[Mr_Spork]

I'll be installing a set of 1" spacers on my Intrepid soon for compatibility with aftermarket wheels. I haven't got the car nearby at the moment but it appears that the Intrepid uses very long studs. The Dorman OEM replacement is spec'd as follows:

Thread : M12-1.5
Knurl Dia. : 15.87mm
Length : 44.5mm
Shoulder Length : 13mm

Unless the hub is very thick I believe the ends of the studs will protrude through the spacer and prevent proper tightening of the wheels. Most others have suggested cutting the studs down, however, I do not want to completely rule out switching back to my original wheels and I would also prefer to not have to deal with boogered threads (I know you can put an open nut on and back it off afterward, still, though). Does anyone have a link or part number on an exact fit shorter stud for this vehicle? I am not seeing many that have an exact knurl diameter of 15.87mm in any length other than 44.5mm. I *beleive*, but may be mistaken, that I need a 41mm stud, if the shoulder length subtracted from the overall length gives you threaded length plus perhaps the head, then that's almost exactly 1" (1.08 inches, more accurately, which I could easily knock down with a file and not affect the taper).

And again, I might be totally over thinking this and the hub thickness might be such that a 1" spacer won't be problematic with the original studs, so if that's the case, that info would be appreciated.

Inb4 wheel spacers are dangerous or any of that.

[gn300]

If you need 1" of spacer for the wheels (to clear the caliper i assume) then you have the wrong wheel offset .

That is way too thick for a safe spacer the extra will be hard on wheel bearings etc.

It will "stick out closer to the wheel wells and look weird.

What are the specs of the wheel are you going 18" ?

[Mr_Spork]

I got a set of stock Avenger 17" steel wheels complete with nuts and covers ridiculously cheap, the only issue is that the center bore is too small. According to every reference I can find, the Avenger wheels have "high positive offset", exactly like that which is listed for the Intrepid wheels:

http://www.discountedwheelwarehouse...._Reference.cfm

So, I don't believe clearing the caliper will be an issue (maybe, maybe not, I'm not near the vehicle so I haven't test fit them yet). As for 1" spacers being "too much", I see plenty of people running with 1.5" spacers and as far as I am aware, they aren't unsafe when installed properly. Since the Intrepid's lug studs *can* be changed without replacing the whole wheel bearing assembly (unlike my 02 Grand Caravan) I will install the spacers with locktite on the studs, and if I ever need to revert back to my other wheels I'll count on having to twist off the studs to remove them.

Anyone have an answer for the stud length question? I suppose I will just buy a set of standard length studs and cut them down otherwise, preserve my original studs (box in the trunk) and run with that. They're cheap at the auto parts store, like, a buck a pop so 20 of them won't break the bank.

[Mr_Spork]

And, if "high positive offset" means that these wheels might clear the calipers (unlike my Caravan wheels) then another option might be for me to get the wheels bored out. I have a friend of a friend with a machine shop who said he could do it if that's what it would take. Not really sure how I can know for certain though before I have him do it. I guess I could mount the wheels as-is with no spacer and run it down snug against the hub and then try to measure through one of the holes to the brake caliper to see if it is more or less than the space the wheel is standing out from the hub because of the smaller hole, if it is more, then I would just have him bore the wheels to the correct hub size and be done with it, less would mean I still need to use spacers and I might as well not bother getting the hubs bored out at all.