welded on or not. There is basically no advantage to your idea.

[trsilvias13]

I thought hub centric wheel spacer just fill in the wheel bore to match nissan. That what spl says

"Hub-centric rings adapt 66mm Nissan hubs to 73mm bore of most aftermarket "JDM" wheels (including 5Zigen, Volk, etc). We recommend using hub-centric rings to avoid any high speed vibrations and reduce possibility of warping rotors. Set of 4 rings"

I think he want to use 3mm spacer to clear z brakes or coilovers?

If he has wheel with a 66mm bored and want to space it out, hubcentric spacer is like useless, would it not?

My friend welded on 5mm spacer on his slicks to clear his brakes. He has extended wheel lugs though, so the lug is actually fully on the wheel stud. If you use 3mm spacer, that can be how much less thread the lug can catch.

[rotation3x]

I would think that it would make the hub off balance because of the weight of the welded area.

[rollhard]

Dont do it. It will ruin the balance of the wheel entirely unless you have it welded by a robot or something. Just use a spacer. That is your best bet.

[jdm538]

3mm i didnt know they made spacers that small doesnt even seem worth it.

[Yuri]

hubcentric rings and hubcentric spacers are two different things. the rings are just that, small rings that fill the gap between the hub and the wheel.
Hubcentric spacers are spacers that have a hubcentric ring (usually identical to the one it slips over) as part of it, as compared to normal spacers that don't have this ring.
I would recommend you going with a hubcentric spacer.

[9524tee]

Ok cool deal, good info thanks.

So I'm looking into getting the hub centric "spacers" And I decided to go with 5mm just for a bit more width, nothing crazy.

I have ASA 17x8's right now with no hub rings, and have been running them hard with no problems at all, so I'm guessing the hub centric spacer will do me some good as far as vibration goes once I widen it? Think they will fit ok? Or will it be too tight of a squeeze to get the spacer ring in there?

Also what brands have you guys heard of that are good and have no fitment problems?

[95zilvia]

if you want it to be balanced, just weld on the spacer, and then balance the rim/tire.
but yeah, who cares, just run spacer alone, i run 7-10 mm spacers all the time and it's fine, just be sure to catch like, 5 or so full turns with ur lugs.

[s14slide]

welding is unnecessary. As long as you have enough thread engagement as said before, you will be perfectly fine. I've been running 10-12mm slap on for a few years now and never had a problem, even while hitting up circuits.