Dealer give you hard time w/ warranty b/c you have wheel spacers?

[mojo_dan]

Has anyone ever had a dealer give you a hard time with your factory warranty because you had spacers installed on your car/xav?
I am considering H&R spacers/adapters (unaggressive - probably b/w 10-15mm) so I can mount X6M oem rims on a 2011 X5 that has a slightly different hubcentric bore.
I don't see how this subtle change could void the warranty but I would appreciate your experiences before I start passing out some $$$$.
Thx,

[JCL]

Warranties can't be voided as a general rule.

If you are referring to warranty on problems that have no relation to the spacers, ie an engine or transmission problem, there is no issue.

If you have a vibration or tire wear problem and claim warranty, expect to get some pushback from the dealer who may point to the spacers as being a causal factor. Also, if the dealer has to take a wheel off to work on the vehicle as part of an unrelated warranty repair, they may take exception to remounting the spacer due to perceived liability issues.

[ard]

I have not heard of this.

(I have had tire dealers refuse to work on a car because I had a 3mm spacer.... 3 mm is the size of this: o

Technically, if they can come up with a reason that the spacer can be a cause, they can say the warranty will not cover it as the spacer is the cause of the claim. Changing the track can change the loading on the suspension and wheel bearing loads. Many will say "they must prove the mod caused the failure", but practically speaking, they can deny a claim with very slim rationale, and certainly not proof- and you are stuck trying to fight their decision.

You could always put the stock rims back on if there was a warranty situation relating to ride/suspension/etc

[JCL]

I just used tire wear or wheel vibration as examples, but as Ard points out, any problem that can be attributed to the spacers technically can be an issue. A lot depends on your relationship with your dealer. Most dealers won't make an issue out of something that is not likely to have been a cause, but YMMV.

[BMWREXPENSIVE]

I know I am new here, but I considered spacers a few years ago and learned that spacers (even 5-10mm) can put A LOT of stress on the lugs and can result in unexpected catastrophic failure. Based on that I decided to avoid them all together.

[ard]

Originally Posted by BMWREXPENSIVE

I know I am new here, but I considered spacers a few years ago and learned that spacers (even 5-10mm) can put A LOT of stress on the lugs and can result in unexpected catastrophic failure. Based on that I decided to avoid them all together.

I've not read any good technical data that supports this claim. Lots of arm waiving about this, but a properly engineered hubcentric spacer should not be an issue.

[JCL]

Let the arm-waving commence!

The following link is one of the better discussions I ever read about wheel spacers. It did take me a day to find it again. It is from the GT40 forum, and is several years old. A number of the posts are referencing track conditions, vs street applications, but the theories are all the same, it is just the ultimate loads that differ.

The best post is #26 IMO. That engineer (Skod) discusses how any spacer changes the physics of the hub/wheel interface, how studs or bolts get stressed, bolt fatigue limits, and so on. One of his points is that a 1/8" spacer can reduce the safety factor of the assembly by a factor of two, simply by introducing two shear planes and a bending moment where there was originally one shear plane and no bending moment.

Recommended reading for those interested.

Wheel Spacers - Good, Bad or Dangerous ? - GT40s.com

My own personal bottom line is that well-designed and built spacers, hub-centric, with sufficiently long and strong wheel bolts, properly torqued, can be acceptable on the street. At the same time, they introduce stresses and failure modes that wouldn't otherwise exist, and so the best solution remains using the correct wheels in the first place. I won't use wheel spacers on my own vehicle.

[ard]

Originally Posted by JCL

. A number of the posts are referencing track conditions, vs street applications, but the theories are all the same, it is just the ultimate loads that differ.

The best post is #26 IMO. That engineer (Skod) discusses how any spacer changes the physics of the hub/wheel interface, how studs or bolts get stressed, bolt fatigue limits, and so on. One of his points is that a 1/8" spacer can reduce the safety factor of the assembly by a factor of two, simply by introducing two shear planes and a bending moment where there was originally one shear plane and no bending moment.

Recommended reading for those interested.

Wheel Spacers - Good, Bad or Dangerous ? - GT40s.com

My own personal bottom line is that well-designed and built spacers, hub-centric, with sufficiently long and strong wheel bolts, properly torqued, can be acceptable on the street. At the same time, they introduce stresses and failure modes that wouldn't otherwise exist, and so the best solution remains using the correct wheels in the first place. I won't use wheel spacers on my own vehicle.

Good reading.

Nice discussion/ analysis of shear planes and lug stress... but as stated, all the bad things follow the assumption "if there are two shear planes" or "if there is motion" (If there is NO bending moment, then you don't really care how many shear planes you have.... )

I am unconcerned using 3mm spacers... in addition, with a well engineered HUBCENTRIC system, where the shear load on the wheel is transferred to the hub with precision machined mating, I am not particularly concerned. If it is only the lug holding the wheel on, I get very concerned. and in any event, I would not trust someone telling me "Oh, yeah, its safe"- I'd need to know more about the particular wheel/hub/spacer engineering.

A

[Noodle555]

^^ Great post and inteligent replies. Based on my own experience and other posts I have read, I fully concur

[Comedian]

Originally Posted by mojo_dan

I am considering H&R spacers/adapters (unaggressive - probably b/w 10-15mm) so I can mount X6M oem rims on a 2011 X5 that has a slightly different hubcentric bore.

The correct workaround in this in this situation would be to have a machine shop open up the hubs on the wheels to the correct 74.1mm diameter to fit the hubs on the rear of your X5. The fronts should already fit, and the offsets should work as well.

Since you will only have to have two of the rims machined, and it should not cost you very much, perhaps on the order of $100. I'm sure that there is a machine shop in CT that could handle the work.