Quote:
Originally Posted by DCrew
In my view, there are many popular mods that could have been incorporated in the original design of the car at negligible cost if it made the car better. I am skeptical that mods of this sort come without negative effects that were taken into account when the car was designed. It's hard to imagine BMW engineers seeing spacer advertisements and saying, "Why didn't I think of that??". Seems best to go in with your eyes open, but I'm not an engineer.
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Engineers need to strike a balance between looks, performance and practicality. The risk with spacers is that it may rub on hard compression, which would look really bad on a completely stock car. They also need to leave some space in for other factors, like supporting two different types of tires (Contis vs. Michelin). That's why they leave it to the aftermarket.
And about the negative effects - 10mm spacers or so have a very minor effect on suspension geometry - it is increasing the effective force on the springs and other components, but realistically you won't feel the difference. The suspension components may wear out in 9 years instead of 10. If we're talking about huge spacers, then yes, that is a very valid concern.
The other main concern is improperly installed spacers can be disastrous, but IMO as long as you buy the correct hub-centric spacers with correct length lugs (and torque properly) then it's no more dangerous than taking your wheels off and on.