wheel spacers

earhook · Post by **earhook** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 9:23 am

Has anyone fitted wheel spacers to their bongalo?
What are your thoughts regarding safety, looks etc?
I've ordered my bellhill lowering springs and am wondering whether spacers will put the cherry on my cake so to speak regarding wheel stuff.

Colin Lambert · Post by **Colin Lambert** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 1:48 pm

Wheel spacers will probably put you in hospital if you're lucky and in a wooden box if you are not!
Car designers make things to very fine tolerances. Wheel spacers put far too much load on the bearings and on a vehicle the weight and size of the Bongo I would not think the wheel bearings will last long. In my youth (hundreds of years ago!!) REAL minis used to get 'spacered' frequently and the bearing life was quartered. Also bear in mind the Mini is only a 'gnat's' of the weight of a Bongo.
DON'T risk it!.IMHO

Post by **francophile1947** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 2:46 pm

I agree with Colin - I used them on a kit car that I built, but would be very wary of using them on a Bongo.

neil/di · Post by **neil/di** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 2:53 pm

Yet again, I have to agree with Colin, they are a hospital visit waiting to happen.
A friend of mine put them on his GP beach buggy he never got to his holiday destination that year ,due to the fact that the rear wheel and the buggy parted company,fiberglass and tarmac dont get on together,and he was a mechanic, so every thing was fitted correctly.
I would go for wider rims
Neil

dandywarhol · Post by **dandywarhol** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:58 pm

Another potential reason for ending up in hospital - wheel offsets are an accurate dimension which has a direct relationship with how the vehicle behaves in the event of a brake failure.
Most vehicles have a diagonal brake split (offside rear/nearside front and vice versa), the wheel offset ensures that the vehicle pulls up in a straight line even though only one front brake is operating if a circuit fails.
If you fit spacers or the wrong offset type of aftermarket wheel then you will affect this geometry (called negative offset).
Imagine 2+ tonnes of slab veering off to one side into the bus shelter queue

mikeonb4c · Post by **mikeonb4c** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:17 pm

...and your insurance invalid. Brings me out in a cold sweat if the above is true (which I'm sure it is)

bigdaddycain · Post by **bigdaddycain** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 7:26 pm

Dandy is spot on, in addition, the steering is likely to be affected in general, the oversteer/understeer characteristics would be altered if the offset is increased or decreased respectively... could make for an interesting drive when in the ruts HGV's make in the slow lane of the motorway....

Dabs · Post by **Dabs** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 8:28 pm

Early on in My driving career I made the mistake of buying wheel spacers and fitting them to a Mk 2 Escort.All was fine until after 3 days of dry weather it rained.Whilst going downhill toward a set of traffic lights with stopped cars I realised that My brakes were not working luckily My efforts at stopping the car literally jumping on the brake pedal managed just in the nick of time to dry the brakes out just enough to bring it to a halt less that 6 inches from the last car at the lights.Had I had been going any faster I would have had to make the choice of a wall or back of the next car to stop.All caused by wheelspacers allowing excess water to go on the brakes.
Needless to say I very carefully made My way home and took them off straight away and I have never tinkered with anything like that since.

My advice dont fit em its not worth it

Dabs

Colin Lambert · Post by **Colin Lambert** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:21 pm

Earhook,
Sounds as though it might be a NO then!!

earhook · Post by **earhook** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 9:31 pm

I'll give that idea a swerve then.
Thanks for your input though.

mikeonb4c · Post by **mikeonb4c** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:37 pm

Good idea. I've lost count of the number of times BF expertise has pointed me away from trouble and in the right direction