Most aftermarket wheel combinations require spacers on the REAR wheels.
A few require spacers on the front for clearance.
If at all possible DO NOT use spacers on the front wheels.
WHY NOT:
They make the front wheel track wider. This makes many GEM cars unstable and wander all over the road. It is hard on the front suspension components. It causes torque steer when accelerating while turning.
If you will notice stock GEM track is narrower on the back than the front. Elimination of the front spacers gives the cart a more balanced look .
LIFTED CARTS: When lifting carts try to keep the frame as level to the ground as possible. Rakes over 2 inches affect caster which can affect handling.
[quote=OLD HOUSEBOATER;30935]If at all possible DO NOT use spacers on the front wheels.
WHY NOT:
They make the front wheel track wider.
Rodney[/quote]
'Taint necessarily so Rodney. It will depend on the offset of the wheel involved. With stock wheels (0 offset) you are correct. But with most aftermarket wheels, the appropriate spacer will only “correct” the offset and have no affect on wheel track.
[quote=Laslonimne;30939]'Taint necessarily so Rodney. It will depend on the offset of the wheel involved. With stock wheels (0 offset) you are correct. But with most aftermarket wheels, the appropriate spacer will only “correct” the offset and have no affect on wheel track.
Respectfully submitted for your consideration.[/quote]
Unless you think “wheel track” or track width is measured from outside of tire to outside of tire. The common definition, and the one I’m using, measures wheel center to wheel center.
Does anyone know of any wheels that don’t need a spacer?
I would like to go with either a 13" or a 14" wheel but I would really like to avoid using a spacer.
I have 1 inch spacers on the front wheels. The wheels I’m running are a 38mm offset. I have no torque steer or wondering issues. This is on my 2013. My 2002 had wondering issues. So it could vary from car to car and wheel to wheel.
I have 2" spacers on the back and 1 1/4 (maybe 1 1/2) on the front to make the Honda wheels fit in the fenders right and have no issues. Mine tracks all the way from a standstill up to and eye watering 33ish with no hands on the wheel.
Maybe the main takeaway is to be sure the rear is wider than the front.
I used these and they worked perfectly. They are lopro tires which I didn’t want but I wanted to maintain stock tire height. I’m very happy with the fit, look and performance aside from harsh ride as is expected.
Mr Vern
I’m a car guy so I’m kinda new to the Gem/Golf cart world.
What year Gem do you have?
The link that you posted seem to be a pretty reasonable price for wheels and tires. Just to confirm. This tire wheel combination worked without spacers ?
Thank you
Paul
@PandD, My car is a 2002 4 seater and I just bolted them up. The seller was great. We had a miscommunication that was probably my fault and I got SAE lug nuts instead of metric. He just shipped me what I needed and trusted me to ship the others back. The wheels look great, ride perfect (except being lopro which is not a quality issue). I have no complaints whatsoever. I believe they are golf cart wheels so they are much lighter than the ones people are using from real cars which was important to me since I live in the hills and want torque and range maximized. Like I said they are 20.5-21" overall height. I would have like another inch but couldn’t find any anywhere. Would have had to go 23" and I didn’t want that big of a wheel in the hills. Here’s a pic of them on my car. I’ve since painted the white under the fender well black. Looks much better now!
