.75" wheel spacers - cut down lug bolts?

I purchased a set of 0.75" wheel spacers for my '01 Double Cab in hopes of eliminating the slight rubbing I get with my 33" tires. The front tires rub the frame when the wheel is turned all the way to either side. I have a 2.5" OME lift and the rubbing isn't very bad, but I'd still prefer not to have it.

The problem I'm running into is that the 6 lug bolts, which come out of the hubs, are too long for my 0.75" spacers. The spacers have 6 new bolts to which the wheel mounts, and 6 holes which are used to mount the spacers to the hubs. When I mount the spacers to the hubs, the original 6 botls extend through the 6 holes and past the spacer. So when I mount the wheel, the wheel hits the ends of the bolts and doesn't sit flush against the spacer.

The only solution I can think of is trimming the stock bolts down so that they are only long enough to attach the spacers, but not so long that the go beyond the spacer. This means I'm stuck with using the spacers as the bolts won't be long enough to use with stock wheels anymore. Does anyone have another idea? Am I crazy to cut down the stock bolts?

Thanks.

 

You can cut them if you're sure 3/4" will be enough. You can always change the studs that you cut in the future. It's not hard and fairly inexpensive.

 

^X2. Most stock wheels have recessed pockets on the mounting pad in the space between lug holes, to save weight. If your wheels lack the pockets, just get 1.25" spacers. All-Pro, Spidertrax and Trail Gear all sell them for about $100 a pair.

 

What's the backspacing of your current wheels ?
What wheel ?

I think it better to use a standard .25" spacer...
and if necessary get longer studs to compensate for that.

that way you could always install the wheels without a spacer.
...as long as the lug nuts can accept more threads.
optionally... open end lug nuts could be used instead.

I have a slight rub on the frame as well with my 295's @ 4" BS
A 3.75" BS'd wheel would be a better fit.
But I'm not buying new wheels just for .25"

But putting a .75" spacer on that could possibly push the tire
too far outboard and into the fender's sheet metal during compression
and require cutting/trimming there.

^ so be sure before you create another issue.

 

Your wheels don't have gaps on the back, alternating with the lug holes?

 

What a great community this is.

Okay, my tires are 285/75/16 on stock aluminum 16" Toyota wheels. There are no recesses on the back side of the stock wheels, between the lug holes, but that's another option -- I could drill holes or recesses between each hole on my stock wheels. That sounds like a pain, but I could use the spacers as templates. This would lighten my stock wheels! (and make them weaker, too...)

I like the idea of .25" spacers, but I assume that those would not be hub centric spacers. Maybe at that thickness it doesn't matter? Anyone have good/bad experiences with .25" spacers? Did you need to use longer lug studs or were the stock studs long enough. Lastly, any good source on these spacers?

Thanks.

 

Interesting, my BBS's do. I learn something every day.

 

I echo Raymond's comments that I would definitely not drill the wheels out.

 

Gorilla (the lug nut guru's) offers them.
Google "1/4" wheel spacers" and you will know more.

You might get away with using ET (extended thread) type lug nuts...

tho' IMO... a longer stud would still be better

I haven't done it yet myself...
but I will be doing it shortly.

I had to use ET type lug nuts for my pro comp 8068-6883 wheels...
because they're thicker then some other wheels at the lug hole.

think I will need to extend the studs on mine... when I add the spacer.

btw... '04 and earlier are lug centric... '05 and up, I think are hub centric (but I don't know fo sho on 'da later)

I don't think a 1/4" spacer will be of any issue or concern,
as long as the lug nuts have enough thread bite

 

If installing longer studs isn't that big of a deal then I don't really see the harm in cutting down my existing studs now to make my .75" spacers work. I do have front and rear lockers (stock TRD e-locker in the rear and ARB air locker up front). Sorry for the silly question, but will that affect the ease/difficulty with replacing the studs if I need to go with longer ones in the future?

 

Only thing bad about cutting down studs is the heat that is created.
and that could change the molecular strength of the stud.

Now if you could cut the studs using a wet method...
that might maintain the studs molecular strength.

But I personally would be concerned with a cut off wheel and associated heat...
as that could cause the stud to become more brittle.

 

Dont cut the studs! You will weaken them and run the risk of permanently unbalancing your wheel. Just get new studs.

 

The way i understand it, non hubcentric spacers require the studs to be replaced with thicker studs (can be very expensive), NOT longer studs. Each stud is rated for a certain amount of torque, when you place the wheels further from the hub it increases the amount of torque applied to the studs.

I had an old college buddy who bought a set of 1/2" spacers from a local auto parts store for his mid 70's street pickup.
They worked fine for a few months until he hit a pothole at 45 mph and the studs snapped off!! As you can imagine, very bad things happen when one of your wheels comes off while in motion.
I would never risk non hubcentric for any reason.
It always baffles me when i see them for sale in auto parts stores.

 

If it were me, I'd replace the tires with 'pizza cutters' of the same diameter : 255/85-R16 = 33.1 x 10 .
Less rolling resistance, quieter, and no need to ruin your front end.