What features do you look for when you’re shopping for spacers?
► APEX | Our List of Wheel Spacer “Must-Haves”
When approaching the project of creating a wheel spacer that truly meets the needs of the hardcore BMW enthusiast, we took a close look at the features that
WE would would want for our personal cars. One of the best things about our team is that we all share an insatiable passion for cars, despite coming from such diverse backgrounds within the automotive culture.
We sat around a table and exchanged stories, both horrific and terrific, about past experiences we had with wheel spacers and came up with our list of “must-haves” when we created our line of new spacers.
Our List of Wheel Spacer “Must-Haves”
1. Perfect “Under-the-Wheel-Well” Fitment
Every day, we field questions about fitment that an enthusiast might have in their pursuit to optimize their wheel and tire setup to fit their needs while still working with their 1) suspension components, 2) OEM or aftermarket brake setups or 3) car’s fenders and body limitations.
Understanding that all 3 components have an effect on final wheel and tire size, we realized that in order to meet the needs of someone who is trying to push the limits of what their car can handle, we needed to make spacers in small increments of widths. Intervals of 5 millimeters just didn’t cut it for us.
You might be trying to fill you fenders chock-full of tire or precisely space out your wheel to sit flush with your fenders; everyone has different needs and uses for spacers. Here are 3 reasons that one might want to add spacers to their setup under the wheel well.
1. Fine-Tunable Suspension Clearance
Even after you’ve done everything you can to modify your coilovers to allow for wider wheels and tires, adequate wheel/tire clearance can still be hard to achieve. With 6 sizes ranging from 3mm to 20mm, APEX wheel spacers allow you to dial in the exact internal suspension clearance you need.
2. Ample Brake Caliper Clearance
Just like the relationship between wheel/tire-to-suspension components, brake calipers and spokes are often a point of unwanted interference. APEX spacers allow you to achieve just enough caliper clearance to allow your wheel to spin freely without pushing you wheel out too far.
3. Perfect Wheel-to-Fender Gap
Ample tire-to-fender clearance is a good thing, but excessive gap just doesn’t look right. Get your wheels flush with your fenders using APEX wheel spacers. Our range of widths allow you to precisely dial in your fitment.
2. Easily Removable Spacers
Save yourself from the headache. If you’ve owned spacers before, you’ve likely had one seized onto the hub. Instead of using a mallet to free it, utilize a tool meant for removal— a pry bar or screwdriver. We’ve added machine-cut pry points around the spacer’s edge, making even the most seized spacers a breeze to remove.
3. Rotor-Matching Colors
You’ve worked hard on the color scheme and coordination of your car and modifications. Spacers should not be any exception. They are meant to push wheels out, not stand out on their own. Available in two finishes— Black and Silver. Pick the one that complements your ride.
4. Precise, Refined Construction
For us, safety is paramount and to create a reliable, trustworthy spacer and relationship with our customer. We're passionate about racing, and would accept nothing less for ourselves. Without question we had to utilize the best materials and employ military-grade construction methods. We ended up with a CNC machined, 6061-T6 Aluminum spacer with carefully chamfered edges, eliminated stress-risers, and appropriately lightweight design without sacrificing rigidity or surface area.
5. Easily Identifiable
Remember trying to solve mystery of identifying spacers either on the car or as they sit loose inside of our tool boxes or parts pins? We do too. What started as scrawling numbers with a screwdriver evolved into clean, legible, laser-engraved size and measurement information on the spacer face and edges.
6. OEM-Spec
Manufactured to perfectly match the measurements and tolerances of your BMW, these spacers are a natural extension of your wheel hub. Cheap, hastily-made spacers are infamous for their sloppy construction, uneven surfaces, and out-of-round shape and result in poor fit & unsafe vibrations.
7. Vibration Free
At the end of the day, spacers are useless if they vibrate. We’re so confident that if our spacers cause any sort of vibrations or shakes, we’ll replace them. Simple as that.
► APEX | APEX Race Parts Wheel Spacer Launch
