Thinking of putting on Wheel Spacers... Questions?

I'm thinking of changing out my fender flares and I am thinking of running a 1.25" spacer for my wheels. The wheels that I have are 16x9 KMC XD Enduro Wheels.

​

My question is this: Will this cause any unwanted damage to the drivetrain, handling, undue stress to the front spindles, turning problems, anything else i'm not thinking about, etc? My front wheels have about 1/8 of an inch clearance between them and the front calipers. This causes no issue but I would also like to have a little more clearance between them for piece of mind.

These are the spacers that I'm looking at.

Thanks in advance for any answers.





__________________

 

Those will be good, some people see their bearings wear out faster, other dont. I have been running them since I got my truck, and no issues.

 

Wheel spacers, or wheels with a different offset so as to step out the wheel, will put more stress on wheel bearings and can cause them to wear quicker. It's just physics and there's no way to say how much quicker. The spacers could cause you to rub in different places at full lock also but some of that would depend on your current wheels and tire size. Personally, I don't like spacers but lots of people use them without issue.

 

Wheel bearings were my number one concern. I have turned the front tires lock to lock and I don't think rubbing will be an issue since it looks as though I'll still have plenty of room. But my number 2 concern was the steering components since the spacers will obviously change the steering geometry. I didn't know if it would change the handling of the truck also. I might be wrong but I don't think Spider makes anything less than a 1.25" spacer for our trucks and I really don't want to go with another brand since it seems they make quality products.

Still undecided.

Thanks for the replies!

 

If you go with them, just make sure you install them properly using the thread locker they give you. Torque everything down good and re-check them in a week and again in a month to make sure everything stays tight. Also, keep in mind that some wheel/tire shops might refuse to work on your truck because of the spacers. At least out here, it's not overly uncommon for a shop to refuse to touch the wheels/tires because a set of spacers is installed.

 

Hmmmm.... Might be more trouble than it's worth.

Thanks again for the replies guys!




__________________

 

Yeah... I think I'll take your advice. That would be the only reason for me to run them and just for the benefit of looks I don't think it would be worth it.


Thanks again all!


__________________

 

Just to chime in for others' benefit, some alignment/wheel shops will not work on your vehicle if you have a wheel spacers.

Matt

 

See post #5

Thanks though

 

They made my truck ride very harsh, and the side of the truck was always covered in road grime.

Best thing I ever did was take them off.

 

This is why it pays to be a member of this site!

Had I not been a member I would have most likely bought them and suffered the consequences. It's always nice to get other peoples' opinion before jumping on something like this. Thanks again for all of your help and advice

 

I am running the Spider Trax wheel spacers on my 4Runner that has a 3" lift on it, not for style points but to widen the stance due to the increased height. I have had no issues as a result, and even the local Toyota dealership did an alignment with them on without any problems.

 

Since I would be running them specifically for looks not sure it is worth it to me.

Off the subject... I really liked your bike build in your profile. I raced bikes since i was 5. Started with BMX and finally ended with my last "All" Mountain Bike back in 2009. I spent a little over $5500 on a Merlin Titanium Mountain bike when I was racing back when Merlin was still what you might consider a "Cottage Builder". My favorite of all time though was my Yeti ARC hard tail when they were still built in Durango Co.

Here is a picture of the last bike I owned. Sold it a little over a year ago.
When you get over 40 it takes a lot longer to heal from a fall then it used too lol.










​

 

Nice looking bike
Off topic as well...yes I remember Merlin.
I also raced BMX as a kid, then raced Mtn bikes thru and after college.
Having worked in a number of bike shops I remember the smell of titanium
I'm closer to 50 now, but still like to thrash around. I do find it annoying though when the young whipper snappers are kicking my ass going uphill...I can hold my own going downhill though.

 

I'm with you... When I got older and started getting beat is when I bowed out. I HATE to lose so when that started I hung it up. Bike racing is one of those things that I can't do for recreation lol.

That's when I bought my Kayaks. Much less stress on the body and much more relaxing.



__________________