to those who have simply added "spacers", NOT "adapters"...say something like 5mm, does the center bore need extending as well or just a flat spacer work?

 

H&R Sport Springs. Lowers by 1.2".

 

Yes. And they give detailed installation instructions, as well. One thing that my installer noted was that in the instructions, they say that the nuts should have a full six tightening turns but because about 4mm of the original studs are non-threaded, you can only get about 4.5-5 turns. He seemed a bit concerned about this but I told him that several people had done this and nobody that I know of has had any issues. He also put some blue locktite [not the store-bought stuff but the stuff he uses on engine parts] on the threads. The connection between the wheel adpaters and the wheels are fully threaded so I guess this is better but I would imagine if your wheels are going to loosen up, you're going to feel or hear it before they come flying off.

I am planning on removing my wheels once in a while over the next few months just to make sure everything is secure. I feel pretty confident but better safe than sorry.

 

Saw a guy with spacers have a control arm fail at a track...997 with 30k miles. Heard people telling him the spacer "might" have caused much higher loading, etc. Have read of more than one person having wheel bearing issues due to increased loading on the bearings from more than trivial spacers.

So, sticking with my OEM forged 20" wheels at stock height. The car is quite nice looking stock and to me needs nothing.

When I did use spacers, I checked torque not often enough in retrospect and got lucky. And I only bought spacers that were hubcentric. No one I met at the track who was serious felt they were safe. FYI only.

 

There's no question that spacers/adapters are controversial, and I agree that hubcentric is the way to go. It also probably matters how wide the spacers are vis a vis bearing wear. If I had any intention of tracking my car, I would not use them, but for my purposes I believe they are safe. I drive spirited but well within the limits of the car. Coming up on seventy in a couple of years, I really enjoy the subtitles more than the raw power or taking lateral grip to its limits [like I used to years ago].

Interestingly, my wife has a Cayenne and her tire/wheel fitment is exactly where mine is now. I guess that's one of the differences between Porsche and Jaguar. Porsche thinks all these things out where Jaguar kind of missed the boat because moving the wheels out a bit makes an amazing difference in appearance [at least to my eyes]. Having said that, and being a big 911 fan, I would never give up my F-type for a 911...well maybe a GT2RS or a GT3RS. Maybe not.

 

I've run spacers on several cars including track hoes. They're fine as long as you torque them, same as installing a new set of wheels. The bearings are fine too. Only time bearings have an issue is when there is an extreme offset where most of the wheel is outside the hub.

 

1. Have attached the current PCA zone tech form from my old zone (current 2022). These rules are typically based on national rules and those are based on data like failures and issues (crashes, probably legal issues, etc.). Note the spacer comments.


2. Here is a link to a video with some data that may be of interest to the OP.



I believe Jaguar's engineers tuned the cars on the Nurburgring so there is likely a lot of thinking and design in the cars (suspension wise) based on that...so the stock car can handle what you see in the video:

 

guess I'm living on the edge! Queue the Danger Zone music!! Wooooooooo hooooooo!!

 

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1494381


Sounds like it is pretty serious in the UK on this front.....fwiw. I love the look of a wide track car for sure....and I have used spacers without issue on the street in the distant past (hubcentric, Eibach maybe, cannot remember - had a fun sticker with wider is better or something like that)...but would not use them with what I know now. The insurance stuff is a bit of a curve ball...found some of these in the US too.

 

Lol, how many of you claim aftermarket wheels, springs, etc.? Ive never clsimed any of that crap. Seriously? Lol

 

Can 15 mm adapters be used with these tornado wheels, being that they have the “inset voided areas” between the wheel stud holes on the backside of wheels?

 

Pretty much all OEM F-Type wheels have voids in the back between the lug holes, it's the depth of those voids which is vital. So far the only known F-Type wheel with deep enough voids to allow for 15 mm spacers is the Blade wheels, and I'm fairly sure people have asked about or checked Tornado wheels and found that the voids are too shallow to allow the fitment of 15 mm spacers.

 

thank you very much for your input!.. I just realized today that I have an unused set of four, bora 20 mm adapters that I had got for a previous F Pace first edition… I looked it up and it’s the same size as F type as far as fitting. I’m thinking the consensus is that 20 mm might be pushing it a bit, especially for the front. Thoughts?

 

No problems with 20 mm spacers on the rear on stock wheels and tyres and stock or mildly lowered springs, maybe some rubbing issues with a combo of wider wheels and tyres (eg 305) and more aggressive lowering springs (such as H&R).
20 mm spacers on the front could be a problem even on a stock set-up, rubbing on full lock etc.
I have VAP lowering springs (only some 22 mm drop) and stock 20" wheels and tyres (255 front 295 rear) with 20 mm spacers on the rear and 15 mm spacers on the front and zero problems or rubbing.

 

that really does tell me a lot… I think I will put the 20 mm on the rear, and probably get 15 mm for the front. Once again, thank you very much!

 

Good move.
Initially I put 15 mm spacers all round but the rears still looked a little "tucked" for my liking so a couple of years later I whacked 20 mm spacers on the rear and that made it look just right.
Your next move, if you haven't done so already, is to lower it a bit. Lowering plus spacers makes a yuge difference to the stance and appearance.
Plenty of choices of springs or coil-overs, search around here for info.
To me the stock ride height makes the F-Type look like a 4x4 it sits that high but your local roads and conditions will dictate how low you should go. I went with the mild drop of VAP springs coz the roads around here can be crap and the gutter at the road end of my garage entry is like a spoon drain and must be taken at an angle to avoid tearing off either front or rear bumper!

 

From what you’re telling me I feel a lot better that I can use my 20 mm adapters for the rear. I agree that the factory height is not the ideal look for the F type. For the VAP lowering springs you mentioned, is there a specific model number, etc. you used? And how much did it lower yours? I do have to pull in and out of my driveway at a big angle so the front does not rub. I really appreciate your input.

 

The VAP springs have a mild drop of 22 mm (7/8"), a bit less than most others such as H&R and Eibach (both around 28 mm / 1.1" IIRC).
There are two different VAP spring set-ups for the F-Type, one for the V8 / AWD and one for the V6, the details and model numbers are around here somewhere or you can just go to the VAP web site at https://www.velocityap.com/

 

Another option is KW height adjustable springs (HAS). You can fine tune each corner to the exact height you want.

 

I ended up using 20 mm Bora adapters that I forgot I had… was going to use them on and F Pace I had, but never did it. (All four wheels are 20 mm.) by the way, I still had to grind the studs even with the 20 mm adapters. I am really happy with the results, just pokes out a little bit.