Why can't I have an outer lip on a thin spacer?

This is a common question we are asked and the following information should help explain why sometimes we aren't able to machine an outer lip onto a thin spacer.

 For this example we'll use the following – 10mm slip on spacer and a Nissan Skyline R33 Hub.

 

The cad drawing below shows how we manufacture a spacer with an outer lip, you'll see the hole in the middle of the spacer becomes smaller towards the front to enable the spacer to have an outer lip.

Now we'll look at the Nissan Skyline Hub, you'll see in the photo below the original centre bore hub lip and also a digital vernier gauge measuring the depth of the lip, front the face of the disc (where the wheel sits against) to the furthest point of the lip.

When we machine our spacers the outer wheel lip is essentially secured to the main body of the spacer by ATLEAST 3mm of material, this means on our 10mm spacer example the bore in the rear of the spacer (which centres the spacer onto your original centre bore lip) will be a MAXIMUM of 7mm deep.






This can cause an issue when the original centre bore lip is deeper than 7mm, as per our example. The spacer will not sit flush against the hub but instead the internal bore of the spacer will foul against the original centre bore lip.




When ordering thin spacers you will need to check and measure the depth of your original centre bore lip. You may also find on some vehicles your centre bore lip is particularly deep, which can cause issues with thicker spacers too. If you are unsure please contact us.