How to Eliminate Wheel Gap the Right Way

By Daren Foertsch

For many automotive enthusiasts, nothing ruins the look of a build more than excessive wheel gap. That unsightly space between your tire and fender can make even the cleanest car look unfinished. If you’re after that aggressive, flush stance, eliminating wheel gap the right way requires more than just lowering your car — it’s about understanding how suspension, wheel offset, and spacers all work together. Let’s break it down.

The Problem with Wheel Gap

Wheel gap isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s often a side effect of factory suspension geometry, conservative wheel offset, and smaller-diameter wheels. Manufacturers build vehicles with high wheel arches to ensure plenty of clearance for uneven roads, snow chains, and full suspension travel. The result? A gap that leaves your wheels sunken into the fenders — not exactly the performance-inspired look most enthusiasts are after.

The Solution:

The most effective way to eliminate wheel gap is to upgrade your suspension. Lowering springs, coilovers, or air suspension allow you to bring your car down closer to the tires. However, suspension alone isn’t enough if your wheels are still tucked inside the fenders — and that’s where wheel offset and spacers come in.

Offset is the distance between the wheel’s mounting hub and its centerline. Wheels with a higher offset (positive offset) sit further inside the wheel well. Conversely, wheels with a lower offset (negative offset) push the wheels outward toward the fender.

How Offset Affects Fitment

If you install wheels with too high of an offset, even after lowering your car, the wheels will remain tucked inward, leaving a noticeable gap between the tire and the fender lip. On the other hand, a properly chosen offset helps your wheels sit flush with the fender line, complementing your lower ride height and creating that sought-after aggressive stance.

Pairing Wheels with Spacers

If you already have wheels with a conservative offset, wheel spacers can be your best friend. Spacers effectively reduce your wheel’s offset by pushing the wheel outward, helping to fill out the fender and visually reduce wheel gap.

Choosing the Right Spacers

• Thin Spacers (3mm-10mm): Best for fine-tuning fitment.

• Mid-Size Spacers (12mm-20mm): Ideal for mildly tucked wheels that need a noticeable push outward.

• Wide Spacers (25mm+): Reserved for aggressively tucked setups, but these require proper hub-centric fitment to maintain safety and ride quality.

Pro Tip: Always opt for hub-centric spacers that match your car’s hub diameter to prevent vibration or stress on your wheel bearings.

Achieving the perfect no-gap fitment requires a combination of these factors:

✅ Lowered suspension to bring the body closer to the tires
✅ Proper wheel offset to position the wheels correctly in the fenders
✅ Spacers (if necessary) to dial in the final stance

It’s all about balance — go too low without correcting offset and your wheels could rub. Push the wheels out too far without proper suspension and you’ll risk poor handling or accelerated wear on components.

At Legends Auto Parts, we carry a full lineup of suspension kits, wheels and spacers to help you dial in your perfect stance. Whether you’re building a track beast or a show truck, our expert team can help you eliminate wheel gap the right way — without compromising safety or performance.

Explore our Wheels & Tires Collection and say goodbye to wheel gap for good.