oversized wheel bolt

[kolosy]

so i figured out today that the wheels my car came with were meant to be used with a 12mm spacer (long story on why that wasn't apparent). the fronts are on without a spacer, but with 40mm bolts.

soooo question: if there's no rubbing or other metal on metal interference, have I done any damage by driving like this? or would it have been an obvious stick-in-the-bicycle-wheel situation? not sure how much clearance i have inside the wheel hub.

[amrazM]

the bolts just stick out behind the hub. im not sure how much clearance you have but if you dont hear anything its probably ok.

[nrubenstein]

There's not much behind the front hubs. In the rears, you can tear up the parking brake pretty easily.

I can't remember if it's possible to tear up the ABS sensor on the E9x, but that *can* be an issue depending on the car and bolt length. You would, of course, know if you'd done this.

Net-net, you're fine. Would I swap for stock bolts? Yes. But not for any reason other than that it would bother me.

[kolosy]

Originally Posted by nrubenstein

There's not much behind the front hubs. In the rears, you can tear up the parking brake pretty easily.

I can't remember if it's possible to tear up the ABS sensor on the E9x, but that *can* be an issue depending on the car and bolt length. You would, of course, know if you'd done this.

Net-net, you're fine. Would I swap for stock bolts? Yes. But not for any reason other than that it would bother me.

helpful, thanks.

i'll actually put the spacers back on as the PO bought the current wheels (Apex FL-5) he bought offsets that accounted for the spacers. everything clears without that, but i have it all, might as well use it as intended.