25mm adaptor versus stock

[FGG]

In my conservative quest for minor aesthetic modification, I am considering, once again, installing 25mm adaptors front and rear. I have stock 16/17 wheels with slightly larger tires, 225/45/16 on the front and 255/40/17 on the rear.

Talked to Chris at SoS for some info, nice guy. Unfortunately, the adaptors are not available for 2-3 weeks. While I have some time, I am wondering if anyone has any pics of a 25mm set up on stock 16/17 wheels, FROM THE REAR, to show how far out from the wheel well the tires/wheels will be. In its stock configuration, it seems that the mid-line of the rear wheel is already flush with the wheel well, which, due to the camber, obviously means the top of the tire is inside and the bottom outside the wheel well; consequently, won't the addition of the 25mm adaptor bring the top flush at the cost of the the bottom sticking out too far? Hopefully, someone has a rear pic that will resolve my purely aesthetic dillema. LOL.

p.s. I know it has been previously asked, but I am not sure it has been answered, as to whether using only the 25mm in the rear (since my fronts with the 225/45/16 are as flush as I like) will cause too much understeer/oversteer in normal daily use, with the occassional burst of power in the twisties. Thanks.

 

[ncdogdoc]

IMHO the 25mm in the rear with stock 17" is absolutely perfect. I had someone at the Texas NSXPO ask me why my car looked better than his in the rear (both with stock wheels) and when I showed him the spacers, he immediately bought them from Mark Johnson and had Goodson put them on for him.

You will not like the 25mm in the front with 225 tires. The tires will rub the diffuser behind the AC condensers and make a nasty racket when parking etc. They will also stick out from the fenders a small amount, which is not that aesthetically pleasing to me.

I ran just rear spacers for almost a year, both track and street, and liked it a lot. Very slight improvement in rear grip, probably psychosomatic.

 

[mickeylex]

25mm spacers

Like, you, I am also very conservative about changes to my NSX. I put the 25mm H&R spacers on my car a couple of weeks ago. I love the look of the added width on the car. You will love it too. I have friend, Romeo, who encouraged me to do this, and he loves his setup with the spacers too. Here is a pic of his car (keep in mind, his front tires are stock size of 215/45/16)

I have 255/40/17 tires on the rear and the fit on the rear is perfect. Like you, I also have 225 width tires on the front and with the spacers, the top of the front tire sticks out about 3-5mm past the top of the front fender. I don't like the look of that, but I'm willing to live with it for now because I like the look of the wheels "pushed out". I can't wait until my current tires wear out so I can go back to the OEM size. If you decide to run the stock size 215/45/16 on the front, it is perfectly flush to the fender.

 

[FGG]

Thanks for the info ncdogdoc and mickeylex. I am going to do the 25mm adaptors for the rear only. I called H&R direct for the rears, but they will only issue through a distributor. Closest to me is in Ohio at EuroCarService. They too were out of stock but the guy there contacted H&R for me to do a direct drop shipment. Very helpful person. I should be getting them by 2nd day Air (so I should have them in time for an install before I leave for the USGP at Indy). By the way the price for the rears was $129.70.

 

[FGG]

p.s. to ncdogdoc, your post states that you had the 25mm adapter on the rears; does this mean you took them off? If you did take them off was there a reason why which you can share?
Thanks.

 

[Wheelman]

I have 225/40/16 in the front..will there be a fitment issue as far as rubbing or the tire sticking out past the edges with this size tire...anyone have the same size tires in the front and have pics..I received my 25mm adapters from SOS yesterday but have not installed them yet...should I try to gt 15mm in the front instead?

any opionions appreciated...

 

[Fastrunner]

I received my 25mm adapters from SOS yesterday but have not installed them yet...should I try to gt 15mm in the front instead?

any opionions appreciated...

If you already have them (25mm) but need to go with the 15mm in the front. Let me know, I'll buy those 2 off from you.

 

[Wheelman]

wait...if you buy a set of 4-15mm, we can use those for the front and use my 25mm for the rear...

 

[mickeylex]

25mm adapter on front

If you put the 25mm adapter on the front and run a 225 width tire, it will probably stick out past the fender. The stock 215 tire fits perfectly flush to the fender, but the 225 size sticks out. It sticks out on my car with the 225 tire and the 25mm H&R adapter. I have Dunlop SP9000 in the 225 size. My friend has the stock Yoko or Bridgestone (not sure) in the 215 size and his is perfect. I would have gone with a 15mm spacer, but I couldn't find one with the studs already attached like on the 25mm. I did contact Eibach Springs and let them know that NSX owners would like them to make a 20mm adapter with studs in it. They currently make a 25mm, just like H&R. I wasn't able to get anyone live at H&R to make the same request. Who knows, maybe someday we will get a 20mm version.

 

[ncdogdoc]

p.s. to ncdogdoc, your post states that you had the 25mm adapter on the rears; does this mean you took them off? If you did take them off was there a reason why which you can share?
Thanks.

To put them on the track car Too damn cheap to buy another set!!!

But, and this is a BIG BUT, the adapters use aluminum lugs which can seize after very hard driving (i.e. on track). I had to cut one of the rear adapters off and replace a stud due to this problem, and have ruined a few soft lugs due to them getting tighter when stressed at the track (brake heat may also add to this.

If you go with these, just loosen and retorque after track days to stay safe. I do not think street driving will stress them enough to tighten that much. And yes, I always torqued to 80 ft/lbs or lbs/ft, whichever is correct.

 

[Wheelman]

Should I get 15mm spacers in the front then for 225/40/16 ? do I need to buy studs for them or is it included w, 15mm setup thru SOS?

or use 25mm in the rear only?

 

[nsxhk]

To put them on the track car Too damn cheap to buy another set!!!

But, and this is a BIG BUT, the adapters use aluminum lugs which can seize after very hard driving (i.e. on track). I had to cut one of the rear adapters off and replace a stud due to this problem, and have ruined a few soft lugs due to them getting tighter when stressed at the track (brake heat may also add to this.

If you go with these, just loosen and retorque after track days to stay safe. I do not think street driving will stress them enough to tighten that much. And yes, I always torqued to 80 ft/lbs or lbs/ft, whichever is correct.

I too had problems getting these 25mm spacers off and I wasn't tracking my car at that time. Broke a few aluminum lugs too! It was quite a pita. Do you think some anti-seize will fix this problem? Maybe steel lugs? Maybe less torque on the lugs?

Henry.

 

[nsxsupra]

Should I get 15mm spacers in the front then for 225/40/16 ? do I need to buy studs for them or is it included w, 15mm setup thru SOS?

Go with 25mm all around and save yourself some pain and trouble. The 25mm are plug and play take 2~3 minutes to install each. 15mm will require much more work to install. Not a small job.

I too have 25mm H&R wheel adaptor front and rear with oem 16/17 wheels.

I love it. The car now has a great stance. I no longer hate the look from rear. Very aggressive. No more tuckin hidden look.

If you use 225 tire on front. The tires will likely stick out a tiny bit. 215 is flush with fender.

The rear has plenty of room even with 25mm spacer. 255~275 tire would look perfect. I currently have 245s in the rear, pic below:

 

[W]

wait...if you buy a set of 4-15mm, we can use those for the front and use my 25mm for the rear...

This may not work out so well as the front and rear hub-centering 'lips' (or whatever they're called) aren't the same diameter.

 

[redrocket]

Go with 25mm all around and save yourself some pain and trouble. The 25mm are plug and play take 2~3 minutes to install each. 15mm will require much more work to install. Not a small job.

I too have 25mm H&R wheel adaptor front and rear with oem 16/17 wheels.

I love it. The car now has a great stance. I no longer hate the look from rear. Very aggressive. No more tuckin hidden look.

If you use 225 tire on front. The tires will likely stick out a tiny bit. 215 is flush with fender.

The rear has plenty of room even with 25mm spacer. 255~275 tire would look perfect. I currently have 245s in the rear, pic below:

Is your car lowered? Do you have pictures from the side? I am thinking about adding the 25mm spacers to the front and rear but don't want to have the "4-wheel drive" look since my car isn't lowered. Thanks.

 

[nsxsupra]

Is your car lowered? Do you have pictures from the side? I am thinking about adding the 25mm spacers to the front and rear but don't want to have the "4-wheel drive" look since my car isn't lowered. Thanks.

Yes, my nsx is lowered. Only lowered .5~.75" front and 1" rear. Here is pic from the side:

 

[Newman]

Heh, almost the same pic but in black :biggrin:

Here the original link I posted on Prime a year ago when I first for my spacers: http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34703

I ran them for about 4 months until my new wheels came in and then sold them along with the oem wheels. I never had any problems with the wheel studs or threads, but the only problem I had was popping the spacer off of the hub. The rears weren't as bad but the fronts were a real PITA and took a lot of banging and prying with a very small screwdriver in order to wedge it out enough to pry off of the hub. Other than that, no problems with the 25mm H&R spacers but then I also never tracked the car with them on.

 

[Newman]

Is your car lowered? Do you have pictures from the side? I am thinking about adding the 25mm spacers to the front and rear but don't want to have the "4-wheel drive" look since my car isn't lowered. Thanks.

The spacers wouldn't change the height of the car, and it visually looks the same from a side view as before. All they do is change the offset on the wheels, moving them out about an inch so the wheels are just flush with the fenders for that visual enhancement when you look at the car from the front or the rear. From the side, no difference.

 

[nsxhk]

Would it be possible to apply anti-seize between the hub surface and the spacer? There must be a simple solution to this problem.

Henry.

 

[Hrant]

While I agree that esthetically the 25mm on the rears look pretty flush with the fender, but with 245 tires on 17 OEM wheels the rear looks rather "light" or "skinny legged" ......... 255 tires improves this but it might be too much for the fender especially if the car is lowered. I opted with 15mm spacers and the 02+ wheels with 255 tires and got almost the same result, a tad less flush with the fender but deceptively looking OEM . YMMV.

 

[pvmike]

mickeylex, is your friend's nsx with the 25mm adaptors (pictured below) not lowered?

 

[NSX-Racer]

Just a few comments: I use 22 mm custom made adapters all around for about 6 years now (CNC machined by Mov'it to clear the Brembo front brakes). Even 225 tires front don't stick out with stock 16" rims (no matter what suspension - I had that combo checked and registered here with stock springs and Bilstein shocks on upper perch as street legal and the officials wouldn't have done it if it would have sticked out).

The only thing to watch is the lug nuts, especialy when you track your car. Always check that the adapters are fixed with the torque that Honda requests for the normal rim mounting but use less torque to mount the rim to the adapter because the material of the studs is different. I broke one when I used too much torque.

Until now I didn't encounter any downsides or misbehaviour.

 

[mickeylex]

mickeylex, is your friend's nsx with the 25mm adaptors (pictured below) not lowered?

That's Romeo's car. That picture was taken before it was lowered. He has sinced lowered it and it looks great. I also ran the same setup (25mm all the way around with stock 7 spoke wheels), but had to lower the car using Bilstein, because it just didn't look right at stock height. I eventually changed rims and sold the spacers.

IMHO - the car looks best with spacers ONLY if you lower the car (1 inch). If you don't lower, then don't use the spacers because the wheel gap becomes more evident. With non-lowered NSXs I like the stock wheels with the stock offset (no spacers). With lowered ones, I like the wheels pushed out to just inside the fender lip.

 

[ATERPAK]

For the gentlemen who used aluminum lug nuts on the studs, it wasn't the aluminum that was the problem but rather the fact that they were probably conical in shape at the end rather than ball or radial which the stock wheels use. I also used extended aluminum lug nuts because I had extended lugs on the front using 15mm spacers, and found that they just never tightened as they should have. I then noticed that the ends started to flare and change shape to fit what the rims true shape is, radial and not conical. After numerous calls, and internet searches for extended lug nuts using a radial end, I found that no one makes these which would fit the stock rims of the NSX. I finally used open end lug nuts from Acura which are stock on the older Legend car. I also found that they make an extended version of that which should fit most applications who use extended lugs as long as they also have spacers on the hubs.

A minor not too costly experiment with updating my rims lug nuts. :frown:

 

[pvmike]

Guys, I recently put on 97 blades on my 91. I'd like to improve the stance with h&r adaptors. However, my tires are 225/40/16, 255/40/17. I do not want the front wheels to stick out. What would you do?

1) Put on only the rear 25mm adaptors;
2) Put on the rear 25mm adaptors and use 5mm spacers up front
3) Put on the rear 25mm adaptors and use a 15mm spacer up front

If it doesn't look odd with just rear adaptors, then I'd be fine with option 1, and I'd get 215's the next time around to use with 25mm adaptors in front. If anyone has pics with just the rear adaptors, I'd love to see them.