I came across some 13 rims for my Datsun that I got at the junk yard off a Datsun F10 or so. The front tires are 165R13 and rear are 185/70R13. The rear are okay but the front needed
spacer and the tires rub on the fender when the front end of the car dips. What can I do the solve the rubbing problems? Should I add spring lifters or what? Your suggestion are greatly
appriciated.

Sergio

Where is the tire actually rubbing? On the inside of the wheel well? or on the outsie lip of the fender? If it's on the inside of the wheel well, bigger spacers are needed (too much
backspacing). If it's the outside of the fender you have not enough backspacing and your tires may be too tall. The best fix for that is to buy some 185/60 tires or so and maybe roll the
inside lip of the fender if you need to. Perhaps you just need some new springs and struts??? Believe me finding the right size tire/wheel is tough especially when the car is lowered
like mine is. Trial and error unfortunately is pretty much the only way to go. Hope this helps.

-Andy

All spacers should have the following treatment:
1. Make the sign of the cross.
2. Sprinkle with holy water (taken from the radiator of almost any RWD Datsun).
3. grind off 1/3 of the metal on the top side.
4. grind off 1/3 of the metal on the bottom side.
5. cut a 2cm trench across the top side
6. cut a 2cm trench across the bottom side at right angles to the top trench.
7. fold neatly at the centreline.
8. acid dip for 2 weeks.
9. throw out the acid slurry.

Spacers are evil !
They place MUCH greater stress on the wheel studs (about double, more if really thick).
These studs were designed for low performance and standard steel rims place right up close to the hub.
Some tolerance has been built in, so bigger and better wheels work okay but spacers will give the stud more reason to break.

Also, if the spacer is not installed properly, the threads of the stud can bite into the soft spacer material.
Who wants a self destructing spacer when they are really belting it around a corner?
How about doing a burn out where the smoking wheel comes off?

Spacers are okay for the following situations:
1. if you drive slowly and carefully at all times but would like some pretty wheels (hmm, nobody put their hand up for that).
2. you want to go fast and don't care about anything else except for how pretty the wheels look (oh, that got a few more people).

Sacers and hard driving do not go together.
Period.

I have used spacers only once.
For 2 weeks when I first bought a car and wanted to use some chrome 12 slots off a corolla instead of the cardboard cutouts that it
came with.
I only drove it to work and back in boring rush hour traffic and 2 weeks later it got stripped and rebuilt with real suspension and
proper rims.

- Wayne S.

I have fitted a variety of 13" rims to my coupe over the years. I have found it best to fit rims that place the tyre as close as posible to the strut. Currentl I have 185/60 on 14" rims (not
13"). The offset of the rime is such that the tyre is only 6mm of the strut.(It has never flexed enough to touch) With this offset I have lowered it 2 inches and the tyres do not rub the
guards, even when turning into driveways. The only problem that occured was that the tyre would lightly rub on the firewall occasionally when turned to just the righ position whilst hitting a
bump.(Usually driveways) This was overcome by increasing the caster angle. It pulled the wheel forward by about 4-5mm, and it never rubs. With 185/60 on 13" rims this slight modification
should not be necessary.