QUOTE(SirAndy @ Jun 29 2009, 08:29 PM)
QUOTE(underthetire @ Jun 29 2009, 08:09 AM)
Longer studs don't work well with some spacers.
That's how the factory did it.
In fact, most consider the bolt on spacers you describe as unsafe ...
My recollection is that there were some factory parts made just that way, although I can't find them in the PET/ETKA just now. Might have been from something like a Turbo-look or somewhere around the transition to the ultra-negative offset wheels of the 964 series.
But - there are good ones. (There is also junk, which will never be safe...) But the H&R stuff available from the usual suspects comes with a TüV rating and is quite good. I've used them on my SCCA AX car and once I finally got the right combination of width and lug bolt (this was a lug-bolt car...) length had zero issues even with BIG slicks.
In that setting, inner bolt torque wasn't an issue because they were never on the car more than a day at a time - changed back to street tires for the drive home and yes, that did get old in a hurry... But I never had any issues with the inner bolts loosening and yes, I did check them before dismounting.
AX cars pull as many G's as track cars although of course for much less duration.
I think I would trust an H&R (or Porsche factory) 5-lug bolt-on spacer, especially in a street setting, and especially if one were careful to re-torque the inners until they quit moving. AX too. (This does not constitute a specific recommendation, of course...) I would *not* trust a 4-->5 adapter because of the spacing and geometry, but a like-->like spacer with high-quality fasteners could be OK IMHO.
If they're specifically prohibited by the rules, then it doesn't really matter how safe they may theoretically be. I understood I was operating in a grey area and had zero issues, but my experience may not be universally transferrable...