Tire shops OK with Spidertrax spacers

Hi again,

I have been reading some forums regarding getting new tires installed if I have Spidertrax spacers. I heard that Discount Tire won't work on my truck if I have them on (but haven't asked them directly yet). I was also curious if anyone had tried getting their tires done at Big O Tires with wheel spacers on.

thanks,
Kyle

 

I go to a local independent tire shop and was told to check my wheel nut torque in a few days. Never said the spacers were bad. Also had a local Toyota dealer install my 5100's and Eibach's and there was no issue there either. The mechanic actually called me to ask whether I wanted the blue spacers left on or off. He was a little confused about the strut spacer I wanted removed and replaced with the new springs and shocks. I talked to him when I picked up the truck and he actually said the "blue spacers" looked like quality parts and had no issue leaving them on there. It's hit and miss out there as far as who doesn't like spacers.

 

Reviving this thread instead of starting my own. Yes, it's a bit of a rant.

Went to have my tires rotated and balanced at DiscountTire (which were purchased there) - got in an argument with the shop guy because they wouldn't rotate and balance my tires since i have SpiderTrax 1.25" wheel spacers installed... Actually, excuse me. They would rotate and balance, but wouldn't reinstall in the rims on the truck without first removing the spacers... which would mean i'd need to then go home and spend my time re-reinstalling the spacers...

Many illogical BS arguments were presented by the shop techs. The gist is as follows,
1) They're not safe, so we can't reinstall the rims.
-When asked how/why they're not, tech responded with, "Did you hear about the guys who died in Kentucky?" Then couldn't tell me how the wheel spacers contributed to their deaths or vehicle failure. When i rebutted with, "They're perfectly safe if they were installed according to the manufactures recc.'s i.e. loctite and 85-110 Lb/ft and rechecked after 50 miles or so. The only issues i've heard of is the potential premature wheel bearing failure, which has nothing to do with the tires i purchased from you or the agreement we entered into for R&B service for the life of the tires."

2) "They're not safe just like NOS isn't safe for your engine."
-Right, but i didn't buy NOS from you, and even if i did, NOS doesn't effect the balance of my tires on the rims, just like Spacers don't effect the balance of the tires on my rims.
-Blah blah, "It's illegal to have NOS installed in your vehicle. But you can still buy it." Right, sure, ok, but having spacers installed is not illegal and i'm even if spacers were, i'm not asking you to install the spacers... they're already installed and all you're interacting with is 24 studs. Whether they're on the hub or on the spacer... what's the difference?
-No.

3) Ok, please take the wheels off, R&B, and i'll reinstall the wheels on the truck, i'll even use my own tools.
-Shop tech, you need to be a DT employee and go through a week long training in order to do any work in the shop. Even when i offered to let them back the truck out to the lot, i'll jack up the truck and remove the wheels with 100% my own tools roll the wheel in, DT balances it and i'll reinstall.
-No.

4) Can you show me where on my receipt promising me free R&B for the life of my tires it states i can't install spacers?
-No.
Anywhere in writing or is just a verbal thing?
-I'd have to call Corporate

Oi. I understand certain parts of the argument based on legal liabilities of a customer turning a wrench inside their shop. But can't wrap my head around the complete refusal to touch a vehicle with spacers - short of fully removing them, so the customer has to reinstall them again (which, if anything would lead to a higher rate of failure) based on the responses received from the tech. The only thing i can think of is that DT makes loads of money selling rims, and people with spacers don't necessarily buy new rims therefore, if DT won't R&B your wheels that mount to spacers, you'll want to keep up with your maintenance so you'll by new rims and sell your spacers...

Does anyone know of a legitimate article containing actual math, statistics, or engineering proving that spacers are unsafe? I would love to call corporate and have some literary ammo. It seems that for every "A friend of a friend's uncle's brother had something bad happen, but i don't have the details - so yeah, don't buy them." story i hear i see 20+ people running spacers (or aftermarket rims with wider backspacing) without issue.

TL;DR - Discount Tire won't rotate or balance my tires because i have Spidertrax 1.25" spacers installed. Which is like Toyota voiding your frame warranty because you bolted on a suspension lift.

 

Maybe they had some tard with too big of spacers that use the existing threads, something unsuprisingly went terribly wrong, they blamed it on discount and that was all it took for them to make a policy??

But I think you might get your way if you talk to corporate because of point #4