Bolt on wheel spacers.

[Charger92]

Wondering if anyone has info if they are good or bad to use.

I want to get my rear track width the same as the front.
I have a fullsize Dodge Ramcharger and the rear measures 3" narrower than the front. So the tires sit 1.5" in per side. I was thinking of pushing the rear track width out. I know the turning radius will be a bit bigger but the added benifit of a greater stability in the rear along with the tire track following each other out weighs the turning radius being larger.

I've heard that the weight of a vehical is on the bolts for a rim and I should have no problem with bolt on spacers.
I've also heard that the weight of the vehical is on the hub area as little as the rear hub area is, that is where the weight of the vehical is.
Lastly I also told that look at aluminum rims and you will see a taper at the hub area in the center of the rim. The taper goes in past the hub area of any rear axle because its so small and that is why the weight of the vehical is knowen to be carried on the bolts and not the hub. It may be true the front has some of the weight carried by the hub since the hub usally sticks out longer than the taper on the back side of the aluminum rim, but on a rear it is the bolts holding the weight.

So my questions are: Does anyone know if a bolt on wheel spacer will hold up fine on a rear of a full size vehical and if the weight is carried by the bolts or the hub?
Anyone ever use them?
How are they at hwy speeds and offroad?

Here is what I'm looking at doing but on my Dodge.
http://www.coloradok5.com/wheelspacers.shtml

I was also told that the ones in that link, from Performance Wheel are better than the Spider Trax ones I've also seen on the web, do to better wheel studs used.

Any thoughts on this is much appriecated.
Thanks

 

[Skillet]

I put 1.5" spacers, that look basically the same, on my 80 series about 5 months ago. Been off road on some big rocks and there has been no problem yet. I did it because I went up about 3" so I decided to go out about 3" as well.
If they are well made and you re-torque them properly after a couple hundred miles, you should be fine.

 

[Westy]

x2 - run them. You should not have any problems as long as they are installed and maintained properly. Use loc-tite when you install. Re-torque after about 100 or so miles and check them once in awhile to make sure they are still tight.

I run them on one of my trucks and I just helped a buddy install some on his rig last week.

Spidertrax has some real nice spacers, look into them.

 

[HenryJ]

Watch the outside diameter carefully. Some adapters use a smaller diameter billet and the recessed holes for the lug nuts can be too close to the edge. (the ouside edge is too thin) When overtorqued it can swell the edge and create a distortion. This can lead to wheel wobble.

This is a thread from the S-10CREWCAB.COM forum that may be helpful- Ordering wheel spacers / adapters ( comparison and review )

Look for an adapter that matches or exceeds the mating surface of your wheels. Less than that is not a good match , IMO.
Wheel studs matching your stock studs would be preferable since they can act as spares, and you will not need to carry an additional lug wrench for removal. If you have a choice, hubcentric would be preferable.

I am running 1.25" adapters on the front of my truck and 3" on the rear. Neither of which are hubcentric. My fronts do not have matching studs , so I have to carry an additional lug wrench. I have had no problems or issues with them. My truck is small , but grosses 5995 lbs, expedition ready. Torque them to your owners manuals specification. Check them after 100 miles, and at tire rotations thereafter.

Used properly they do nothing more than reduce the rear spacing of the wheels without the need to run different rear spaced wheels front and rear. There will be those who will warn of the increased stress on suspension parts. Do your best to listen, but ignore the rhetoric. Most of it does not hold water IMO.

With them installed I have axle retention for my rear disc brakes, a wider track and twenty spare studs with lug nuts. There are some pretty nice advantages.

 

[crawler#976]

Ran steel 1.5" spacers for a couple years with no serious problems, but I was paranoid to the point of extreme on maintinace. It was not uncommon to find them with a loose lug after a hard core run.

One thing I will mention is the noticable increase in breaking effort with steel spacers. The extra mass - even with steel wheels and 35" MT/R's - was easily felt. I took mine off after fighting with the increased steering effort due to a spooled front axle and no hydro assist, in conjunction with the decreased braking.


I do have a good wheelin' bud who had nothing but problems on a CJ7 with narrow track axles. He was also paranoid about checking them, but after a run at Table Mesa (Predator), he lost a wheel on I-17 on the return trip. Sheered off the studs cleanly at 65 MPH - quite the ride...he swapped in some wide track axles afterwards.

Mark

 

[k6uk]

I'm running the Spidertrax spacers on my truck.
So far they are great! No complaints at all!

I chose spidertrax since they were the only ones I could find (for my toyota) that were both Hub Centric and Anodized.

 

[Grim Reaper]

Put a set on my 75 K5. Torqued them to 95lbft with a recently calibrated torque wrench. Took it out and 45 miles into the ride I lost one at 60 mph. You don't know a sick feeling till you loose a 35 inch tire at that speed.

The loose tire rolled through a grass median into oncoming traffic right after a light had changed. Somehow everybody dodged it. A 1/4 mile later it hit a curbed gore at the intersection bounced about 10 feet in the air and slammed right into the passenger door of a Ford ranger. It did $1800 worth of damage to the truck.

If you are brave enough to run them make sure the mating surface on the hub is absolutely clean and free of rust. Double nut the lugs if possible or use Locktite.

 

[racinkid13]

Im running 1" aluminum Marlin Crawler spacers in the front on mine. Havent had an issue. Bout once a month I double check em with a torque wrench. I know a couple of people that run em, havent had any issues either.

 

[chet]

I ran 1.5" ones on my hardcore wheeler. I abused them lots and never had a problem. The key is retorquing them after a short drive.

 

[Charger92]

Thanks everyone for the replys.

Should I worry about wheel spacers with the little hub flange sticking out for the rim to have some center support (like this: http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/spidertrax_spacers/index.asp ) or let the lug nuts center the wheel and the bolts support the weight?

 

[devinsixtyseven]

...not sure of the answer to your question for your vehicle, i think it depends on the whole lug centric vs hub centric thing...make sure everything's correct in that regard and youll be fine.

ive been running them on the front of my tundra for a couple years now without a problem. the key is to religiously check them for the first month or two...install, torque, install the wheel, torque, then torque again since it will take a few times around and a little driving to seat the lugs. drive a short trip...like to work, grocery store, mall, whatever...pull out the torque wrench and hit 'em again. eventually the nut will stop turning and youll just get the click of the wrench when you go around the pattern.

-sean

 

[waskillywabbit]

I've run wheel spacers for almost 3 years now, 2 years on a dd. Use the nuts from the wheel spacers to secure the spacers to the wheel studs. You'll need a long deep socket as an impact socket will be too big. Use RED LOC-TITE and torque to 100 ft-lb. Not just nail it with an impact, but use a torque wrench. :ar15: With the Red Loc-Tite, you won't have to worry about them vibrating off ever, but if you do want to remove them...a breaker bar and they'll be off. Put your wheels on and use the regular lug nuts on the studs on the wheel spacers.

Nothing to it.

:elkgrin: