Affordable Wheel Spacers...interest needed.

[marchanna 115]

I agree.

[Francesco 71]

Through five harsh winters on our impossibly bad roads I've yet to have a single bolt "rattle loose". But whadoiknow?

[marchanna 115]

The rattle loose thing I'm not so concerned about, but the tendency to over-torque the bolts will likely damage the anodizing or deform the threads in the aluminum causing corrosion or worse. Over-torquing is a risk because the torque specs for the wheels are based on the threads engage into a forged steel hub not billet aluminum that has a drastically lower yield strength. The forged steel also has a higher modulus of elasticity, thus creating greater spring pressure on the threads, thereby creating better grip before plastic deformation occurs.

Francesco, I'm glad your spacers are working for you; they are clearly adequate to the task, my point only is, that the 3 bolt through-hole configurations are not inferior.

[Huronlad 186]

How many more sets and at what dollar value would need to be spoken for to make this happen?

[Francesco 71]

Just a note to Marc: don't bother offering a 5 mm option, it's likely less hassle to just get them from Eibach. I paid $30 U.S. For a set last week on Amazon.

[booneylander 37]

Did this ever take off? I'd be in the market for some spacers, got my eye on some 451 wheels.

[Huronlad 186]

I am certainly still interested.

[dmoonen 54]

42DD has a set on their clearance section http://www.42draftdesigns.com/news/scratch-dent-wheel-spacers-adaptors-50-off/

[booneylander 37]

Not that I have a problem buying stuff that's "made in the usa", but if I can get them from someone local, I'd prefer to support them.

[marchanna 115]

Not enough interest.

[Huronlad 186]

If a $200 -$300 order was all that is needed to get some made, there is enough interest.

[GoFaster 9]

I'd do all four wheels at 15mm via the longer-bolts route if the price were decent.

[booneylander 37]

How many sets do we need to achieve critical mass?

[marchanna 115]

I would guess about 20 pairs of each size.

[Huronlad 186]

A $1200 minimum order looks less likely to happen. I would bank roll it if I thought I could sell 20 or 30 extra pairs of spacers.

[marchanna 115]

The cost is in the set up. Probably about 2 hours of set up. Cycle time would only be about 2- 3 minutes. Material is about $40/pair.

CAD - $180

Setup - $180

Cycle for 40 parts - $180

= $540/40 = $13.50 each

+ $20 material

= $33.50 each or $67.00/pair

+ wheel bolts @ $8.00 each x 6 = $48.00

Grand total = $115/pair

That's assuming $90/hr for labour and CNC time. Some shops will do it for $65/hr. Maybe I'll go pay a visit to a local mennonite shop.

Bulk pricing is the key, it will bring down the cost of material and the bolts. I'm sure we can get the material down to $15/pc and the bolts down $3 or $4 ea.

Then there's anodizing. It's $110 min order, and we could probably get a couple hundred done for that.

I would help bank roll this, and we could sell the remainder on eBay.

[Huronlad 186]

What is needed in the way of CAD drawings? I may be able to source that fairly cheap.

I will look into what deals can be found on M12 x 1.5 wheel bolts. Update bolts for $ 3-4 is no issue.

Edited March 25, 2016 by Huronlad

[marchanna 115]

I can CAD it up as soon as I get some time - tax season

[minifreak 2]

I am interested for a 15mm set too.

[tolsen 630]

Are these any good?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-15mm-3x112-Hubcentric-Wheel-Spacers-57-1-Hub-Bore-/151984962287?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368#shpCntId

[tolsen 630]

I've found there are lots of suitable reasonably priced wheel spacers out there.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hubcentric-15mm-Alloy-Wheel-Spacers-For-VW-Touran-5x112-57-1-Pair-/361085934940?hash=item5412661d5c:g:-l0AAOSw7ThUfQ4Z

Cheap for me, only £12.50 each delivered. All I need do is drill another two holes to suit the 450 and perhaps another smaller countersunk hole to keep the spacer attached to the hub.

[marchanna 115]

Those first ones look pretty decent. I think they still might need to be anodized.

[tolsen 630]

Anodised or not, the spacers will still suffer galvanic corrosion.

[marchanna 115]

Not if done properly. Not all anodizing companies were created equal. The company I use guarantees their coating for 20 years. And that's not just lip service. They have samples that have been outside fastened to various surfaces since the early 80's, and the anodizing is still intact with only a little fading. Compared this to many of their competitors, who show surface finish defects and significant fading within one year.

The coating, aluminum oxide, is an electrical resistor, thus preventing galvanic corrosion so long as the barrier remains intact.

Here's a pulley I had coated by them 15 years ago. It sat outside for nearly a decade.

[Francesco 71]

Anodised or not, the spacers will still suffer galvanic corrosion.

^^^This.

The Eibach anodized spacers started corroding during the first winter I used them for the roadster fronts on the rear of my 450. They are just about kaput now after six winters, causing a wheel balance issue. I can flatten and even out the thickness of them easily enough so the wheels won't wobble, but there are significant chunks of material missing around the edges that have simply flaked off. My Nokians are about finished now after six winters, so if I decide to drive the car next winter again I'll need to source both a set of tires as well as new spacers.