Alex, what size wheel/tire (and offset) were you running with the stock fenders? I know you pulled/streched the fenders, did you have any rubbing issues on the inside? I'm hoping to get some 225's on mine without too much hassel, just curious what you managed to pull off. Thanks.

 

My fenders are rolled and slightly pulled. I'm running 949 Racing 6UL 15x8 +36 offset wheels all around. With the 225/45/15 tires I had zero issues, the new 225/50/15 Kumho V710's were hitting the front bumper which we had to shave back about 1/4". No issues with fenders at all.

My next set of wheels will be 15x9 and I'm going to run spacers to flush the wheels out with the wide fenders to increase trackwidth a bit.

 

Alex-you heading up to Roebling Road in March with Chin Motorsports?

 

Probably not, we're doing Homestead in Feb and March which should be the debut of the supercharger. I figure between the Chin March event and the April NASA event we'll sort out the bugs.

 

You were right, Chin Motorsports is addictive!

I doubt I'll get to the March event, the next events will have to be May/June.

 

 

Hey Alex your M2000 is looking superb may i say

sorry to butt in, but isn't true what i've heard that wheel spacers is not the best thing for the suspension? its accutally bad for wheel bearings, and might even have a negative effect in handeling if added in front wheels?
just want to confirm this cause i've been wanting to do it in my S too

 

Thanks!

Yes, it's true that wheel spacers do put more stress on studs and wheel bearings. In the case of the M though, I'm not to worried about it as I've added extended studs (hardened) and I can live with replacing wheel bearings once a year.

As far as handling, that is the main reason for the spacers. Generally speaking: If you only increase front track, the car will push more. If you only increase rear track, it will oversteer more. I plan to increase both the front and rear equally (perhaps rear biased to induce some oversteer).

 

Don't forget, adding wheel spacers will also affect the scrub radius and make the steering tend to self-center when you go hard in turns. Not that you'd ever do that sort of thing .

 

Update!

Disassembly has begun:





Some pics of the reinforced subframe that has been working well:









The oil pan, however, was not doing well. TC Design has discontinued this pan due to several recorded failures (one of them resulting in an engine failure), unfortunately my pan met the same fate. The pictures speak for themselves











The pan is now in Jared's hands (JDM Motorsports) for some remedial fixing and for a SC oil drain tap. Hopefully we can remedy the weak points and prevent another failure as it is difficult to check the condition of the oil pan in this car periodically (subframe must be removed).

More to come...