Why is using wheel spacer's a bad thing? I have always heard not to use them, why? But some people that have used them says there's nothing wrong with them. Can some one help me out? Thanks!

 

interesting question. i'd be one of the people that says there is nothing wrong with a wheel spacer.... BUT(!) there is a caveat. i would not use the typical spacers you see advertised in summit or jegs. i ended up with an interferance issue with a set of wheels i run race tires on so i bought a set of the spacers by mr. gasket (hate to use a brand name but oh well). i was afraid to use these because they were completely free floating behind the wheel. what i mean is there was nothing to locate them on the spindle. the lug slots were huge and the center hole was way larger than the 'cone' of the spindle. i could see no way to mount them and feel comfortable they were actually centered. kind of scary considering what i was doing with them.
instead, i had a set of 1/2" spacers made by a local machine shop that fit perfectly. i drilled the lug holes myself from a pattern but the machine shop put the center hole in perfect relation to the outside diameter, and it's a snug fit. i also put holes around the inner hole to relieve expansion. i have since used these spacers and wheels on track events about a dozen times with absolutely no problems.
one of the biggest concerns about spacers that i've heard is not having a long enough wheel stud for the lugs to get a good bite. that can be remedied by installing the long style racing wheel studs.
wheel adaptors are a whole 'nother story. like those a bunch. which one were you looking at? spacers or adaptors?

 

It place stress further out on the stud causing an a multipling affect. Think of it as using a longer handled wrench. That being said, I use 3/16 inchers on my vette don't think it affecting it at all.

 

If you use spacers without going with longer lug nuts or studs - you will get less thread... which isn't good.. Another problem is that wheels tend to get loose easier with spacers.. However - if using spacers in combination with either longer lug nuts or longer studs and you check the lugnuts once in a while - you should be ok.. I had Cragar SS rims with 3/4 inch spacing and long lug nuts and I didn't have any problems with my setup...

:cheers:

Olivier

 

I think the perference my almost everyone would be not to use them. Most comments I have seen have been sort of general without specifics.

At one time I had Universal Spacers. My biggest concern was that they would crack and perhaps fall off. It concerned me so much I eventually found a local shop that custom made me spacers from billet aluminum. They even measured the diameter of my studs to make sure it was an exact fit. Those spacers looked so good I hated putting them behind the wheels.

Anyway, I am completely satisfied with my current wheel setup. The car runs very smooth and straight. :)

 

I would call spacers a bad deal if they start to lesson the amount of thread to the nut. Wheel adapters are what you really need when going with big back spaced wheels.

 

Thanks guys! Clutchdust, I was considering using 3/16" spacers because the e-brake bracket rubs on the wheel weight. I don't know if I can grind enough off the bracket to clear. I guess I will try and if it still don't clear I will use spacers. Sounds safe to me, just like GrandsportC3 said, check on them once in a while and it should be ok.

 

Steve - Just cut off and relocate the bracket on the T-arm. that's what all of us with the big tires do. It's a 10 minute job per side job for a welder.

 

I agree with clutchdust. I needed spacers to fine tune my 12.50 tires . I need to move the driver side out 1/4 inch and the passengers side 1/2 inch. I made precision fit spacer from flat sheet aluminum and installed longer and bigger studs. I drill the hub for larger 1/2 inch studs and installed 3 inch long morosso studs and fully threaded open ended wheel nuts. I am confident that this combination is as strong if not stronger then stock.
I also did the same to the front. I like to see the end of the stud all the way through the nut plus the open ended fully threaded studs give you twice as much thread engagement as normal closed ended studs.
I always use a torque wrench for tightening wheel studs plus anti seize.

 

I also have a problem with the tire rubbing on the end of the spring when the car is jacked up. It's no problem when the car is on the ground with the spring in the normal position.

 

That is another area that needs to be ground or cut off. Some poeple go to the extent of drilling the holes inboard and cutting it off to the original spring hole.

 

Will relocating the hole cause the spring bolt to hang un-naturally? Grinding the end some will probably work.

 

I dont have any experience using wheel spacers to say wether Ive had any problems with them or not, but there is one down side to them that I know of forsure. Stock wheel offsets put the centerline of the tire right over the inner wheel bearing which is designed to carry the load. The outer bearing is just meant to guide the wheel, it is a non load carrying bearing. By moving the wheel out with spacers you move the centerline of the wheel out. This will put a higher load on the outer bearing which it is not designed for. This causes wheel bearings to wear out faster. I dont know how far they will go though, they may still last a long time just not as long as they would have.
Its a trade off though this is the bad side to wheel spacers but they have their good side too, like wider track and wider wheels and tires.
Kevin

 

that is a concern, vettman. i think it is relative though. i don't know the exact numbers but just as an example, if you move the location of the wheel out 1/4" you could reduce bearing life by 5%. if you move it out 1/2" then your reduce it by 20%. i know these numbers are way off but the idea is right. next time you notice someone who puts 'pimp-mobile' wheels on a car that stick out 4" from the fender, watch how long before they're replacing wheel bearings. look for about six months. then again, it should be expensive to be tacky!