Wheel Spacers are bad but wider tires aren't?

wider tires, bigger rims, anything that increases unsprung mass will cause extra wear and tear.

 

and does a wider tire do the same? say you run a tire that is 3 inches wider pushing the outside edge of the tire out 1 1/2 inches. Does that creat the same situation as a 1 1/2 inch spacer?

 

That makes sense to me.

 

You are correct that the wider tire also puts a strain on the hubs but the tire is weaker and can deform much more easily so the load transfered is significantly less than what a spacer would apply. Also wheel spacers less than 2 inches seem to be unanimously agreed upon by those who have used them to be safe for everyday driving and light/medium wheeling assuming they are installed correctly.

 

Im running 3.75" BS wheels + 1.5" spacers in the rear

 

When I read your post #24 I don't think you get this.
Weight centered on the wheel and it's associated bearings is best.
When weight is cantilevered outboad by spacers and/or backset it is harder on the bearings.

Like a lot of the stuff we do to these trucks, it's a cheat.
Sometimes you get away with it.

 

I understand completely actually. The question by nature is contentious and was intended to spark discussion.

 

Thank you. That makes sense and is what I believe to be true also. The definition of the spacer width that woudl be considered reasonably safe is most helpful

 

No, they'll rub the cab mount and/or the plastic at ~270 degrees of steering wheel rotation in either direction. I'm running the aluminum finish ones (but LOVE the look of the black ones).

Also, wheel spacers (like the ones I'm running) put your studs in double shear. Also, if you buy a comparable wheel with equivalent back space that the spacer gives you, you get the same loading. If you want to run those wheels you need to read this... http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/61-2nd-generation-2005/302265-need-help-wheels-now.html

GOOD LUCK!

 

Seems like there's a lot of them running around at 1.25" or 1.5" without too many reports catastrophic failure.
There's also a lot running around holding their noses at the mere thought.
You know the vendor has a lot of faith when they give you a tube of Loktite with the spacer kit.

 

I agree completely. Its a very black and white subject it seems. As someone earlier mentioned if you want to run really big wheels and tires you may have to run spacers to prevent rubbing. For me whatever I am doing to my truck I at least want to be aware of it so I know where to watch for potential failure.

 

so you mounted these rims with wheel spacers? i appreciate the feed back man

 

so if i bought 2" wheel spacers i wouldnt have to shave the calipers?

 

Hub centric spacers are fine as long as it's torqued properly (then re-verified after running awhile). It's when you get the spacers that just sit over the existing lugs and you have less threads being used that you start running into stress problems. The bigger issue than shifting the weight away from the center point is usually adding more weight (for instance 10 ply mudders that are 4x the weight of stock tires)... that's what starts putting a lot of stress on the hub. The minor 1.25" out is negligible to that. Either way, it will add a tiny bit more stress on it.... so you might net what, 3,000miles less optimal usage out of the hub? Does that really even matter? You have to pay to play, and let's face it... a set of new front hubs don't cost that much, probably less than your two front tires were new if you do most of the labor yourself.

 

if you were to model this from a mathematical standpoint, you would take the normal force (ground pressing up on the tire), and though it is distributed over the width of the tire, you would use a single point load at the center of the wheel (not the hub face). you would then multiply the point load by the distance of the wheel centerline to the point of concern (wheel bearing) to get the moment about the bearing. the load applied remains the same since the sprung weight of the vehicle does not depend on the wheel or tire. the distance you multiply be does. whether the centerline of the wheel gets an inch further away from the wheel bearing is due to a lower offset or from a spacer, does not change the moment applied to the bearing. the stress on the parts involved remains the same between a lower offset and spacer. some don't like the idea of wheel spacers simply because there are more parts to the equation and they feel those parts are the weakness. a tire's width will also not affect the moment about the wheel bearing as a wider tire retains the same centerline.

 

I still say the argument is a mute point. High performance cars throwing out way more torque run them all the time without any issue. Let alone these are trucks designed for hard abuse. Just say'n.

 

repost

 

Quote from Off-Road Mag.

"
You hear a lot of rumors about the dangers of wheel spacers. But how many people do you personally know who have actually experienced a problem with them? Wheel spacers are used when the offset of the wheel is not ideal for the end package that you want. Whether it’s because of too narrow of axles or not enough wheel offset, wheel spacers can put your tires and wheels where you want them to be under your fender.

So, are they dangerous to use? In a one-word summation, no.

Do they have the potential to offer more problems than a package without wheel spacers? Yes.

​

Here’s the deal: High-quality wheel spacers are made of a billet aluminum that is just as strong, if not stronger than the wheels they attach to. They bolt onto the studs of an axle in place of the wheel, and have studs (themselves) for the wheels to attach to. Wheel spacers can be used to change wheel bolt patterns and to widen the offset of the wheel.

By increasing the offset of the wheel, you place more stress on the axle’s studs, and in a front axle application on the unit bearings (or spindles) and ball joints of the axle. You also increase the tire scrub radius, changing the way the vehicle handles and increasing the difficulty of slow-speed turning.

​

Also, by adding wheel spacers you are adding more components, and the more components, the more potential for failure. Make sure to properly tighten and torque all of the spacers’ bolts and nuts, and you should never have an issue.

All that being said, wheel spacers are a cost-effective way to keep the wheels you have (or adapt a different lug pattern wheel) while increasing your track width. We’ve seen them work successfully on race trucks countless times, and we’ve used them ourselves in rear axle applications to increase the track width of a stock rear axle to match a custom front axle.


Read more: http://www.off-roadweb.com/tech/1110or_truth_about_wheel_spacers_safety/index.html#ixzz1gOA5iNKN"