Got myself in a situation....help please

Ok here is the situation, I found a "deal" on wheels and tires. $700 bucks for 2006 4runner sport wheels with almost brand new Toyo open country At tires 265/70/17. I whipped out the cash fast and bought them, I thought I was the man! Well I went to put them on, and realized I needed a wheel spacer in the front to clear my calipers. A buddy of mine told me about the cheapo 1/4 wheel spacers, I bought some and threw the wheels on. I now have vibrations and highway speeds. Of course now after reading all of the posts on here, I realize all of these problems could have been solved by researching. I am 90% sure my steering wheel shake vibration is being caused by my 1/4 wheel spacers. Here are my options:
Do I cut my loses, keep the tires and buy new wheels?
Do I buy spidertrax 1.25 wheel spacers?
I really like the wheels, but I think my truck may look stupid with the tires sticking out another 1.25 inch. I attached a pic of my truck please let me know what you guys think, this is driving me nuts.

 

buy spidertrax....there sweet reliable and you love the way they look on the truck

 

I have 1.25s on the front of mine and it looks really good, I like the front out a little more. Get all pro spacers, I think you can get 1"

 

Take tires off and sell the wheels.

 

I was worried about the way they will splash all the slush and sand up in the winter, I guess I could just take them off. The way I understand all the "newer" Toyota wheels are hubcentric, correct? Meaning the spidertrax spacers will work with my wheels just fine? The vibration isn't that bad but it's a brand new truck it is just unacceptable, I can't live with it.

 

Yes they will work, and it will be flush with the fender, spidertrax are hub centric, also you shouldn't need any spacers...a 265 should NOT rub

 

im not sure if the 1/4 spacers can be hub or lug centric. that could make a difference, maybe buy some decent 1/4 spacers, also maybe get tires rebalanced? i dont think you need to sell the wheels or spend $$$$ on spidertrax

 

From what I have seen all 1/4 spacers are lug centric which will not work.

 

With your 1/4" spacers on, how much space is there between the wheel and your brake caliper? If you have close about 1/8" or more gap, you could just grind the caliper. Most people freak out but depending on what you're dealing with may work. I had to grind a hair off mine and I'm still alive 2 years later.

 

I would check the balancing first. try putting the rear tires on the front first, see if that helps.

 

x2

I haven't sized up my tires or needed spacers...but when I bought my truck (2007 used w/ 23K miles) the dealer had put new tires on it; had a vibration at hwy speed, made appointment with my tire guy, but while waiting few days for appt I swapped backs to front and it took away most of the vibration.

And sure enough ... my tire guy found all four wheels out of balance, three slightly off and one severely off.

Worth having it checked out IMHO.

 

first post nails it

 

Ok today I'm off, I'm going to knock the wheels off with the truck on jack stands, space them out 1.25 and stand back........

 

Have you had them balanced? Maybe have them balanced on the truck.

 

I've never heard of folks having to use wheels spacers to clear the 4-runner wheels before.

 

the 1/4 " spacer is just wide enough to not let the hub sit in the rim. So your hub centric setup is not working properly. You will need to get a hub centric spacer. I only needed 1/4" also and no one makes a hub centric spacer that small so I cut mine down. Check out my pics. They work awesome and are flush with fender

 

Ok I love this you guys are great, SO helpful, you have no idea. I think I'm ordering spidertrax tonight, my buddies keep telling me to balance my tires, but clearly you guys know more about this hub centric wheel problem I'm having. I rotated the tires and I have the same problem, death wobble, I feel like I'm driving an old farm tractor in road gear.

 

I also screwed around with mocking up what my truck would look like with spacers, it was an epic fail the tires kept rolling around on me. I got one to stay for me and got an idea of how far they will stick out looks good I think. I also saw a Tacoma right down the road from me that is lifted with spacers, LOOKS SICK.