[ImagineIt]

bought some evs spacers should hold out good conisdering they are not supposed to rust bad as t1r's.

[Mooseman]

Anyone know if I need to get an alignment after I install the spacers?

[axus19]

 Rsxtype-s, on 06 October 2010 - 07:00 PM, said:

Quote

any sponsors on the forums selling these? cant seem to find

springrates.com

or, as always EbaY

[adamjames6996]

Does the shaking happening at a high way speed
Or doesn't matter? Bc i lowered mine n i don't feel anything.

Great post btw

[snuggles]

Great post. Gettin low soon

[JaysAP1]

 negcamber, on 25 April 2009 - 04:48 PM, said:

The short answer is no, you do not have to get spacers. There are other solutions should your car vibrate after lowering.

Let me show you what is happening that causes the vibration.

Here is a pic of the CV bucket and the "spider" (the set of 3 roller bearings that go in the CV bucket).



When the car is new the spider rides on a smooth surface in the CV. But as time goes on it makes a wear spot. This starts to happen by around 20k miles or so (this is very rough estimate based on folks who have complained about the vibration after lowering). The pic below shows what the wear spot looks like:



When you lower the car, it moves the spider to a new spot where it normally rides. Based on the geometry, the new spot is very close to the old spot. The vibration is caused by the spider sliding over the edge of the new spot into the old spot. It trammels back and forth there.

A spacer takes care of the vibration by moving the spider far enough away from the old wear spot so it can't trammel into the old spot. Swapping the cv buckets from right to left and vis versa fixes the vibration by giving the spider a new surface to create a new wear spot.

This is also why ap2 drivers didn't think they needed spacers. It wasn't until the ap1 was a few years old that they would have a wear spot and when owners lowered the cars after they had 20k+ miles on them they got the vibration. At that time the ap2 was brand new...and they didn't have wear spots yet.

Now, older ap2s have wear spots too and can get the vibration for the same reason the older ap1s did.

Is a spacer better than swapping the cv buckets? It depends on your mechanical skill and wallet. Swapping cv buckets is free, but does take time...you have to pull the axles. The 2-piece style spacers can save time and are easy to install, but they are $175-200. The 1-piece style are useless as they take about as much time to install as it does to swap the cv buckets.

Thank You for the info, I just lowered my AP1 and now it vibrates like crazy on acceleration and I could not figure out why. Can you swapp the CV buckets as suggested on the AP1?

[JaysAP1]

Thank You so much I just got done doing what you suggested cause my car was vibrating like crazy only took an hour to change and I just got back from test driving it and what a difference thanks for the helpful advice

[jonmizu]

What if you were to replace the axle? Would it I'd the problem?

[HeroOfTheDay]

To answer your somewhat dated question, yes, it should. You'd be getting an entirely new surface inside the buckets to wear on.

My 75k '05 started vibrating pretty decently after lowering and an alignment. I'm going to give the Megan spacers a shot.

[Working_Class_S]

I want to add that even though acceleration was smooth after swapping the cups, the amount of slack in the drivetrain remained the same. The rear end vibrated and bounced back and forth under decel. Installing spacers fixed these issues entirely.

[comicskot]

i just added some exedium spacers and they work perfect, i got them for 130 at a store in sacramento at 1320 performance. they are the two piece spacers.

[HeroOfTheDay]

I bought the Megan Racing spacers (also 2 piece) for a little over $100. They came with new, longer bolts, and new nuts that had blue thread-lock already in them.

It took me about an hour, but that's because I have to take a few extra steps to get it jacked up, and then I had to dig around to find the tools I needed.

The hardest part was breaking the OEM bolts loose, and I'm not very weak. I had to use a breaker bar extension on the handle of my ratchet to get them loose.

Overall though, it was one of the easiest projects I've done, which was a bit nice.

Test drive results: All vibrations gone!! It used to shake somewhat when there was a load on the engine, but no more!

This post has been edited by HeroOfTheDay: 20 February 2012 - 09:00 PM

[ss04]

I'm a bit perplexed. I was just recently starting to get slight vibrations under acceleration. So naturally, I figured it was time to try out some spacers. I ordered up the Megans. Install went smoothly, no issues - I did it myself.

Just took it for a drive tonight, and the vibrations are WORSE than before. I'm almost afraid to accelerate it bothers me so much.

Any ideas guys? I'll have to swap the buckets inside and outside, but I'm completely confused as to why the vibrations would have worsened with spacers installed...

[Working_Class_S]

 ss04, on 06 March 2012 - 03:12 AM, said:

I'm a bit perplexed. I was just recently starting to get slight vibrations under acceleration. So naturally, I figured it was time to try out some spacers. I ordered up the Megans. Install went smoothly, no issues - I did it myself.

Just took it for a drive tonight, and the vibrations are WORSE than before. I'm almost afraid to accelerate it bothers me so much.

Any ideas guys? I'll have to swap the buckets inside and outside, but I'm completely confused as to why the vibrations would have worsened with spacers installed...

Check your engine and diff mounts for leaks and tears. Check wheel nut torque and rear upper wishbone bolts.

[ss04]

^ I will do all that, check the tire pressure, and report back. The car is a 2004 with only 55,000 kms on it. It's significantly lowered (2.5"+), and has had about 30,000 kms put on it lowered. It's parked in a garage, and regularly inspected. I haven't noticed any leaks at all.

[JBAutosports]

negcamber - Love the informative post - very helpful to understand what caused this issue in the 1st place!

For other alternatives for those looking - We carry the megan spacers if anyone is interested!

[Working_Class_S]

The mounts won't neccessarily leak onto the garage floor. I keep my garage clean and mopped and the mounts went dry without leaving a drop. When I had vibes, I swapped the cups, installed Megan spacers, replaced every mount, and checked all the bolts in the rear. My sway bar bolts and one of the rear uca bolts were loose. My car now only vibrates due to stiff mounts, rather than the unbearable loose vibration I previously had in the rear.

[TookayS2K]

Does this extend your wheel out any further as if you're installing wheel spacers?

[ss04]

^ No it does not.

[ss04]

 Working_Class_S, on 06 March 2012 - 12:05 PM, said:

The mounts won't neccessarily leak onto the garage floor. I keep my garage clean and mopped and the mounts went dry without leaving a drop. When I had vibes, I swapped the cups, installed Megan spacers, replaced every mount, and checked all the bolts in the rear. My sway bar bolts and one of the rear uca bolts were loose. My car now only vibrates due to stiff mounts, rather than the unbearable loose vibration I previously had in the rear.

UPDATE:

Checked rear tire pressure, removed wheel spacers, checked sway bar end link bolts, UCA bolts, everything was very tight. Still getting vibrations no different than before. I guess it's time to swap cups? I still don't understand how the megan spacers could have enhanced the vibrations...

[ss04]

Swapped the CV Cups - car drives silky smooth now. My drivers side was quite worn. The passenger side showed very little wear. I used redline cv-2 moly grease as this thread mentioned. Thanks or all the info guys! I love this site.

[ssm_ap1]

I lowered my first S2000 about 2 inches, installed the spacers the same day as the Skunk2 springs. But I still got vibration under load between 60-80mph. Is this another problem or was I experiencing "the vibration"? Just curious so I can try to prevent it with my upcoming purchase of another AP1. I'm planning on going a little lower with it, if that has any change on suggestions/opinions.

[S2k007]

I've lowered my car but don't feel any vibrations whatsoever. It feels like how it was prior. Am I ok or am I just oblivious to the vibrations?
Car has 100+k miles.

[ssm_ap1]

None of my passengers noticed my vibrations they were so minuscule, but it stood out badly to me.

[ss04]

My passengers would notice it if I pointed it out. Afterwards though the car just feels sooooo much better.