Wheel spacers on my 97

[bossvette]

I have my 97 on my lift (a story in itself) to raise it up from its lowered stance
and put on my B&B's . When I was putting the wheels back on I noticed that there are spacers behind the wheels. Three are about 1/4 inch while the fourth is about 3/8. My question is are they there for alignment purposes or were they put in for cosmetic reasons. I have Z06 wheels on it.
thanks

 

[medicine man]

there are no spacers on my 97, but i have stock wagon wheels. what does the 5th have,just curious?

 

[67HEAVEN]

Craig,

Is it possible that the wheel/tire combo would be too close to something inside without the spacers?

 

[bossvette]

there are no spacers on my 97, but i have stock wagon wheels. what does the 5th have,just curious?

Like most Corvettes it has a Big Nut behind it.

Bob it doesn't look like anything will hit, I have to drive it some to get the suspension to settle and will take them out and see.

is it too far fetched to think some previous owner put them on to align the outside of the tire with the wheel well?

 

[Mr. Lucky]

When I was putting the wheels back on I noticed that there are spacers behind the wheels. Three are about 1/4 inch while the fourth is about 3/8. My question is are they there for alignment purposes or were they put in for cosmetic reasons. I have Z06 wheels on it.

There were no spacers installed from the factory, and if those are actual Z06 wheels (versus reproductions), they are not necessary. In fact, if the spacers are not hub-centric (i.e., distributing weight on axle hub), they could be dangerous. The lugs are only intended to snug the wheel laterally, not support the weight of the vehicle.

Did you notice if there were c-clips on one or more lugs (when you had the wheels off)? The factory installs one or two per wheel as a production assembly aid (holds the rotors in place as car moves down the line). Since factory wheels have countersunk lug holes on the inside, it is of no consequence if they stay on. However, most aftermarket wheels are flat on the inside, so you have to remove the clips or the wheel will wobble.

HTH!

 

[Hib Halverson]

No stock Corvette uses wheel spacers.

If there are spacers between the wheel mounting flange and the wheel, that would indicate that your Z06 wheels might not be OE GM and are some of the inexpensive knock-off versions. If that's the case, it could be the wheels are made with the wrong backspacing and the spacers are there as an attempt to correct that.

 

[bossvette]

Thanks for the replys, I don't know if the wheels are GM or not they came with the car. I will pull the spacers out when I put it back on the lift this weekend and check clearance.