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spacers for front of my t3
Posted: 24 Feb 2007, 23:03
by dink
it's time for the new boots for my t3 i have audi rims
7 1/2 x 16 with 205/60's, et 35 or et 37, i'm not 1oo% sure
i've been onto the machine 7 website, they have 3mm, 5mm, 10mm
i know the 10mm ones would be fine, if i could get away with the 3mm or 5mm, that would be better
help me please
Posted: 24 Feb 2007, 23:13
by jed the spread
give them a ring they are nice as pie
jed
Posted: 24 Feb 2007, 23:46
by Simon Baxter
http://www.aumb39.dsl.pipex.com/brickwe ... ttings.htm
All you need to know.
Then ring me and save lots of money!
Posted: 25 Feb 2007, 10:40
by dink
sorry mate i can't find much of use in there
i know the wheel is 37et , which is similar to the et of the stock wheel
the website doesn't tell me what size spacers i need for the two to have some clearance
as i've said the et is very similar to the stock wheel, however it's 7 1/2 wide where the stock wheel is 5 or 5 1/2, i can see it's very close, i'm hoping i can get away with 3mm spacers, especially as they are the cheapest
anyone else have experience with audi rims on a t3
help please, i know i can find out tomorrow, it's bugging me
Posted: 25 Feb 2007, 12:57
by Ivorblueun
have a try on this
offset calculator
Posted: 25 Feb 2007, 16:37
by Simon Baxter
So, offest is ET37.
Adding a 6mm shim
should give enough clearance between the wheel and the suspension, and keep within tolerance.
Saying that all wheels are different and only real way to find out is to actually try to fit it.
Just like it says here.
Spacers.
Spacers should be used to correct the offset of the wheel you are fitting. VW spent a lot of time and money developing the suspension on the T3, all the steering geometry, wheel bearings etc. are all set up for standard wheels. If you vary from factory settings then you are likely to gain some strange handling characteristics and accelerated tyre wear.
The ET measurement found on a wheel is the distance in milimetres from the bolt face of the wheel to the centreline of the wheel. ET is an abbreviation of a German term laterally meaning "Back Spacing".
T3's that came from the factory with steel wheels have a ET of 39 while T3's that left the factory with alloy wheels came with a ET of 30.
So, in my eyes if you are fitting alternative wheels you should be aiming for anywhere between ET 30 and ET 39. When using a wheel that wasn't designed for the T3 then you are unlikely to get the correct ET, this can be remedied by the use of spacers.
e.g., if your wheel has a ET of 45 then the use of a 10mm spacer shim would reduce the effective ET to 35, which is in the middle of the range of factory wheel offsets and would be acceptable for use.
Wheels with a ET of less than 30 tend to stick out more and give the vehicle a feeling of not wanting to do much more than going in a straight line, wheel bearing load will be increased, steering will be heavy and the tyres will wear more on the inside edge and in my eyes are to be avoided.
Spacers are also used for clearance issues, if wide wheels are used then sometimes there is the chance of them fouling the suspension. You can't really go much more than 7.5" at the front without touching the suspension or having wheel arch clearance issues. Sometimes if you are adamant you need to fit a certain wheel the only way to do it would be to disregard what the ET is and use sufficient spacers to keep the wheel from touching the suspension, this is not ideal and not recommenced.
Posted: 25 Feb 2007, 19:29
by dink
thanks simon, didn't quite understand
i get it now
i think i'll try a 5mm shim and hope for the best
cheers