Are wheel spacers safe?

I have 265/75/16's on stock steel wheels on my 2010 access cab 4x4 with front 5100's at 1.75 and rear spring TSB. The tires do not rub at all. I was thinking of adding spidertrax 1.25" spacers just for looks. However after some searching on the forum it seems that some say they are fine to use, others say don't do it.

What do you guys think? Are they safe enough to use just for looks or are they really just for those who need them to clear their tires?

 

depends who you ask i have heard bad things some have no problem

 

I'm not a fan of em man...they cause extra wear on the front end components...just save up for some wheels that are 4.5" backspaced with a 0 to -5 offset

 

depending on the style/thickness of spacer, I'd only run them with longer wheel studs

 

Wheel Spacers are dangerous because you won't have as many turns holding the lug nut onto the stud.

Wheel Adapters are better than spacers because they bolt onto the hub, then the wheel bolts onto the adapter.

With that said, I would only use Adapters if they were NEEDED and I could not afford to buy the proper off set wheels for a long time.

 

I remember a post awhile back of a guy with either spacers or adapters. (not sure which) But the longer studs he got with them broke going down the road and if i remember right when someone got his attention to stop, he only had one stud left holding a front tire on. But besides that i havent heard anything bad about them.

 

THey are unsafe if you are a dumbass and install them wrong. I have them on my LT truck. and they have been on there for a while.

 

if you read through the few threads where people have had problems with wheel spacers, you'll notice that the problems are pretty much all caused by user error (either they were installed incorrectly, or lug centric spacers were used when hub-centric were needed.) stuff like that.

edit: amaes beat me to the part about people installing them wrong

 

do spacers or wheel adapters affect the turn radius? better or worse?

 

worse. wider stance = bigger turning radius

 

oh shit thanks! looks like i wont be getting them then thanks again!

 

from this thread:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/98527-fiberwerx-fenders-2.html#post2297363

post #40 (if you dont know that clicking that stupid white arrow pointing to the right in the little blue box by the OP's name being quoted will bring you right to that damn post)

 

What is the best way to install a wheel adaptor? Is that what a Spidertrax is?

 

^ spidertrax is a company that makes wheel spacers and they are one of the best out there for our trucks. It is as easy as removing and putting on a spare tire

 

^ Oh ok, thanks. What about the All Pro spacer, are those any good?

 

Hub centric spacers (Spidertrax, AllPro) are perfectly fine. Sports cars, long travel trucks, and stuff that our taco's could never dream of hitting performance wise run them all the time with no issue. They are just as strong as going direct to hub if installed and torqued correctly. Also, while they can somewhat change your geometry slightly it's minimal and any 'increased wear' is nominal at best... not even worth thinking about. You will get a wider stance, and your turning radius will decrease... but it'll do the same thing with aftermaket wheels and an aggressive backspacing.

 

The all pros should be fine. There isn't a whole lot to a wheel spacer. When you install them make sure to torque the to the right spec and then do it in the proper star pattern.

 

i have 3" trail gear ones on my truck and havent had a problem with them i love them

 

This is not completely true. A wheel spacer will not cause more stress on front end components than a low offset wheel will. It's simple physics. Assuming everything is just as balanced with the same offset from the hub, there is no fundamental difference in the forces or leverage placed on the suspension components. Just think of the spacer being part of the wheel.

Porsche used and I think still sells 3" spacers for some of their cars.

Spacers are something I wouldn't cheap out on though.

 

nah, i didn't notice any difference with mine.