So my current setup on my r53 is 17x7.5 ET42 Falken Hanabis. It was clearing my old Megan's setup but the Megan's snapped at the top rods on the rears. Since then, I bought a set of vmaxx coilovers but now it touches my tires.

So what I need help on is, what would the proper spacer be?

 

Tire is rubbing in the rear? Upper outer tread edge against the black plastic wheel arches?

IF so you can dremmel the plastic down for more clearance or you can make the rear negative camber more using an adjustable lower control arm. This will tip the upper tire inward but don't overdo the camber. Too negative can increase chance of oversteering.

Adding a spacer will make rubbing worse if you tire is hitting the inner wheel arch. Adding a spacer is good if you have rubbing on the inner suspension parts or brake calipers.

What size tires are you running? Stock tire diameter is about 24.3", taller reduces clearance.

The other option you have is to raise ride height for more clearance

 

Hey thanks for the reply Minihune. I'm actually on the island of Oahu too btw. Sorry for not clarifying. I meant that the rubbing is going on at the shock body. The vmaxx coilovers are much wider than the stock or the Megans and my 17x7 ET42 setup is touching there. I did some research and I think the distance to the hub is 7mm so I'm just going to chance the 10 just in case.

 

OK, rubbing on shock body is possible due to the inner rim edge on your wheels and offset not enough to clear it. In that case using spacer is OK but you will need longer wheel studs for a spacer of 10mm or wider.

If the shock body is rubbing only on the fronts then you do not need spacers on the rear which helps to keep the cost down. Also spacers can increase wear on the wheel bearings over time.

Longer wheel studs you can easily add to the MINI hub, you figure out how long you want them and buy the right thread type, higher quality studs like ARP are worth the effort, I have used cheaper Gorilla studs in the past and found them to seize on the steel lug nuts once corrosion occurs. You can reduce this tendency by re-tapping the studs every 6+ months.

 

Here is the layout..

Stock setup = 17x7 ET48
Wheels that are rubbing = 17x7.5 ET42

So by my calculations, 6 from the ET + 12.7(from the width) = 18.7mm.
Would the 20mm be sufficient?