Wheel Spacers; Good or Bad?

[Northridge4x4]

Ok. That's not what I would consider an acorn nut, hence the confusion.

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gotcha.. yea that would be tough!

 

[Chad Swaffard]

I say anyone putting tapered nuts on backwards shouldn't be driving, let alone installing spacers.

All good info.

 

[larock1971]

I learned the hard way to double check the install after a brake job. Lock tight wasn't used and the spacers loosened up after a couple hundred miles. I was thinking bad bearing, but after tearing into it I was just about to lose my front left wheel. I'm sure that would have been a fun ride at freeway speeds. Reinstalled everything properly and didn't have any other problems (then later replaced wheels with a new set with proper back spacing. But lesson learned.

 

[donaldcon]

I didn't read all replies so if I repeat im.sorry.

Spacer will put "added" stress on components and change your caster angle. but so will a new wider offset wheel.

I've ran spacers on alot of vehicles becuase they are cheaper than new wheels and usually I like the stock appearance of the stock wheel.

Clean the mounting surface, lock tight the Spacer and torque it properly.

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[Jurfie]

This is a tough question to put a simple answer to. Here's the deal: It all depends on your usage.

IF you use your truck as a mall-crawler, road-use only ... it does't matter.

IF you do some four-wheeling, you need to look hard at the physics and decide if you are going to push your vehicle hard or not. By extending the factory wheels from the place where they are engineered to be, you are increasing the torque forces on them ... a lot. If you do heavy 4 wheeling, you might end up with damaged wheels, uneven wear on your tires, or even a broken axle. Now that I've pointed out the issue, here's my solution: Get new wheels with an appropriate offset. I know it's a pain in the rear the start measuring and scouting out different wheels, but the result is well worth the effort. If you use wheels with an offset that compensates for the increased tire width, your Jeep will ride nicer and probably maintain the ability to drive at highway speeds without issue.

A good place to look for tire sizes and widths are the on-line tire stores. They list every tire and the factory specs. For wheels data you have to go to each manufacturer.

Yes, it's more expensive than a simple spacer, but so is a broken control arm, bent wheel, etc.

I hope this helps ... and I'm really not trying to poo-poo your idea, but I'm a big fan of doing it right the first time. Second time is always more expensive and less gratifying.

Spacers are a contentious discussion, and I have an honest question that I hope doesn't come across as argumentative: how are properly installed and torqued quality spacers (like the blue Spidertrax ones posted above) any different than wheels with a lower backspace? It seems to me that both move the wheels out, so wouldn't both have the same effect on axles/control arms and whathaveyou? Not sure how one affects the physics differently than the other (assuming the same offset).

 

[kojackJKU]

Spacers are a contentious discussion, and I have an honest question that I hope doesn't come across as argumentative: how are properly installed and torqued quality spacers (like the blue Spidertrax ones posted above) any different than wheels with a lower backspace? It seems to me that both move the wheels out, so wouldn't both have the same effect on axles/control arms and whathaveyou? Not sure how one affects the physics differently than the other (assuming the same offset).

They don't. They are exactly the same as running lower offset wheels. I could not feel ANY difference int the steering force etc that people say that happens. As long as they are installed correctly, they are fine. I am installing mine again for winter.

 

[kojackJKU]

Spacers are a contentious discussion, and I have an honest question that I hope doesn't come across as argumentative: how are properly installed and torqued quality spacers (like the blue Spidertrax ones posted above) any different than wheels with a lower backspace? It seems to me that both move the wheels out, so wouldn't both have the same effect on axles/control arms and whathaveyou? Not sure how one affects the physics differently than the other (assuming the same offset).

They don't. They are exactly the same as running lower offset wheels. I could not feel ANY difference int the steering force etc that people say that happens. As long as they are installed correctly, they are fine. I am installing mine again for winter.

 

[donaldcon]

They don't. They are exactly the same as running lower offset wheels. I could not feel ANY difference int the steering force etc that people say that happens. As long as they are installed correctly, they are fine. I am installing mine again for winter.

Power steering covers up the added force needed to steer so.you don't know it exist.
The only difference between a wheel and a spacer safety wise is you have one less fail point with a new wheel.

Both change the caster radius which increases turning force, and they also increase stresses on bearings and studs. But since it's the same with both you can't consider it a downside to spacers.

What I hate most about spacers is when you have to remove the second set of lug nuts to do the brakes or change a broken axle, etc

I am actually running spacers and an aftermarket wheel to get the correct offset currently.

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[Deleted member 9101]

I have had a set for about 200k on my Tundra....absolutely zero issues.

 

[William_Mitchell]

I agree with you. Look at this site: spacersguide.com/. Maybe he will solve your problem.

 

[Justincredible]

I ran a set of Rough Country 1.5" spacers (5x5 - 5x5 adapters) for 100,000 miles without issue.
It's just an extra 20 nuts when replacing your brakes.

 

[bshinn]

Get a quality set (spidertrax or G2's) and install them properly and you'll have no issues unless you abuse the ******** out of your Jeep and if you do, something else is likely to fail 1st. They do put more strain on things like bearings and ball joints, so they will wear faster, but in my experience not enough to worry about.