Megatron build

So, I received the 7mm spacers and extended thread lug nuts, but the extended shank doesn't fit through the wheels' lug holes so there goes that idea. I'm really not sure about what I want to do next. I could replace the wheel studs with longer versions, but wouldn't that necessitate pulling off the whole hub to press out the old and press in the new?

Sounds like a lot of work and I feel as if I've already bit off well more than I could chew. I can tell you now, I will NEVER try to custom fit wheels again.

Don't bother with LEDs - they do not work worth a darn. There is a lengthy thread in the forum by people who tried it.
Go to Amazon and get the brightest Philips bulbs you can afford for an upgrade.
(The headlights will still not be very good.)

Take a look at the calipers and imagine the area that is contacting being 2mm smaller. My calipers had some gnarly casting flash, probably about 2mm worth.

Bryce

Do you have any pictures of your caliper before and after for guidance?

I decided to give Bryce's idea a shot as grinding the casting flash off my calipers comes with less risk than boring out the wheels' hub seats by hand. Mine didn't look exactly gnarly, but there was definitely additional material from the casting which seamed (pun intended) unnecessary:

Before and after:


Before and after:


It's pretty clean. I even smoothed the grinding into the seam as it goes over the top and under the bottom of the caliper bracket. With some paint, you'd never know any work was done at all. Considering Mickey's still under warranty, some paint would probably be a good idea. I test fit the wheels with the 5 mm spacer and it worked (thanks Bryce)! The clearance is super tight, perhaps 1.5 mm, but they spin freely:

-- top of the bracket
-- at the middle of the bracket
-- bottom of the bracket
-- bottom viewed from underneath

I know most companies recommend 3-4 mm caliper clearance, but I scoured the old internets for minimum clearance and the vast majority of non-corporate advice is, "if it clears, it clears". There's certainly a larger safety margin with greater clearance, providing companies lawsuit protection with their clearance recommendation. I may be touting my ignoring here, but I feel like if my wheels flexed enough to make contact with the caliper, the lead up to that consequence would be more grave than the caliper clearance. Granted, it wouldn't help matters in a worst-case scenario.

It's been snowing since last night and having done this work yesterday, I put on my wheels this morning and took Mickey out for a cautious test drive, taking dips and bumps and such and listening/feeling for any grinding or vibration. It was solid and the Michelin Premier A/S tires gave me virtually more grip on snow and ice than my worn Ecopias provided on dry pavement. I then drove 27ish miles with no issues. I'm still a little nervous about the clearance and may eventually install full-length threaded wheel studs and use 7 mm spacers, but I'm satisfied for now. It was a hard decision, but I don't regret it. I need to give Mickey a wash and sort out an issue with one of the center caps before I take full car photos, but here's the final look installed:

Dress up that grinding with a scotchbrite wheel on a high speed, a dash of silver paint and it will look good and be unnoticeable.
Maybe dress it to get to 2 mm of clearance.

Technically that is the steel 'Caliper Carrier' and I doubt you took 5-10% material thickness off that piece.
That particular area is a bridge to keep the flat sections where the brake pad meet the caliper carrier parallel.
Braking forces are from the pad - to the caliper carrier - to the 'hub upright' (or whatever you want to call it) - to the car through the strut and suspension lateral arm.
The actual caliper only floats on the sliding pins and squeezes the pads to the disc. The caliper does not handle braking forces directly as such.

I did this exact same procedure to a Prius to get some FRS wheels to fit.
Friends joked about how unsafe that was. But in some industries it is permissible to remove gouges and scratches from a structure if you don't take more than 10% of wall thickness.

I wouldn't worry about a ting!

Are you sure you are getting enough thread engagement with the 5 mm spacers?

Yeah, I definitely need to paint the grind area. I noticed some rust on them late yesterday, which didn't take long with the snow and road salt. Any idea what paint would match what Chevy put on there? Perhaps it was just because that silver was next to the more bright gray steel color of the stock wheels, but it seems like it has as distinct bluish cast to it. It'd be nice not to have to paint the whole caliper assembly.

Yeah, I'm certain. I counted 6.5 turns by hand and it snugs well past that. I definitely would've needed longer or fully threaded studs for the 7 mm spacers to meet the minimum engagement, but the engagement with the 5 mm spacers feels safely sufficient.

I think the steel parts are cad plated. That is the silver coloring.
I would think any decent rust-resistant rattle can will work.
Maybe even just spray it into the lid of the spray can, let it thicken a little and use a small disposable brush.

Not a bad idea at all. Thanks for the advice!

The weather cleared up last weekend and I was able to wash and photograph Megatron in all his current glory. I still need to sort out the center cap situation on one of the rear wheels (stripped threads on the bracket), have it balanced (Costco couldn't remove the center cap) and get my TPMS synced up, but I'm very pleased with the result. Now I just need to paint the garish silver front fascia and I'll be satisfied on appearance. Decent tires sort out a lot of the issues I have with the Spark EV's traction/stability control, but the suspension still drives me bonkers. With a well-sorted suspension and a better pair of seats, I think this could be a very competitive short range alternative to our Model S.

sequestrian said:

The weather cleared up last weekend and I was able to wash and photograph Megatron in all his current glory. I still need to sort out the center cap situation on one of the rear wheels (stripped threads on the bracket), have it balanced (Costco couldn't remove the center cap) and get my TPMS synced up, but I'm very pleased with the result. Now I just need to paint the garish silver front fascia and I'll be satisfied on appearance. Decent tires sort out a lot of the issues I have with the Spark EV's traction/stability control, but the suspension still drives me bonkers. With a well-sorted suspension and a better pair of seats, I think this could be a very competitive short range alternative to our Model S.

Click to expand...

Stunning look. Well done!

-Bob K.

Thanks. I finally took the final tired for balancing, TPMS syncing and sorted out the center cap issue. I have a whole car again! Next project...

Here's some options for what I plan on doing next, but I haven't quite figured out which option I like best. I think the full treatment with blacked-out fog panels and matching the hexing of the grill inserts looks more complete. The one on the left is for comparison to what it is now. Thoughts?

I'm really liking the way this looks! It's very Decepticon-ish.

sequestrian said:

I'm really liking the way this looks! It's very Decepticon-ish.

Click to expand...

I did the Plasti-Dip black out of the two front grill thingys and the fake fog blanks. Left the bowtie alone. Did the tint. 17" x 6.5" Kia Rio wheels. All cleaned up and spiffy. :mrgreen:

sequestrian said:

I'm really liking the way this looks! It's very Decepticon-ish.

Click to expand...

Photoshop or ??

Looks tight!

sequestrian said:

Here's some options for what I plan on doing next, but I haven't quite figured out which option I like best. I think the full treatment with blacked-out fog panels and matching the hexing of the grill inserts looks more complete. The one on the left is for comparison to what it is now. Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I like the complete negative space of all black. No distractions. Shadowline lower window trim might be nice as well?

Joe M in WV

I'm not a big fan of gold, so the bow tie had to change. I still need to put a Decepticon emblem inside the bow tie to match the tailgate. Those Rio wheels look giant on a Spark! Reminds me of Mickey's predecessor, Lady:



It's funny that I thought Lady was small. I wish the Spark had similar proportions. I hate Mickey's high seating position. I wonder how bad viewing angles would be with custom seats on brackets 3-4 inches lower... I'd bet body roll would improve a ton.

sTeeve said:

Photoshop or ??

Looks tight!

Click to expand...

Gimp actually but yeah, very doctored images. I just need to do the silver grill and gray fog panels and the headlights and I'm there. No hexing would be a helluva lot easier so I'll probably go that route.

I've decided to sell Megatron and fulfill my Model 3 reservation. I'd love to keep him for a project/autocross car, but 3 car payments don't fit with the rest of my goals. I'd be happy simply paying off my loan, so I'm asking $11K. I've listed Mickey locally here, but if you're interested and not in Utah, I imagine we could work something out.

https://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/3709051

Sad to hear you are getting rid of Micky, but I might have some co-workers that might be interested. They can't get over how awesome my SpakeE is. I'll refer them to your ad listing!

-Jeff W. (in Lehi)

I also have a Model 3 reservation. Looking to replace my fiancee's ICE car.