Project: Spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers install
Purpose: I was getting an annoying rub at full lock on the driver's frame ever since my last alignment. I was hoping that bumping the front wheels out a bit would solve that problem. Also, after lifting the front, it tucked the front wheels in and the tires were no longer flush with the fenders. The Brute Force Fab bumper and sliders make them look even more sunk in. Not a huge deal, but I was curious to see how a wider stance looked.
Materials
-Spidertrax 1.25" spacers (1 box of 2 spacers)
-19mm socket
-torque wrench
-lift/jack stands
Cost
$89 (factory cosmetic blemish)
Procedure
-Remove wheels. I used a wire brush to clean the mounting face and the threads of the lug nuts. I also applied a very thin layer of anti-seize to the mounting face to (hopefully) help prevent corrosion, being careful to keep it off the lug threads.
-Install spacers per the instructions. The kit includes red Loctite, which must be used on the factory lugs. Torque each supplied nut down to 90 ft/lbs, having someone step on the brakes and tightening in a star pattern. No impact guns here. The factory lugs cannot extend past the face of the adapter.
Install wheel again, and torque to 83 ft/lbs.
Before and after:
Looks good. But........
.....I can't use them.
The test drive didn't make it past my driveway. Just barely turning in either direction cause severe rubbing against the rear of the wheel well.
I was getting minor, intermittent rubbing on the lower edge of the plastic liner while under heavy articulation before. This was after some hammering of the pinch weld and reforming the plastic. However with the spacers on I'm full-on rubbing the firewall itself, and that's not even at the widest part of the tire.
There's no way that I should need to tub on 33's.
Is this an alignment issue?? They did not give me the numbers on my last alignment. The truck drives perfectly straight, but I did notice that the rubbing was much worse/more pronounced after my last alignment. Caster not high enough??? The Camburg upper arms should allow 5-6 degrees of Caster (according to a rep I talked to), vs 2 degrees max factory spec. That should move the wheel forward a bit, right?
I should add that I'm running 285/75-16 on 4.5" backspace. Add the spacers and I'm total 3.25" backspace on the front.
On the positive side, I no longer rub the frame......