I am having to go to wheel spacers to avoid touching new and larger calipers on my 2003 Mini Cooper S.
I have decided to use H&R spacers and extension bolts. The choices are 5mm, 15mm and then it continues on up after that; but the 15mm should be more than enough extra space on the front axle where the Big calipers are; the rear I am using the OEM calipers new rotors.
Both front and rear have new slotted rotors, and they are the OEM size.
My question is why would H&R not include 10mm as a choice when offering their spacer sizes for the Cooper S ?
Next question. Is there any factor that makes spacers un-safe when used in this way from a respectable supply source such as H&R. They seem to be a standard in the industry.
The wheels being used are 16" Minilite.
These are not the S Lite wheels that came with the car in 03 and used with run flat tires.
These are the origal Minilites wheels used for racing back in the 60’s-70’s but new.
These wheels would not fit over the calipers (Rotora) which that dealer claimed they would… I honestly thought that the supplier did not realize that the Minilite wheels I have, were not the Lite S wheels
that came with the car.
So using that logic I tried my old wheels 17" lite S with the run flat tires.
They did not fit either, thus the spacers.
Any insight into this would be appreciated, as well as advice.
Thanks,
Bill
There are lots of stories on the internet about problems with spacers. The concensus is to avoid them - so I suggest you do, too.
Try changing the wheels.
One reason for those problems is that spacers change the offset of the wheel, changing the geometry and the leverage on the bearings, etc.