FD Wheel Spacers

[aliquot]

Has anyone added the FD wheel spacers ? if so, how much difference have they made. Something i'm considering (one of many upgrades)
Steve

 

[Torenno Performance]

Has anyone added the FD wheel spacers ? if so, how much difference have they made. Something i'm considering (one of many upgrades)
Steve

I'm running FD spacers on th back of my QP, the probelm that I had previously was that the car felt nervous on high speed bends and didn't instill a lot of confidence when going into long sweeping bends at high speed.

The spacers obviously widen the track of the vehicle and lower the centre of gravity and has obviously helped with the above problem as well as enhanceing the look of the car aswell.

There are a number of reviews of the FD spacers on Maserati Life, a lot of guys in the states have them installed.

Thanks

Noor

 

[speedevilus]

Hi Noor,
What would you recommend for the 4200CC Coupe? i.e. width and also cost if possible.

Cheers

Andy

 

[Gullible]

Can you tell me if the use of spacers facilitates the use of some sort of "paintwork armour" as with a slightly wider track the wheels would protrude from the arches a bit and cause stone chips.
I would be interested in a complete solution if affordable and someone told me that 20mm to the front and 30mm to the rear was the maximum that the 4200 should have.

 

[maserati]

Wheel spacers by their very nature add additional strain to the wheel bearings. If going down this route care needs to be taken with product selection.

Regards,

Paul

 

[Gullible]

Wheel spacers by their very nature add additional strain to the wheel bearings. If going down this route care needs to be taken with product selection.

Regards,

Paul

Hi Paul,
sorry not trying to be confrontational..... but can you elaborate on this as it does not make sense to me.
If i were to put wider wheels on a car this would not add additional strain to the bearings but poorly balanced wheels will.(so i was told)

 

[maserati]

Hi Adam,

Thank you for your message. With regards to fitting spacers, because the wheels are further from the hub, more stress (lever action) is placed on the wheel bearings, potentially causing them to fail prematurely. Notwithstanding this there are many reputable companies offering suitable conversions. However, these issues can become involved so my suggestion is, that research is undertaken (the internet contains a lot of reference material) and professional advice is sought whilst seeking the right solution.

Regards,

Paul

 

[Gullible]

Ah ok so its about the spread of the load..I get it.
Thanks

 

[Torenno Performance]

Hi Noor,
What would you recommend for the 4200CC Coupe? i.e. width and also cost if possible.

Cheers

Andy

15mm front and 15mm rear will work fine. If you want maximum width then i would say 15mm front and 25mm rear. I wouldnt recommend going any wider then that, due to clearance issue especially with lowered vehicles.

Feel free to drop me a line or give me a call and im sure we can work out a discount for forum members.

Thanks

Noor

 

[Torenno Performance]

Can you tell me if the use of spacers facilitates the use of some sort of "paintwork armour" as with a slightly wider track the wheels would protrude from the arches a bit and cause stone chips.
I would be interested in a complete solution if affordable and someone told me that 20mm to the front and 30mm to the rear was the maximum that the 4200 should have.

Hi Adam,

If you are going wider on the front then i would recommend some form of 3M or similar protection for the rear arches.

Thanks

Noor

 

[Gullible]

ok price up 25mm rear and 15mm front please noor

 

[Torenno Performance]

Let me say one thing first...

Wheel spacers will put a small amount of additional load on the bearings. However it is no different than running wider wheels either.

To date me nor Jeff from FD have not heard of a single failure of a wheel bearing as a result of aftermarket wheels or spacers on a Modern Maserati.

The main reason that failures have happened on lesser makes of cars is that the manufacturer designed the bearing for a particular stress and going wider exceeded it.

With that said, that seems to effect many lesser makes and the Maserati's have superior quality bearings made to handle more stress as they are delivered from the factory.

Owners of the 3200, 4200 and QP have been running wider wheels for many years (10 years in the case of the 3200 which shares the same platform as the 4200) and many miles without any failures that were aware of.

FD use 2 types of spacers. Bolt on and Bolt through. As a typical rule of thumb you use bolt through up to 20mm and bolt-on for more than 20mm.

There isn't an inherent problem with either design provided that they are built correctly and torqued properly to the hub and the wheel.

Additionally I can tell you that the look of the spacers makes a much bigger difference in person than a picture can ever do justice. The reason is because its not just about moving the wheel by XXmm... it changes the stance and attitude of the car and it's evident when you walk up to it.

Thanks

Noor

 

[Torenno Performance]

ok price up 25mm rear and 15mm front please noor

Ill work out a good price and ping you a PM in the morning.

Thanks

Noor

 

[buster67]

Hi Steve,

Apologies I didn't get this to you sooner otherwise I'd have posted some pics. I do have the spacers installed but have just dropped the car at the garage and will be out of the country for the next 9 days.

Anyway - I would highly recommend if not for handling but more the look. With so much pitch and roll on the car, the wider stance and lower centre of gravity doesn't really improve with just the spacers - so now I'm having the FD springs fitted.

Regarding the specs - DON'T go for the 25mm on the rear - they look ridiculous and it was a costly mistake on my part. I've now got 15mm front and rear and it aligns the wheels very nicely with the wheel arches. As I say to me it's more aesthetics than stability.

Big advantage, you do get a great set of new shiny wheel nuts with the 15mm's! If you can wait I'll get pics posted when I'm back.

Cheers!

 

[aliquot]

thanks buster, i was thinking of lowering anyhow to improve roll etc, and had came to the conclusion that the 15mm would be the best option so thanks for the info.

Steve

 

[Torenno Performance]

Cant seem to find any pics at the moment of cars with 15 or 25mm spacers. Couple below, this one has 30mm spacers!

http://www.performanceitalia.co.uk/wpimages/Maserati 4200 Spacer Front Quarter.JPG

http://www.performanceitalia.co.uk/wpimages/Maserati 4200 Spacer Back Quarter.JPG

 

[Gullible]

Hi noor well in the images the 30mm dont look bad at all but buster said the 25mm looked pants.....maybe need to see a couple in the flesh as its not worth getting 15mm and then saying "i wish i had gone for the 25mm"

 

[Torenno Performance]

Adam,

I think the look is subjective by its nature, and buster didnt like the look with the 25mm ones, i personaly think they look great and 25mm ones are the biggest sellers.

I agree on your comment - "i wish i had gone for the 25mm" What i can suggest for you adam is go for the 25mm ones and if you think they look pants then i will happily exchange them for 15mm ones. Obviously i cant do this for everybody, but will do so for one SM member.

Thanks

Noor

 

[SimonM]

I've got a full set of FD 15mm spacers on my GS - whilst only subtle, I like the slightly wider stance - handling wise no major difference really - perhaps a bit more planted on big sweepers... good buy IMO!