I've just bought sum loverly shiney alloys at a price too good to pass.
problem is the offset is quite large (ET35)
Now I know a lot of people dislike/mistrust the use of spacers, but forgetting the issue of wheel stud stresses for a minute,the other issue that people mention is axle bearings loadings & associated wear problems.

As far as I can see though surely the bearing loadings are approx. the same, if for example I use my wheels + a 16mm spacer . ie. negative offset of 35mm+positive offset of 16mm spacer=overall offset (as far as bearings are concerned) of 19mm negative(ie "book" spec)

Any thoughts??

I have used 10mm spacers on my rear axles, mostly to keep the tyres off the swinging arm bolts!

AFAIK, there are 2 things to bear in mind:

1. axle load - if the centre of the wheel rim/tyre is directly in-line with the wheel bearing then you shouldn't have too many problems. When the centre-line starts to move away from the bearing then you will start to apply unnatural loads.

2. The wheel studs by themselves may not hold the wheel centrally - normally the hole in the middle of the wheel fits nice and snug over a raised 'register' on the hub. The wheel nuts only have to hold the wheel against the hub face. Too wide a spacer will move the wheel off this register.

10mm put the centre line of my Cortina Ghia wheels pretty close to the bearing line on my Escort axle, and I still manage to get the central hole onto part of the register.

Disclaimer - others may disagree with my views, and I don't claim to be an authority - seek advice from wherever you can!

rgds,

David