# Spacer questions for MKV GTI, can't choose a size. measurements inside



## james9120 (Jul 6, 2012)

Hi all,

I have ET45 18x8 karthoums on an HR cup kit with unknown height. The front top of the tire seems to sit just flush with the fender. The rears are a bit higher. The camber tucks the tires in a little bit. 


Here's the measurements in pictures: 
Rear
http://imgur.com/br2TErc

Front
http://imgur.com/0dyAIg9

Basically, the fronts would fit snuggly 6mm if fenders would literally drop straight on the tire. 8mm should line the fender up directly with the wheel. Would it clear if I hit a bump or sharp corner, etc? Also, how would this look? Here's the clearance on the front: http://i.imgur.com/TJYqi7w.jpg

The rears will fit anything.. 12mm would line it up perfectly with the fender. 

Someone just please double check these measurements and numbers. I'm also figuring that since I'm measuring from the outside of the fender, I am subtracting .25in from the measuring tape numbers.


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## glifahrenheitcameron (Sep 14, 2011)

It will definitely clear if you hit a bump, do a sharp turn, etc.

Here's a video to show you about spacers and how to determine how thick of spacers to get:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LeFZsyGRrs


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## james9120 (Jul 6, 2012)

glifahrenheitcameron said:


> It will definitely clear if you hit a bump, do a sharp turn, etc.
> 
> Here's a video to show you about spacers and how to determine how thick of spacers to get:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LeFZsyGRrs


I watched that one before, I didn't quite understand it. I got most of it down, now I just don't know which to choose for the front. 6mm will clear fine, 8mm will sit flush. There's somewhere between an inch of height from the fender to the tire. I just want to make sure I don't rub at all, no matter what happens. I won't have more than 1 passenger in the car, no rear seats soon. Do you think the front will clear okay if its flush?


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## glifahrenheitcameron (Sep 14, 2011)

james9120 said:


> I watched that one before, I didn't quite understand it. I got most of it down, now I just don't know which to choose for the front. 6mm will clear fine, 8mm will sit flush. There's somewhere between an inch of height from the fender to the tire. I just want to make sure I don't rub at all, no matter what happens. I won't have more than 1 passenger in the car, no rear seats soon. Do you think the front will clear okay if its flush?


It'll clear just fine if it's flush. 18x8 et 35 is a fantastic spec for these cars if you would like to shoot for that. What size tires are you running?


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## james9120 (Jul 6, 2012)

glifahrenheitcameron said:


> It'll clear just fine if it's flush. 18x8 et 35 is a fantastic spec for these cars if you would like to shoot for that. What size tires are you running?


Did you mean et 45? Just making sure we have the same wheel size in mind lol. I have factory 225/40 18, slightly stretched from factory (thanks VW).


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## glifahrenheitcameron (Sep 14, 2011)

james9120 said:


> Did you mean et 45? Just making sure we have the same wheel size in mind lol. I have factory 225/40 18, slightly stretched from factory (thanks VW).


What I mean is that 18x8 et 35 on a 225/40/18 is ideal for a good flush fitment. This would mean that you would need 10mm spacers for that. However if you wanted to go no more than 8mm, that would still be close and would still be great.


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## glifahrenheitcameron (Sep 14, 2011)

Just keep in mind that when doing spacers, you may need extended lug bolts depending on how thick of spacers you get.


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## james9120 (Jul 6, 2012)

glifahrenheitcameron said:


> What I mean is that 18x8 et 35 on a 225/40/18 is ideal for a good flush fitment. This would mean that you would need 10mm spacers for that. However if you wanted to go no more than 8mm, that would still be close and would still be great.


Ah, gotcha. You don't think 10mm would rub, or isn't too wide? According to my measurement, the widest part of the tire is about a quarter inch from the outside part of the fender. So .25in-to- 6.35 would technically sit the widest part flush. But then again, the tallest part of the tire sits over an inch from the fender. I doubt the suspension will ever compress enough for the wheel lip to tuck into it. Check out what I mean here: http://i.imgur.com/br2TErc.jpg


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## glifahrenheitcameron (Sep 14, 2011)

james9120 said:


> Ah, gotcha. You don't think 10mm would rub, or isn't too wide? According to my measurement, the widest part of the tire is about a quarter inch from the outside part of the fender. So .25in-to- 6.35 would technically sit the widest part flush. But then again, the tallest part of the tire sits over an inch from the fender. I doubt the suspension will ever compress enough for the wheel lip to tuck into it. Check out what I mean here: http://i.imgur.com/br2TErc.jpg


10mm spacers won't make you rub since you aren't that low, and it won't be too wide.....you would have a nice "flush" look. So anything less than 10mm will still be perfectly fine if you decide to go with something smaller.

The suspension will definitely never compress enough to give you any problems.


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## james9120 (Jul 6, 2012)

glifahrenheitcameron said:


> 10mm spacers won't make you rub since you aren't that low, and it won't be too wide.....you would have a nice "flush" look. So anything less than 10mm will still be perfectly fine if you decide to go with something smaller.
> 
> The suspension will definitely never compress enough to give you any problems.


You don't think it would look a little weird considering my alignment isn't perfect? I'd imagine the top of the tire and maybe wheel would be flush but most of the center and bottom would stick out lol


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## glifahrenheitcameron (Sep 14, 2011)

It won't look weird at all, it's a really common spec that people use for their wheels on these cars. Here's my car when I was running 18x8 et 35 wheels with 225/40/18 tires:


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## james9120 (Jul 6, 2012)

glifahrenheitcameron said:


> It won't look weird at all, it's a really common spec that people use for their wheels on these cars. Here's my car when I was running 18x8 et 35 wheels with 225/40/18 tires:


Thanks, looks good! 

Just to make sure before I order, were talking about the front right? Also, I was going to go for the ECS ones, and they only list a 10.5mm, would that ruin it? BFI sells 10mm spacers, I could go with those for a little bit more money. Also, best for rears? I was going to go with 12.5mm. 


Edit: 
Since you helped me determine that adding an extra few mm's up front would be better, would 15mm be flush for the rear? I initially thought 12 would be good, but I also thought 6mm was good for the front too lol.


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## glifahrenheitcameron (Sep 14, 2011)

james9120 said:


> Thanks, looks good!
> 
> Just to make sure before I order, were talking about the front right? Also, I was going to go for the ECS ones, and they only list a 10.5mm, would that ruin it? BFI sells 10mm spacers, I could go with those for a little bit more money. Also, best for rears? I was going to go with 12.5mm.
> 
> ...


Actually in that pic of my car, i'm running 18x8 et35 225/40/18 all around. 

Ecstuning has 10mm spacers here: http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Jetta_V--2.0T/Wheels/Spacers/ES1831830/

Or if you decide to do their 10.5mm spacers, it isn't going to make much of a difference. BFI is also a really good company if you decide to go with their spacers.

15mm for the rear is probably going to poke a little, but it isn't going to look bad. 10mm in the rear should be very flush, and 12mm will slightly poke.


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## james9120 (Jul 6, 2012)

glifahrenheitcameron said:


> Actually in that pic of my car, i'm running 18x8 et35 225/40/18 all around.
> 
> Ecstuning has 10mm spacers here: http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Jetta_V--2.0T/Wheels/Spacers/ES1831830/
> 
> ...



Thanks for all the help! I'm going to go with 10mm up front, and 12mm in the rear.


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## ECS Tuning (Oct 2, 2006)

james9120 said:


> Thanks for all the help! I'm going to go with 10mm up front, and 12mm in the rear.


Nice, that is common sizing for MKV/VI models - Make sure you get the correct bolts as well, we have built kits with longer bolts to take the guess work out! Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.




Andy


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## james9120 (Jul 6, 2012)

ECS Tuning said:


> Nice, that is common sizing for MKV/VI models - Make sure you get the correct bolts as well, we have built kits with longer bolts to take the guess work out! Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Andy, just put my order in a little while ago for those kits!


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## glifahrenheitcameron (Sep 14, 2011)

james9120 said:


> Thanks for all the help! I'm going to go with 10mm up front, and 12mm in the rear.





james9120 said:


> Thanks Andy, just put my order in a little while ago for those kits!


:thumbup::thumbup:


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## ECS Tuning (Oct 2, 2006)

james9120 said:


> Thanks Andy, just put my order in a little while ago for those kits!


Thanks for the purchase! 


Andy


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## james9120 (Jul 6, 2012)

glifahrenheitcameron said:


> :thumbup::thumbup:


Well, after an hour and a half, the spacers are finally on there. I should of just used a lift, but I decided to do it with a jack. Anyways, the fronts rub a tiny bit on just the right bumps. Like going over train tracks for example. Is there anything I can do? I think it might be hitting the screw, so the screw mod might be needed. Here's some crappy pictures


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## ECS Tuning (Oct 2, 2006)

Looks really good, give the fender screw mod a go - http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10909&highlight=fender+screw+mod


Andy


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## glifahrenheitcameron (Sep 14, 2011)

Came out great :thumbup:


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## james9120 (Jul 6, 2012)

Thanks,

I gave the fender screw mod a shot, but I'm not about removing screws and "modifying" things to fit aftermarket parts, so I ended up just removing the fronts but leaving the rears in. Still looks really good though, I'm sure the 10mm's will come in handy sooner or later!


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## glifahrenheitcameron (Sep 14, 2011)

james9120 said:


> Thanks,
> 
> I gave the fender screw mod a shot, but I'm not about removing screws and "modifying" things to fit aftermarket parts, so I ended up just removing the fronts but leaving the rears in. Still looks really good though, I'm sure the 10mm's will come in handy sooner or later!


It isn't a big deal, it's just 1 of the many screws that hold on the fender liners. All you have to do is take out the screw, and then you can either fold the plastic under the metal tab to get it out of the way, or you can be like me and just trim some of the plastic away.


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