2" hub centric and wheel centric (for factory wheels) using 7075-t6 aluminum black anodized.

These are for putting late model superduty wheels on your x.

I'm looking for some wheel spacers and found that nobody has what I'm looking for available retail. You can get 6061 aluminum which is up to the task but 7075 is better. You can get steel which is beyond overkill, excessively heavy, and also excessively expensive.

I contacted some manufacturers that make similar ones for other vehicles and they agreed to make some for our vehicles but there's minimum order requirements. While unit prices are really good, it's still a lot of cheddar when you have to order a bunch.

So I thought maybe some other people out there don't want 6061 (or worse, there's scary stuff out there on ebay...) but also don't want the weight of steel nor get bent over the barrel on the price.

I'm still waiting for a quote on shipping but right now I'm looking at somewhere around $150 for all 4. It isn't cheap because they're made cheap, it's cheap because I'm not doing retail markup; not interested in starting a business or making money.

 

If off the shelf parts built from 6061 are working without failures why hassle doing a run of custom built 7075 ?

The only spacer failure I have ever seen was a cast part of unknown material and even then the issues was likey due to somebody hammering the lug nut with a impact.

Just a simple comparison

Your aluminum wheels are made from 356 which had a ultimate tensile strength of 24,000 psi

6061 ultimate tensile strength of 45,000 psi

the real issue with spacers isn't if the material is strong enough to hold the wheel, the issue with spacers is keeping 16 fastners properly torqued and the mating surfaces free and clean of debris and corrosion.

 

I'd be down for a set...

 

6061 is too soft and malleable for my taste in this application. A lot of people have coughed up big bucks for steel for the same reason. Like I said, 6061 is up to the task but I would just rather have 7075 which is closer to steel in it's ability to resist distortion but still be light.

I actually care more about the yield point than UTS because there's a fair amount of distortion at UTS where the yield point tells you how much tension it will handle with minimum distortion. 7075 has a yield point of 74,000 psi/510mpa, 6061 is 40,000psi/275mpa. (Steel for comparisons sake, 4130 chromoly yield is 63,100psi/435mpa, 1050 carbon steel: 84,100psi/580mpa which is superior but heavy and more rust than you can shake a stick at)

Agreed the wheels themselves use a cast aluminum however the more you can reduce distortion the more evenly your clamping forces are applied and the more reliable the assembly, which is also a nod to your point about clean surfaces to facilitate even clamping. Nevertheless I see no reason to un-necessarily pile distortion upon distortion and in this context the 7075 is not a little better, it's far better.

What's interesting is the cost difference between 6061 and 7075 is pretty small, even though the performance difference is pretty far apart. I was actually shocked just how little the cost is to step up to 7075 but the retailers aren't doing it. Maybe there's an argument there that it's overkill. Or maybe they know the average consumer doesn't know any better so even though the margin is small profit is profit so they all use 6061 or maybe they know the customer won't pay a little more for 7075.

Beats me, all I know is 7075 gives me the strength, keeps it light, and I can have 7075 made for less than off-the-shelf 6061 so it's a win-win for everybody assuming there's half a dozen or so out there who would like a set.

 

6061 vs 7075 material aside,

If you are going to have them made to your spec the biggest improvement I see on aluminum ones would be to have them hard anodized. ( not the pretty color anodizing ) to keep them from corroding since Corrosion on wheel mating surfaces is a leading cause of rim-hub wheel separations on vehicles.


Maybe I'm not following the logic but I don't see what part of a spacer is going to distort ? Still, I'd be interested to see your distortion cals if you want to share them

 

Agreed on anodizing but that may require a 2nd round of outsourcing which will probably blow away any savings appeal. To that end I'd say an individual could take the savings and put that towards having them hard anodized themselves if they like. Then they should be in the normal retail price ballpark but they'll have a better product.

Distortion is from the compression and tension opposite the hub center, compression above and tension below. There is also some created just from torquing the fasteners, similar to what you get in a block cylinder from installing a cylinder head which is why machine shops run torque plates when boring and honing cylinders.
I've also seen a few examples of the rings failing to hold shape when torquing studs, arguably too tight, but more headroom is more headroom. Any distortion potentially allows shear forces to be presented to the studs; no thanks.
How much distortion 6061 vs 7075 I haven't calculated.

How do I know it's specifically an issue with 6061? I don't and it very well may not be on paper but that's not the point really. The point is I don't trust what I see "out there" in retail land and if I go pick one of them off the shelf I'll constantly question if the quality is there or not. With 7075T6 I'm not worried about it. It's easy to validate that the hardness is there or not, and if it is you're good to go with peace of mind.

The cherry on top is that if you look at this 6061T6 option, which is one of the better ones I see out there, it's $300+ for all 4. https://www.amazon.com/Centric-Wheel.../dp/B009AEO52G

For steel from the popular Fred Goeske you're looking at $740. WheelAdapter.com > Wheel Spacers

Now, I haven't gotten my shipping quote yet which might completely take the air out of everything but right now I'm way under that.

I'm not really looking to talk someone in to making a change from what they have now that works for them. It's really for people who are in the market right now anyway, if you're not in the "nothing but steel" camp then here's a one time shot to pick up 7075 instead of 6061 and it's not like it's going to be more expensive so why not?

 

Does the price of $150 include studs and nuts?

 

The $150 is tentative but yes it includes studs and nuts that are m14x1.5. If you have an older x (2002 or older I believe) then you will need m14x2.0 and I'm happy to figure that out on a case by case basis.

 

Count me in if the group buy does go through.

 

I might be interested in a set too

 

I'm interested as well...I have HD rims, so as long is it will work with the HD center caps, and nuts, I will take a set...

 

I might want some. What are the odds that 37s would fit with 2 inch spacers and 04 18s?

 

I think you will still rub. I have a little bit bigger than 34" and I rub when turning. I have been contemplating new rims vs. spacers, but I really like my HD rims.

 

Adding 2" spacers with the '04 rims will most likely cause interference with the front bumper and/or rear of wheel well fender with either 35's or 37"s due to the increase in arc from the spacers.
These are my 35"s on '04 Lariats with 3 7/8" of lift without any spacers.






If you are just wanting to stop the tire rubbing and don't mind sacrificing a little bit of turning radius, you could try this mod.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-only-8-a.html

 

I see, I didn't think of that one. I will have to check the rear fender clearance. I do not have a factory bumper so I am pretty sure that is a non-issue.