After a nasty incident a few years ago where I lost a couple of bolts & had a wobbly wheel due to a 3mm spacer allowing my Seat Alhambra alloys & winter tyres to shift, I am now keen to give them another go.

 

Would a hub centric spacer (such as the below) prevent the wheel moving on the hub & loosening the bolts? 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Golf-Passat-Hubcentric-15mm-wheel-spacer-kit-Tapered-Bolts-5x100-5x112-/300986070959

 

Cheers guys!

No idea about winter tyres but I am running 16mm hubcentric spacers and extended bolts with no issues except for when I hit the jumps a bit too fast I will get a slight rubbing.

Can't you just buy wheels of the right size and avoid the need for any sort of spacer?

Last season before the car moves on (hopefully!) & the tyres still have solid tread (sp!?) on them so don't fancy shelling out a fortune. if in doubt I won't risk it, but figured it would be worth asking after a friend suggested I look into them!

Can't you just buy wheels of the right size and avoid the need for any sort of spacer?

No that's why there's a market for spacers!

I have 16mm rear and 11mm fronts, I have eibach lowered springs. 35k since fitted never rubbed, never come loose & look great.

Don't forget to factor a set of locking wheel bolts I have grayston LB163 14 x 1.5 bolts.

I have identical spacers in 15mm on the back of mine with both my summer and winter wheels and never had a problem. Never had a wheel come loose since 2005 when a tyre garage used a windy gun after putting new tyre on only for me to get funny noises 10 miles down the road and found the bolts were coming loose. Since then I have always used a torque wrench to check the wheel bolts on a regular basis.

No that's why there's a market for spacers!

I have 16mm rear and 11mm fronts, I have eibach lowered springs. 35k since fitted never rubbed, never come loose & look great.

Don't forget to factor a set of locking wheel bolts I have grayston LB163 14 x 1.5 bolts.

Well, spacers also exist to enable non-standard wheels to be fitted to different cars, but I take your point. I only said what I did as you were obviously unsure of using spacers. Must admit I hadn't thought of you having modified your car in a way that standard wheels wouldn't fit though.

No that's why there's a market for spacers!

I have 16mm rear and 11mm fronts, I have eibach lowered springs. 35k since fitted never rubbed, never come loose & look great.

Don't forget to factor a set of locking wheel bolts I have grayston LB163 14 x 1.5 bolts.

Got a pic of the fronts please?

These spacers people are running, are they just effectively a flat piece, or do they have a lip on them that the wheel locates on? Not having the lip on my old 3mm spacers apparently was the reason for the wheel shifting slightly & loosening the bolts.

Hubcentric spacers have a lip on them to locate the wheel and themselves locate on the hub.

On the subject can anyone recommend a set that fit the rear hub on a FL VRS

Are they fairly generic fit, or do I need a special hubcentric spacer for my seat alhambra based alloy wheels?

Octy 2 requires a hubcentric spacer with 5x112 bolt spacings and a 57.1mm centre boar.

 

If your Alhambra alloys do not match the above then you will need spacers that include some kind of adapter.