Hi all,

I took a trip to BSA wheels in Sydney today to see what size wheel spacers will fit with my stock 20" gyrodone wheels.
Long story short, the guy measured up and came to the conclusion that theres nothing they can do with the rears.

Can anyone tell me first hand how they went about spacing their stock 20's?
New tyres and stretch the tyre walls?
(I also have velocity AP springs on the way).

Cheers
Bonz

 

The BSA wheels guy is an idiot.
Heaps of threads and posts on here about what size spacers will and won't fit or cause rubbing issues, depending on which wheels and tyres you have.
Bottom line - 17 mm or wider spacers up to 20 mm will be perfectly OK with Gyrodynes with the stock 295/30ZR20 tyres on the rear, even with VAP springs. Front wheels and tyres no problems at all. But once you go over 20 mm wide spacers and/or 305 rear tyres you will get tyre rub on the wheel arches.
The safest and easiest solution for spacers (and cheapest) is 15 mm wide but 15 mm spacers won't work with anything other than Blade wheels unless you cut or grind the OEM studs down by 2 or 3 mm.
So Bonz, you effectively have two choices - get 15 mm spacers and cut/grind the studs down, or get 17 - 20 mm spacers.

 

Oz, I had issues with 15mm spacers and 305 tires (15 + 1/2 * 10 = 20mm), so 20mm spacers may well be problematic. I would advise no more than 17mm spacers.

 

Im having trouble seeing it work.
In all honesty im a noob when it comes to wheel spacers...its my first fitment without buying aftermarket wheels to rely on fitment.

In the two pictures of front and rear, do i measure from the tyre at point "1" or point "2".
Also noticed theres quite a lip on the rears arch to get passed.
Dont really want to grind away at the lip.
(Photo 1 is front, photo 2 is rear)

Front

Rear

 

No need to measure anything, with either 15 mm or 17 mm spacers and VAP springs and 295 rear tyres you will have zero problems with tyre clearance or arch rubbing.
I have VAP springs, 15 mm spacers and 295 rear tyres and they have never rubbed or touched at all, even with the hatch full and over bumps at speed.
As Lance says don't go to 305 tyres as then you may have problems even with 15 mm spacers and VAP springs.

 

Thanks for making it clear guys.
Ive come to the point where im thinking 17mm is the right option as i dont want to cut stock studs (new rims in coming months).
I am under the impression that i only have to chop stock studs if theyre 15mm spacers right?

Also is it 15mm/17mm spacers front and back??

Front tyre 255/35
Rear tyre 295/30

 

Bonz

How's the new car going? I see that Sydney City Prestige sold the black R yesterday....which I was somewhat interested in. Although still concentrating on the V6S at this stage.

 

If you are getting new rims that might change your options, it all depends on the offsets (spacers may or may not be needed) and the voids between the bolt holes.
Yes, you only need to chop the stock studs if you are using 15 mm spacers and OEM F-Type wheels other than Blades.
Front and back all the same, makes no diff.

 

Unreal to say the least...beyond my expectations!
I noticed that. Did you enquire about it? Curious as to why it was selling so cheap.
Chat in the PM's

 

Yeah, ill worry about the spacers for the next rims when it comes time. But for now im enjoying these gyrodynes.
Well in that case, ill go 17mm front and back without altering stock studs
Thanks again @OzXFR

 

17mm should just barely work without shaving the studs. You’ll want to test fit and then check the voids in the backside of the Gyrodynes to ensure that there’s no contact. Yes, 17mm front and rear, but there’s actually a bit more clearance in front.

 

Yeah im not 100% sure about the voids on the gyrodones.
Yeah i noticed the front has quite a bit to play with.I would like to avoid spacing out the fronts further than the rears though. Well if thats the case i may well go for 18mm or more to avoid altering stock studs.

 

The problem with 17 mm or 18 mm is they would have to be custom made (and probably cost a bomb plus shipping) whereas there are plenty of off the shelf 15 mm spacers for the F-Type going for a reasonable price and sometimes even free shipping.
I have "Teeze" brand ones on my F-Type (from AliExpress) and they are good quality, see here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3274...bc7fa71f35a6ba

Edit - I just noticed on the linked page they say ".....In addition, we have our own factory (can produce wheel spacers of any size, any thickness),..." so you could drop them a line asking if they can/will make 17 mm or 18 mm for you at maybe minimal or no extra cost?

 

Yeah one of the reasons im going to this place is there "on the spot" machining.
I can see on this page theyre selling 20mm spacers off the shelf for $165
I know its the wrong stud pattern, but just for reference.
https://bsawheels.com.au/product-cat...28833007812500

I wonder about their quality though. Whats the opinion on aluminium spacers?

 

As I said I am very happy with the quality of the Teeze spacers, and they are aluminium.
I have never read anywhere that steel spacers are "better" than aluminium, properly hardened aluminium is perfectly OK, and aluminium is much lighter so much better for reducing unsprung weight.
Those BSA spacers look perfectly OK and it seems they will make them to the correct spec for the F-Type, but I couldn't figure out if their advertised price of $165 is for four, two or one. If four that is a bargain, two so-so and one would be a rip off. And whatever the price I would guess it would cost you extra to get them made to the correct spec for your F-Type.

 

The only way to go. The last thing you want is more unsprung weight.

 

Yeah im not even sure myself. But its already looking like having them custom made is whole other price.
Comes to $440 for all 4. Hopefully im not getting ripped.
Trying for 18mm.

​​​​
As long as theyre not cast i guess.

Also wheels off and i can confirm the gyrodones have an air pocket. I dont know the exact depth.
Check image.

 

I have explained this before on some other thread two or three years ago, but it's not that hard to figure out which spacers will or won't work with your wheels:
1. Measure the length of an OEM wheel stud.
2. Measure the depth of one of the voids ("air pockets" as you call them) in your wheels.
3. Subtract 2. from 1.
4. The result will tell you the minimum thickness of spacer you need to clear the voids without any cutting or grinding of the OEM wheel studs.

Edit - also, the Teeze ones I linked to, assuming a price of $60 US for two of them works out at $177 AU for four of them excluding postage, so my guess is around $220 AU including postage. Half the cost of those BSA ones!

 

That does make it much simpler.
Im glad i actually went with 18mm though. Given the voids may actually have more depth left for the studs, the 18mm space out ends up being IMO perfectly lined up with the guard. Any further and id hate to see the result of stone chips.

Yeah it looks like off the shelf premade, you can get a deal. I had these guys measuring back and forth for around 45mins and then custom milled and machined on the spot. All up the job took around 2hrs.
Very happy with the quality and fit.
Anyone trying to figure out how an 18mm spacer for the gyrodynes stock wheels will look. Heres the end result.
First pic is finished product.
Second pic is before.

 

I had the Gyrodynes with 15mm spacers and had to grind 2-3mm off the end of the studs. Most others had no issue with the 17mm spacer on the Gyrodynes.