If you’re into aftermarket performance mods for your Volvo, (and chances are you are if you are on this site!) then you may have considered wheel spacers for your vehicle. Wheel spacers are a great and relatively inexpensive way to give your car a more sporty and aggressive look by reducing the horizontal gap in the wheel arch between the wheel and the outer fender. They also can improve handling. Not bad for an item that retails for about $300 for a set of four.  However, they are most popular on Volvo’s to eliminate tire rub, especially on the S60R and V70R models with 17” or 18” wheels.

A wheel spacer is essentially a machined piece of metal that fits in between your hub and wheel to widen the stance of your vehicle, i.e., pushing the wheels out closer to the outer fender. The purple disc below is the wheel spacer, and sits right on top of the hub, waiting for the wheel to be placed right on top. So how do you go about finding the right wheel spacer and what are some important things to look out for? First, wheel spacers always run in pairs. You’ll want to buy a pair of spacers for your front axle, rear axle, or both (four spacers total). The most common wheel spacer sizes for Volvo’s are 5mm, 10mm, 15mm and 20mm (measurements per spacer). Spacers will work with a wide variety of rims and tires, but there are some important things to look out for.

• Type of metal used and machining quality
• Whether spacer is hubcentric or not (for 10mm+ spacers)
• Corrosion protection (anodize is most popular for aluminum)
• Quality of wheel bolts / lug nuts provided in a Wheel Spacer “kit”

What was that noise?

Aesthetic and handling improvements aside, many people don’t realize they need wheel spacers until they experience the unpleasant tire rubbing noise when making a U-turn. The most common reason that you’ll experience tire rub is due to a change in your suspension, including something as simple as a tire swap! For example, a Goodyear all-season tire, in the same size as a Goodyear summer tire, has a noticeably wider shoulder and may contact the inner wheel well during turns.The only way to fix this is by either changing the tire, or installing wheel spacers to eliminate tire rub. Other reasons why you may experience tire rub is due to the installation of lowering springs, failing shock absorbers or springs, etc. For more information, take a look at the chart below for frequently asked questions.

Do I need a “Kit”?

Kits are beneficial because they include a pair of wheel spacers specifically for your vehicle and a matched set of extended wheel bolts. For S60R/V70R Wheel Spacer Kits provided by ViVA Performance, we include 19mm hex head wheel bolts, which are also the same size as factory wheel bolts, and are also Zinc coated for corrosion protection. We’ve found that other kits on the market include 17mm hex head wheel bolts, which have the disadvantage of rendering your spare tire wrench useless, if you ever need to use it. Plus, other wheel bolts are typically uncoated, and will start rusting after the first rain storm.

Above: Volvo S60R fitted with 10mm front, 15mm rear wheel spacers.