Wheel Spacers Needed? 1987 Weekender-2WD

[Crankey]

Thanks for the story Westy46. Your lucky to have a cool shop like that in your area. 👍

[MarkWard]

To the original poster. It looks to me that you have tire sidewall clearance. If you’d like a little more, the arms are stamped sheetmetal and someone good with a hammer could get you a little more clearance if you find the sidewall rubbing the arm. I’ve never been a fan of spacers. Some are better than others and as recommended Christopher at T3 is who I’d reach out to. I have GW 16s on our 82 2wd. Been there since the beginning. Not had any rubbing problems up front and the sliding door just clears the R/R tire. For something that bolts up , doesn’t require crawling through junkyards, and machining, for the price I feel the GW alloys are a good overall value. No affiliation.
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[Westy46]

Thanks, I have emailed T3. I will discuss with Subaru next week also. Slider door opening is a new concern.

[1988M5]

Old knowledge shared now. "Offset" is the exact opposite of "ET", beware the numbers may not not jive for a fundamental reason(s). Don't try to "google" your way out of this mess. Consult Chris @ T3.

BK
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1991 tin top GL
2002 Winnebago Vista. VW VR6 24V Eurovan front clip powered class C 21' RV.
Some BMWs.

[Franklinstower]

Take the freaking wheel off and find out your et! Don't listen to the subaru dealer. There only goal is profit.
You need to know the offset of the rim and width.
Then decide if spacers are even to be considered. You need to find the information of what you have before you go relying on random internet replies.

I doubt your rims are et 23 that close to the upper ball joint, but what do I know? Maybe they are, but 8" wide? You have the info...find it and use it, then reach out to whom ever. It's not rocket science, there is a thread with 100+ pages about wheels. Maybe start there.
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'89 Westy - EJ25/22 Frank 4.44 5mt
'75 Miami Blue Sunroof FI Standard Bug

[jimf909]

If he's got these wheels it's a 7.5" wide rim with ET23. A 215 wide tire can appear pretty close like in the photo.

OP: I ran 215/16 65 Nokians WRC3s on these rims for years w/out spacers but it looked close like you're seeing. GW provided spacers with the early big brake kit after they had a warranty problem but I don't believe I used them (not helpful, I know).

https://gowesty.com/products/16-alloy-wheel-hardwa...5002594469

Also, cool story about your shop. It sounds like a dealer that actually likes cars.
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- Jim

[Westy46]

Conclusion to the spacer question:

I received feedback from Chris at T3 Tech. and I will NOT be adding spacers to the wheels. I have pasted the comments from Chris at T3 Tech below for all to read and learn.

Chris's T3 Tech comment below:

There’s no problem with that amount of clearance. In fact, that’s quite a bit of clearance compared to many of the installations I’m used to dealing with. The rule of thumb is that if you have 3mm or more clearance, you are good to go. I know that sounds like very little, and it is, but it’s plenty.

Definitely DO NOT add spacers. That would be the incorrect thing to do. Those ASA wheels are already pushed outward too far as it is. Adding spacers will push them outward even further. The correct offset should be closer to ET30 (30mm). The wheels you have are ET23 (23mm). when the offset gets reduced too much poor handing/stability can happen because it negatively alters the scrub radius. You won’t notice it much when driving in a straight line, but it will rear its head during hard braking/emergency maneuvers


I learned once again and thanks for the comments.

[Sodo]

My preference is enough wheel clearance that using snow chains is an option.
Sometimes they are required.

I wonder what is the recommended clearance for snow chains?

Edit re:Jim909. (Ooops).
I use 4 chains at times on my F150 and brain-farted about this 2wd situation. I’ve never used chains on my Vanagons.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[vanagonjr]

Nice pictures, thanks for taking them & posting! 👍🏻
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John - 86 Wolfsburg Westfalia "Weekender"
Flint reversed 1.8T W/Passat 5-Speed
LiMBO (late model bus club) www.limbobus.org
LiMBO is on Facebook too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/
FAQ thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=525798

[jimf909]

[r39o]

[nemobuscaptain]