Here's my stance on wheel spacers . . .

[tekenaar]

I've been looking at, and not satisfied with, the "stance" of my ultra low mileage '75 Ascona for some time and finally decided to do something about it . . . widen it . . . with 1" hubcentric 12x1.5 spacers.

Already have 1" wide, hubcentric H&R wheel spacers on the front of my 2.4FI GT, so naturally I looked there first . . . hmmm, $150 for a pair of 25mm (~1"), 4x100mm, 12Mx1.5 studs, 57.1mm hub, ~$330 for all four wheels including shipping. Those Krauts sure are proud of that TÜV certification, aren't they!

Poking around on the net a bit more, I discovered a generic set with the same specs, but with a hub-bore of 64mm, i.e. not hubcentric, but at less than half the cost, ~$70 a pair at ezAccessory.com! Not exactly what I wanted, but close.

Poking around a little more at their site, I was delighted to find that they also sold poly carbon hubcentric rings with a common OD of 73mm and different IDs for various hub sizes, including Opel's - 57.1mm . . . $16 for a set of four!

Bought two sets of the adapters (4) and one set of the hub centric rings for a total just under $180, including shipping! . . . I was a happy camper!

Suppose you noticed the disparity between the wheel adapter's hub bore - 64mm, and the hub centric ring's OD - 73mm, huh? Took both adapters and rings to my machinist (don't have a lathe of my own . . . yet!), and had him machine the adapter's 64mm hub bore to the 73mm ring OD and, VOILA! . . . the correct 57.1mm hubcentric 1" wheel adapter! . . . and $20 to my machinist!

Just installed my new hubcentric spacers . . . they fit perfectly!

[neuropel]

Otto,
Any chance we'll see before and after pics?

Todd

[Bill Hoffmann]

Did you have to shorten or install shorter wheel studs, or do they just protrude into the "spoke" recesses of the wheels?

[tekenaar]

Otto,
Any chance we'll see before and after pics?

Todd

. . . of the wheel adapters, no . . . of the Ascona, possibly yes.

[tekenaar]

Did you have to shorten or install shorter wheel studs, or do they just protrude into the "spoke" recesses of the wheels?

. . . with a 1" wheel spacer/adapter, no mods are required to the existing wheel studs. That said, I did run across an anomaly that's unique, I believe, to the '75 front wheel discs . . . one of the four disc-to-hub mounting bolts is longer with an unthreaded extension that protrudes beyond the wheel mounting surface.

No problem on stock setup, as it fits inside the rear of any one of the original steel wheel spokes. These bolt extensions must be cut flush with the hub's wheel mounting surface to mount the front wheels' spacer/adapters, however. Cutting disc on an angle-grinder made short work of this in my case.

[Bill Hoffmann]

. . . with a 1" wheel spacer/adapter, no mods are required to the existing wheel studs. That said, I did run across an anomaly that's unique, I believe, to the '75 front wheel discs . . . one of the four disc-to-hub mounting bolts is longer with an unthreaded extension that protrudes beyond the wheel mounting surface.

No problem on stock setup, as it fits inside the rear of any one of the original steel wheel spokes. These bolt extensions must be cut flush with the hub's wheel mounting surface to mount the front wheels' spacer/adapters, however. Cutting disc on an angle-grinder made short work of this in my case.

I have wondered about that protrusion. It could have been there to prevent the use of some earlier type wheels, but it wouldn't stop you from using a 74 Rostyle wheel, which may or may not interfere with the '75 caliper. So the mystery remains.

[BQS4]

I have wondered about that protrusion. It could have been there to prevent the use of some earlier type wheels, but it wouldn't stop you from using a 74 Rostyle wheel, which may or may not interfere with the '75 caliper. So the mystery remains.

Bill-
It could be something from the assembly line, in that when at the phase where the wheel/tire is to be put on for the first time, it could be a quick "locating" point. Just a thought. But, I have seen these on 75 cars, and as Otto has stated a quick touch with a grinder makes it dis-appear

[2 Fast 4 U]

You guys are lucky , wheel spacers are a very big "no-no" here

[tekenaar]

You guys are lucky , wheel spacers are a very big "no-no" here

. . . even German TÜV approved H&R wheel adapters?

[timemachine]

Clever fix Otto,

I'm going to save this thread for future reference...

Jim

[Gumby]

(don't have a lathe of my own . . . yet!)

Just think if you made a few dozen of these things you could pay for the lathe! Although a mill would certainly make it easier.

[2 Fast 4 U]

You guys are lucky , wheel spacers are a very big "no-no" here

. . . even German TÜV approved H&R wheel adapters?

Yes, even German TÜV approved, because the German TÜV is not recognised here in Holland.

[Tru-Craft]

Otto, nice find!
The spacers are made from billet aluminum, and only 1" wider than stock. Plenty strong enough for a 2,200 pound car. The low profile tire/wheel will be damaged before the spacer/studs break.
I have thought about widening the rear spacing on my GT for years. The front fills the wheel well area perfect, but the rear looks very narrow.
I have 14 x 6" wide wheels.
195/60R-14 tires
Any pictures of your widened GT?
Are the spacer nuts included?

Being a machinist I might make a couple 64mm OD x 57.1mm ID aluminum spacers.

$20 to modify the hubs, and spacers!
Why buy a lathe?
Thanks for the info.
Lyle

[tekenaar]

Otto, nice find!
The spacers are made from billet aluminum, and only 1" wider than stock. Plenty strong enough for a 2,200 pound car. The low profile tire/wheel will be damaged before the spacer/studs break.
I have thought about widening the rear spacing on my GT for years. The front fills the wheel well area perfect, but the rear looks very narrow.
I have 14 x 6" wide wheels.
195/60R-14 tires
Any pictures of your widened GT?
Are the spacer nuts included?

Being a machinist I might make a couple 64mm OD x 57.1mm ID aluminum spacers.

$20 to modify the hubs, and spacers!
Why buy a lathe?
Thanks for the info.
Lyle

Lyle, adapters are on my '75 Ascona . . . click on the links in my 1st post for questions about parts - direct link to actual parts used with pics! . . . and only the bores at the rear of the spacer/adapters were machined to insert the 73mm OD x 57.1mm ID hub centric rings . . . set of 4 - $16, BTW!

Years ago I bought H&R 1" adapters for my 2.4 FI GT on which I have vented rotor front discs from BMW . . . widened rotors caused some rear mount issues on rare 13" alu rims I'm using . . .

[RallyBob]

I have thought about widening the rear spacing on my GT for years. The front fills the wheel well area perfect, but the rear looks very narrow.

Lyle, something to consider is that the GT already has a wider rear track width than the front. It's 49.4" in front and 50.6" out back. This is rather unique in that most vehicles have a slightly wider front track than the rear, the most common exception being rear or mid engined cars. I'm only mentioning this because...while it may look better, it will make the car understeer more than it already does in stock form.

Bob

[Tru-Craft]

Only the rear bores of the spacer/adapters were machined to insert the 73mm OD x 57.1mm ID hub centric rings . . . set of 4 - $16, BTW!

Otto, now I see what you mean. So if I bore a 73mm x (1/4") deep counter bore in the surface against the brake drum the rings will work.
That's easy!
Thanks
Lyle

[Tru-Craft]

Lyle, something to consider is that the GT already has a wider rear track width than the front. It's 49.4" in front and 50.6" out back. This is rather unique in that most vehicles have a slightly wider front track than the rear, the most common exception being rear or mid engined cars. I'm only mentioning this because...while it may look better, it will make the car understeer more than it already does in stock form.
Bob

Bob, good point!
On our Go-Karts I learned basic chassis setup, don't know alot, but widening does make it push (Understeer).
Not good!
The only thing you can do is slow down to make the corner............not good in a race!

We always set it up loose (Oversteer), this way it wouldn't bind the solid rear axle. Way faster through a corner, if you can catch it before it spins.

My GT has:
Front and rear sway bar.
Lowered front spring 1-1/2"
Stock rear springs.
Shocks, Monroe something?
Poly bushings.
195/60R-14 Yokahoma's

Bob, I want the car to look good, yep, getting old and I don't race on the streets as much anymore : (

My GT is pretty neutral as it is, don't want to mess it up too bad.

Things that have helped reduce understeer:
Lowered front end.
Stiffer front spring.
Rear sway bar.

I do want to widen the rear.
How about softening or removing front sway bar?
Use 1/4-3/8" front spacers?
Any thoughts?
Lyle

[Paul]

Lyle
One thing Bob has stated in the past is to widen the front by at least 1/2". You'll notice from the track widths Bob gave above the front actually needs to be widened by 0.6" to equal the rear.

The other thing that could be done is to use a different wheel offset in the rear to narrow the track. Alot of FWD autocrossers use this trick to adjust handling at different courses... as they will carry several sets of rear wheels with different offsets...

[tekenaar]

Well, I just installed a set of the same [Post #1] 1" wheel spacers with identical "hub-centric" inserts machined to fit on my sprint Kadett LS and must say that I'm real pleased with the new look and "stance" of my Kadett!

Now, to answer questions that are sure to follow, this time I did take "before/after" pics . . .

[opelenvy]

Now, to answer questions that are sure to follow, this time I did take "before/after" pics . . .

I think you should do it again with a tripod, you weren't exactly in the same spot.