Anyone got wheel spacers....?

[pologti18t]

Yes they are illegal but you'd be unlucky to attract attention driving a polo unless stupidity was involved.

I suppose the only risk if you have an accident with them fitted and the insurance company wants to wiggle out of paying up....

[kaanage]

Consider that if a rim with a different offset is mounted, you could have the same problem: standard rims are ET46, Detroit rims are ET35, more than 10mm...

The change in offset is not the issue - it's about structural integrity. The extra metal that reduces a wheel's offset is part of the wheel while a spacer is not.

A good spacer is machined from solid aluminium billett alloy that is at least as solid as the wheel so it will not crush and is perfectly safe (as long as it either allows the wheel to still mount on the hub or it sits on the hub and extends so the wheel can mount on it). A crappy spacer is made of porous cast aluminium or plain non-alloyed aluminum so it crushes under side loadings (cornering) which reduces the tension on the wheel nuts/bolts allowing them to loosen. Worst are the non-hubcentric porous ones which crush more quickly

Since spacers are not easily inspected and could potentially be made from cutouts from sheet bought at Bunnings, only ones supplied by the manufacturer as OE fitment are legal as they are certified along with the rest of the car.

[kawabanga]

Really can be found spacers made of cast aluminium...? Yes, I agree, they are crazy!

Personally I mounted Sparco spacers (do you know Sparco? It's an Italian brand making special parts) machined from solid aluminium and mantaining the original wheel centering, with longer quality screws: no vibrations or other issues, except the different behaviour and response of steering wheel, due to the changed geometry...