Wheel Spacers?
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New User
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: Northern Illinois
Wheel Spacers?
I just put 33X12.5R18 Toyo Open Country MTs on my 05 FX4. There is very little space between the inner sidewall and the upper arm due to the aggressive sidewalls. Anyone know how much I should space them at minimum and where I can get spacers for it? I looked at autoanything and they had nothing.
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From: MA
Wheel spacers, especially on a heavy truck... are a bad idea. They add major stress to the studs and over time fatigue the components. If this is really an issue, for safetys sake, I would suggest getting new rims with adjusted backspacking. YMMV
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From: Snohomish, WA
I run these (by Spidertrax) on my Jeep Rubicon:
They work great for that application, but I don't think they make them in the bolt pattern for our F150's. They space the wheels out 1.25", and I am using them to run 285/75R16 tires on the stock Rubicon rims.
Stay away from the ones that just shim out the wheel...
They work great for that application, but I don't think they make them in the bolt pattern for our F150's. They space the wheels out 1.25", and I am using them to run 285/75R16 tires on the stock Rubicon rims.
Stay away from the ones that just shim out the wheel...
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From: Northern Illinois
Originally Posted by WheelMA1
Wheel spacers, especially on a heavy truck... are a bad idea. They add major stress to the studs and over time fatigue the components. If this is really an issue, for safetys sake, I would suggest getting new rims with adjusted backspacking. YMMV
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Originally Posted by Super Trooper 07
Are you considering an F150 a heavy truck? I dont haul heavy items and rarely tow. Just curious!?! Thanks
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From: Northern Illinois
Thanks for the insight! Thats why I come here. The shop that told me that there would be no problems with the spacing when I put on the wider tires was definatly mistaken. I can barely get half pf my pinky finger between the tire's sidewall lugs and the upper arm. Now I'm probably gonna have to get new wheels... which I dont have the money for! Grrrr! Any ideas on how much backspacing I need?
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From: Virginia
Spacers...
Just a thought... If you just need a little more space you could use a 1/4" spacer (see link) that "sandwich" between the wheel and the hub which would help and worst case you would need longer lug studs instead of new wheels. I have used these before with longer studs and never experienced any problems.
First place I found them...
http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...5&autoview=sku
First place I found them...
http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...5&autoview=sku
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From: Virginia
Originally Posted by WheelMA1
Those are also a real bad idea, in my opinion (worse in fact, because you arent replacing the studs... you are moving the weight further away from the hub, adding stress like a simple lever).
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From: MA
It should apply the same forces as the stock rim. They would mount up flush just like the stock units. When you physically move the point of weight bearing (like you would do with a spacer of any sort), you are doing something that the manufacturer did not intend (nor necessarily test for). I am SURE the studs are hardened, but I have no idea to what degree (I assume they use the Rockwell scale). They have tested a static load at point X (the stock mounting location against the rotor). The hardness specified in those threads will handle that specific load all day, every day, for decades. When you move the load bearing point (spaced out section), the forces applied against that stud have magnified (much like a lever, as I mentioned earlier). It certainly may work forever without so much as a hiccup, but a modification like this has potential safety implications. It isnt like deciding which steering wheel cover to choose... whenever you alter any of the drivetrain, you can follow a simple 'cause and effect' model. Just my two cents.
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From: Virginia
I follow now...
I see what your saying now... the load is being moved away from the hub loading the studs more. I also see where this would be a real issue on wheels that are "hub centric".
I learned something new today after all...
Thanks...
I learned something new today after all...
Thanks...
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From: Northern Illinois
Originally Posted by WheelMA1
Those are also a real bad idea, in my opinion (worse in fact, because you arent replacing the studs... you are moving the weight further away from the hub, adding stress like a simple lever).
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From: Snohomish, WA
I've been running the Spidertrax spacers shown above on my Jeep for about a year. I've put 14K miles on them, lots of very hard offroading. Drove the Jeep from Seattle to Moab, UT (17 hours), wheeled hard for 6 days, then drove back home. Couple months later drove from Seattle to the Rubicon Trail in N. Cal. (14 hours), wheeled hard for 4 days, then drove back home. I've driven it as a daily driver up until a month ago when I bought the FX4. I've wheeled it averaging 1 local trip per month in addition to the above trips.
In that time period, while wheeling, I've bent a tie-rod, broken a shock absorber, ripped off a tailpipe, bent sheet metal on the body, bent 3/16" thick steel skid plates. But I've had zero issues with the wheel spacers.
The key is to buy a quality product, and Spidertrax is probably the best out there...
Here is an action shot:
In that time period, while wheeling, I've bent a tie-rod, broken a shock absorber, ripped off a tailpipe, bent sheet metal on the body, bent 3/16" thick steel skid plates. But I've had zero issues with the wheel spacers.
The key is to buy a quality product, and Spidertrax is probably the best out there...
Here is an action shot:
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