one thing about insurance they will probably accept the car and you pay the money. but when you go to make a claim they may say "no your car has illegal mods and cannot be covered by us".
Spacers are not legal anywhere i think, i wouldnt really risk it personally. also if a cop want to defect you they can. i had one threaten me with a defect, i was being a smart arse so i kinda deserved it, and my car was a stock as a rock VS Commo...
atmosphere vent BOV are illegal, also, depending on where you are, and intercooler AND pod filter are illegal. although i havent heard of anyone getting done for it. theres a scan somewhere on the forums about it. it may be a state specific tho.
Oh before i forget. if you have the right wheels for the car you shouldnt need spacers. he may have just been unlucky when getting rims that they had the wrong offset or something and they were rubbing and so needing spacers...