Wheel Spacers
08-04-2018, 10:45 AM
#1
Audiworld Junior Member
Thread Starter
Wheel Spacers
I have a 2013 A8L with factory 20in wheels. The rear wheels need a spacer. Im thinking 10mm will do. I want spacers that are Hub Centric. I will likely need longer bolts too.
What are you guys running for spacers? Where can I get Hub Centric spacers? (Im not sure what the center bore is on the factory wheel...57.1?)
What are you guys running for spacers? Where can I get Hub Centric spacers? (Im not sure what the center bore is on the factory wheel...57.1?)
08-04-2018, 11:06 AM
#2
AudiWorld Super User
I started w/ 10's but ended up at 12 in back IIRC. And that is with 275's on factory 20 wheels (20 x 9 ET37. 5 x 112). If you run 265's you might then debate between 12 and 15mm--assuming clean buttoned down look, not too much poke and zero issue with rubbing/clearance.
D4 is 66mm hub center, vs the older D3 57+mm. I use H&R model DR spacers; sold in both the newer 66mm type and older 57+mm ones. Be sure bolt pattern is 5 x112, since there are certainly other patterns (like 5 x 120 for BMW's as just one of a dozen plus examples). H&R ones are virtually always hubcentric, except when thickness gets to 10mm or less when you have be careful. They do have a 10mm that is hub centric; same with the 12 where there is a choice I think. By 15mm they are only sold hubcentric. H&R outer spacer diameter exactly matches the inside hub face of Audi factory wheels, so they blend very well and it is hard to even realize a spacer is in there unless you really look closely.
If I don't do the bolt calcs myself, I get them with spacers from Achtuning--by calling them on phone (not web) to get the bolt advice. Same people who sell the Hartmann branded replica wheels for lots of Audi choices. FWIW, factory bolts are about 27mm (measured along shaft), so you add spacer thickness to get estimated bolt length. Then there is a rounding judgment call if it falls in between bolt sizes. Also why it helps to talk to a knowledgable parts person--not web chat from who knows where. As a further nuance, Audi D body factory uses a nice washered bolt that makes tightening them more reliable for torque measurement. Some H&R bolts are available washered, but only in certain lengths. H&R bolts (and probably many others) take the standard Audi decorative caps many Audi wheel designs use.
You can also get ECS ones and then they spec the bolts, but I don't think a black anodized spacer like they offer looks right in there given the typical silver brake rotor hat paint and the closer to silver wheel. If you have black wheels by chance, then ECS ones make more sense.
D4 is 66mm hub center, vs the older D3 57+mm. I use H&R model DR spacers; sold in both the newer 66mm type and older 57+mm ones. Be sure bolt pattern is 5 x112, since there are certainly other patterns (like 5 x 120 for BMW's as just one of a dozen plus examples). H&R ones are virtually always hubcentric, except when thickness gets to 10mm or less when you have be careful. They do have a 10mm that is hub centric; same with the 12 where there is a choice I think. By 15mm they are only sold hubcentric. H&R outer spacer diameter exactly matches the inside hub face of Audi factory wheels, so they blend very well and it is hard to even realize a spacer is in there unless you really look closely.
If I don't do the bolt calcs myself, I get them with spacers from Achtuning--by calling them on phone (not web) to get the bolt advice. Same people who sell the Hartmann branded replica wheels for lots of Audi choices. FWIW, factory bolts are about 27mm (measured along shaft), so you add spacer thickness to get estimated bolt length. Then there is a rounding judgment call if it falls in between bolt sizes. Also why it helps to talk to a knowledgable parts person--not web chat from who knows where. As a further nuance, Audi D body factory uses a nice washered bolt that makes tightening them more reliable for torque measurement. Some H&R bolts are available washered, but only in certain lengths. H&R bolts (and probably many others) take the standard Audi decorative caps many Audi wheel designs use.
You can also get ECS ones and then they spec the bolts, but I don't think a black anodized spacer like they offer looks right in there given the typical silver brake rotor hat paint and the closer to silver wheel. If you have black wheels by chance, then ECS ones make more sense.
Last edited by MP4.2+6.0; 08-04-2018 at 11:19 AM.
The following 3 users liked this post by MP4.2+6.0:
08-04-2018, 11:56 AM
#5
AudiWorld Super User
I did space mine, but it is a real judgment call on whether to bother or not. On D3 it was more obvious to do, but D4 wheel offsets are about 10mm more aggressive to start with than the D3 era. I calculated 8mm would be ideal with my 275's, but I think I probably went with 10's to get hubcentric. Rear is where the spacers are more compelling for a buttoned down but still arguably factory look on D4's. If you look carefully at yours, notice particularly how the front fender tucks in a lot as you get to the far forward part of the fender wheel well. Too much spacing there and it is going to start to look a bit boy racer stuff. In that case, get the purple tint and coffee can exhaust tips to match...
Last edited by MP4.2+6.0; 08-04-2018 at 12:01 PM.
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09S5 (09-01-2021)
08-04-2018, 12:19 PM
#6
Audiworld Junior Member
Thread Starter
I did space mine, but it is a real judgment call on whether to bother or not. On D3 it was more obvious to do, but D4 wheel offsets are about 10mm more aggressive to start with than the D3 era. I calculated 8mm would be ideal with my 275's, but I think I probably went with 10's to get hubcentric. Rear is where the spacers are more compelling for a buttoned down but still arguably factory look on D4's. If you look carefully at yours, notice particularly how the front fender tucks in a lot as you get to the far forward part of the fender wheel well. Too much spacing there and it is going to start to look a bit boy racer stuff. In that case, get the purple tint and coffee can exhaust tips to match...
Do u have any pics you could share that shows the wheels?
08-04-2018, 03:18 PM
#7
AudiWorld Super User
See this thread with my pictures i n my original post (#1) that opens the thread. The spacer part of that discussion focused on rear. I have since put the 10mm spacers on the front but don't have those pics handy.
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a8-...15-s8-2908752/
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a8-...15-s8-2908752/
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08-05-2018, 04:12 AM
#8
AudiWorld Member
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a8-.../#post25152103
08-07-2018, 08:42 AM
#9
AudiWorld Super User
Following up with more info and a heads' up--at least for posterity and folks using this thread in the future as a resource. In deciding spacer sizing, you want to be careful about both the exact Audi wheel being used and the tire width. This reply will only deal with factory wheels and offsets and various information I have gleaned in my choices. A member's question to me involving original 21" S8 wheel sizing triggered the explanation of some further nuances below, and also perhaps why different members report different spacer widths. This reply may help answer some of the "why's" to that.
All factory (non winter) D4 wheels I know of are 9" wide, so that is standardized. However, the factory offsets vary a bit, and so do the common tire sizing choices. My prior replies are with ET37 wheels in 20x9 with 275 nominal width tires. ET37 is the common Audi offset AFAIK for the 20's from either D4 or S7. My conclusions there for D4 are 10mm spacers front, 15mm rear.
HOWEVER, the 21x9 factory 5 spoke wheels my 2015 S8 came with are ET35, also with 275 tires. There my instinct absent specific test fitting would be to drop back to 12mm spacers in back to avoid any possibility of clearance issues, which is where I started with my ET37 wheels--as in, that 2mm of offset difference is almost the 3mm difference in spacer choice. I think the fronts can still run 10 even at ET35--since my conclusion at ET37 now with 10mm spacers is I might bump it to 12 using the ones I first had on the back. In front it is arguably more an aesthetic issue for choices within reason, since the first issue I see has more to do with the poke ("sticking out") appearance toward the leading edge of the fender as opposed to my sense of rubbing/contact risk. 10mm is also the minimum width in H&R IIRC where you can get hubcentric, which is a prerequisite for any spacers I am comfortable with using.
If you are running the factory D4 20" tire fitment, you will generally be on 265's unless you have made the 275 switch. The 265's will give you 5 more mm per side nominally to work with. Many of us though have moved to 275's, and the S8 stock (for USA fitments) is 275. In the 275 case, the "math" above controls. To be more specific if pushing it on 265's, you might go into the tire specs on the manufacturer's site or to a site like Tire Rack and look at the relative tread widths as well as sidewall width, and then extrapolate it from my conclusions for 275's. Or, use information from another poster perhaps who has specific experience on 265's. But, be sure in reading these replies and judging for yourself and your D4 to know what the poster's specific wheels, offsets and tire width. All of those variable affect the exact spacer choice if you are trying to really dial it in but still avoid any rubbing risk. If it rubs, it will be probably in the area where the tread rolls off onto the sidewall--hence looking at the tread width and sidewall spec, as opposed to the more simplistic nominal tire size. Tread width does vary among tire choices some in a given nominal size, and it may not be consistent for a given brand/model in stepping up or down nominal widths.
As a starting point, you can expect with 265's on factory wheels (ET 37, 20x9) you could easily run the 10mm fronts, and might opt for 12mm. In back, the 15mm remains safe given my own experience with 275's, and the aggressive (but not personally tested) choice might be 20mm.
For H&R in their DR type, the actual part #'s I have used are:
2055668 for 10mm
2455668 for 12 mm
3055668 for 15 mm
The first two digits are the width, but they do it by the width of BOTH spacers combined for a given axle. Thus "20" means 10mm per side, or 20mm total per axle. The third and second digits from the end (66 in all cases) tell you it is for the 66 mm hub. Do NOT make the mistake of getting the old D3 fitment type which I think say 57 for those two digits. Again, not personally chosen for my 275's, but logically 20's will probably be 4055668.
As a final P.S. for any of us who migrated to D4 from D3, or anyone coming across old D3 posts in looking at D4 spacers. Do NOT use D3 spacer experience on D4's. Besides that the hub centers are now bigger and so the old spacers don't even fit, the D4 wheel offsets are more aggressive by about 10mm, so the spacers then used are not as wide in general as they were for D3's. Thus, all the "old" learning" needs to be corrected for the D4 offsets, before even considering body/fender or other generation changes.
All factory (non winter) D4 wheels I know of are 9" wide, so that is standardized. However, the factory offsets vary a bit, and so do the common tire sizing choices. My prior replies are with ET37 wheels in 20x9 with 275 nominal width tires. ET37 is the common Audi offset AFAIK for the 20's from either D4 or S7. My conclusions there for D4 are 10mm spacers front, 15mm rear.
HOWEVER, the 21x9 factory 5 spoke wheels my 2015 S8 came with are ET35, also with 275 tires. There my instinct absent specific test fitting would be to drop back to 12mm spacers in back to avoid any possibility of clearance issues, which is where I started with my ET37 wheels--as in, that 2mm of offset difference is almost the 3mm difference in spacer choice. I think the fronts can still run 10 even at ET35--since my conclusion at ET37 now with 10mm spacers is I might bump it to 12 using the ones I first had on the back. In front it is arguably more an aesthetic issue for choices within reason, since the first issue I see has more to do with the poke ("sticking out") appearance toward the leading edge of the fender as opposed to my sense of rubbing/contact risk. 10mm is also the minimum width in H&R IIRC where you can get hubcentric, which is a prerequisite for any spacers I am comfortable with using.
If you are running the factory D4 20" tire fitment, you will generally be on 265's unless you have made the 275 switch. The 265's will give you 5 more mm per side nominally to work with. Many of us though have moved to 275's, and the S8 stock (for USA fitments) is 275. In the 275 case, the "math" above controls. To be more specific if pushing it on 265's, you might go into the tire specs on the manufacturer's site or to a site like Tire Rack and look at the relative tread widths as well as sidewall width, and then extrapolate it from my conclusions for 275's. Or, use information from another poster perhaps who has specific experience on 265's. But, be sure in reading these replies and judging for yourself and your D4 to know what the poster's specific wheels, offsets and tire width. All of those variable affect the exact spacer choice if you are trying to really dial it in but still avoid any rubbing risk. If it rubs, it will be probably in the area where the tread rolls off onto the sidewall--hence looking at the tread width and sidewall spec, as opposed to the more simplistic nominal tire size. Tread width does vary among tire choices some in a given nominal size, and it may not be consistent for a given brand/model in stepping up or down nominal widths.
As a starting point, you can expect with 265's on factory wheels (ET 37, 20x9) you could easily run the 10mm fronts, and might opt for 12mm. In back, the 15mm remains safe given my own experience with 275's, and the aggressive (but not personally tested) choice might be 20mm.
For H&R in their DR type, the actual part #'s I have used are:
2055668 for 10mm
2455668 for 12 mm
3055668 for 15 mm
The first two digits are the width, but they do it by the width of BOTH spacers combined for a given axle. Thus "20" means 10mm per side, or 20mm total per axle. The third and second digits from the end (66 in all cases) tell you it is for the 66 mm hub. Do NOT make the mistake of getting the old D3 fitment type which I think say 57 for those two digits. Again, not personally chosen for my 275's, but logically 20's will probably be 4055668.
As a final P.S. for any of us who migrated to D4 from D3, or anyone coming across old D3 posts in looking at D4 spacers. Do NOT use D3 spacer experience on D4's. Besides that the hub centers are now bigger and so the old spacers don't even fit, the D4 wheel offsets are more aggressive by about 10mm, so the spacers then used are not as wide in general as they were for D3's. Thus, all the "old" learning" needs to be corrected for the D4 offsets, before even considering body/fender or other generation changes.
Last edited by MP4.2+6.0; 08-07-2018 at 09:12 AM.