Im looking at a set of wheels from a mate, i tried them on my car and they hit the back brake caliper.

The wheels are 18x7.5 with an offset of 42

He said I need spacers to make them fit over the brakes. Is this true?

Are spacers safe/legal. Ive seen 5mm - 7mm spacers on trademe for around $40.

Also I have been told that with spacers you need a cert?

How many people use spacers on there altezza's and would you recommend them or just get a different set of wheels that fit.

I have 20mm spacers on the rear. Yes i think you need a cert but i have got a wof everytime fine.

To fit the wheels you will need spacers. It really depends on the condition of the wheels your getting and the price as to whether you get new wheels or not. A good set of rear spacers will set you back around $150 brand new. . . may be able to find cheaper 2nd hand. In the long run it would be safer and easier to get a new set of wheels with a different offset

Two sorts, depending on how wide you want them..

http://forum.altezzaclub.org.au/index.php?...topic=5102&st=0

The bolt-on ones are wider and better, as they carry their own fullsize studs, but if you only need 10mm the others will do OK.

Thanks for your replys

The spacers I meant arent the ones that bolt on to the hub. Ive seen heaps on trademe for sale that are only between 5mm - 10mm and are only like $40. They look like they just sit between the wheel and hub and are held on by the wheel being bolted on. Does this sound right?

If I did put a 7mm spacer on would this be like having a wheel with an offset of 35?(as the wheels are 42)

Yes, that's the silvery one in the photo. That was 10mm.

Check with Al at Driven Performance & see if they have 7mm. Use the narrowest one you can.

Just be carefull with the slip on spacers as some of the give you a vibration
thru the steering at high speeds.
They also will shorten then stud length, meaning your nuts will have a couple less turns
when you put the nuts back on.

I would just go the bolt on spacer, much more safe and you can get decent ones for
round $150 pair brand new

In NZ at least, you need a cert for changing the track more than 50mm, hence why most if not all of the bolt on spacers are 25mm each, so no cert needed.

The billet bolt on ones tend to be much safer, than the ones that just slide on. None are ok according to MSNZ.

I would definitely go bolt on for any spacer wider than 5mm.
as dislexic said, they will shorten the stud length for where your nuts bolt on. if it doesnt get enough turns you're likely to unthread the stud which could end up in damaging your studs... and they arent cheap to replace.

Not to mention they are supposed to be illegal (slip-on ones)

Some say it causes vibration in the wheels, and that would be due to the spacer holding the wheel out further, and your locating ring doesnt hold the spacer in place, however, I used to have 5mm spacers on my last car and I didnt feel much difference at all.

I would go bolt-on, 25mm spacers :) better to have a wider looking stance anyway :P

Bollocks.

Section 4.7 of Schedule A:

(4) Wheel spacers: If wheel spacers are fitted, they must comply with the following;
(a) Are manufactured in one piece with a maximum thickness of 25mm, and
(b ) The diameter shall be not less than the mating hub diameter.

I dont think they would have said "Not OK" (as in not legal) but maybe not recommended?
And I'm sure I saw somewhere about how slip-ons are supposed to be illegal too, but *shrugs*

hmm, weird, the scrutineers made me take them off my old car on a track day saying that they werent legal for MSNZ supported events... teaches me for not knowing it I guess.

Always pays to have a manual handy ;) Most scrutineers SHOULD have one whenever they are scrutineering. I always keep mine close to hand. Not to mention that i have and do run 5mm slip on spacers on the rear of my race car in competiton.

I have been told by a certifier that spacers must be fixed to the hub when they are larger than 5mm in thickness. However take that as you please, as i cannot find anything in the Low volume code to confirm nor deny that.

only time i used spaces was for my rx323, and that was coz i was changing stud patt
they were 25mm thick

One time I was fitting some 18x9.5 +38 rears to my car, they hit the rear caliper too by about 2mm. Then I put in I think a 5mm spacer (making a +33 offset), cleared the calipers fine, but the tyres were hitting the inner lip, so I ended up taking the wheels off.

Your offset seems to be high enough to fit some 5mm spacers, but I would trail fit to see if the wheels would hit anything else after fitting the spacers.

As for safety of slip-on spacers, they seem dodgy to me.. And as disLEXic said, shitty ones can give you vibrations.

Good luck!

I dont think its the quality (although hell i wouldnt be touching "shitty" spacers at all!) but the vibrations are because the internal hole size of the ring is too big. the same goes with putting wheels on without locating rings when the internal hub hole diameter is too big :)

Depends on the design of the disk on the rim, but those offsets should fit!

I run 19 x 8 +38's and they clear the calipers fine.

Just trial fit the rims first and if they clear you saved yourself $100

Sorry for this old post but i was looking into getting some spacers for my stock rims and have a few noob questions please.
When fitting bolt on spacers, do i need to have an alignment done? Also, will day to day driving cause them to expand/contract thus making it difficult to remove when needed? This will certainly cause more stress on the wheel bearings, correct?

Thanks guys