Wheel Spacers? Pros and Cons

Yes, but what you are completely missing is that the bolt face is being pushed out by the spacer. That doesn't happen with the correct offset wheel. It stays close to the hub. That weight is being kept close to the wheel. I realize you want to ignore that fact because it completely destroys your argument.

 

Please provide something more than anecdotes or simple experiments that back up your thinking about this bolt face being pushed out. We're going on three pages of trying to explain this to you.

 

I made it is simple as possible to explain even using something that you can do yourself to help you understand. You don't want to believe. Really not much else I can do. You can't disprove the science so why do you continue to question it? I mean, the Law of the lever is pretty basic in concept. If you need me to get to the Archimedes formula of explanation, I can, but if you can't grasp a simple concept that you can see for yourself, I am not sure what that will do for you.

 

Is your main argument that the wheel spacer’s extra weight is greater than the weight of a wheel with the same net backspacing and thus creating more of an issue? I think everyone is on the same page as far as the wheel/tire combo occupying the same place in space either with the spacer or negatively offset wheel. It is true the wheel spacer combination would have a bit more weight at the hub face because of the spacer

 

That example you gave was like comparing a stock positive offset wheel to one with greater negative offset. Nobody here is arguing that the moment applied to a negative offset wheel is less than stock.

Please continue to attempt to show your reasoning, I'd like to see your work as I'm open to considering if a satisfactory explanation is provided.

Whether a lever is a single piece or bolted together, it doesn't make a difference.

 

Maybe you will understand a picture


As you can see at 4ft 200lbs is balanced by 50 lbs at 16ft. Now when you are adding a spacer you are increasing that 16ft distance, meaning that the weight is multiplied. Stop before you say that the same thing happens when you change the offset. remember, we are talking about the bolt face of the wheel. This weight doesn't move away from the fulcrum when you have a proper offset wheel. This stays at the 16ft distance. There is some weight that is extended by the repositioning of the rim, but is it not the same amount combined with the distance as you are getting when you use as spacer.

Do you get it now? I'm not trying to make you look dumb. You understand part of the concept, you just need to expand your thought so you can see the big picture.

 

So your concern is bolt shear? I'm genuinely trying to understand your point.

 

Any horror stories about these wheel spacers..? - Raptor Forum
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May 2, 2009 — Does anyone have any bad stories about them or what not, or any great stories? I was thinking of putting them on all four wheels.

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All the cool looking Tacomas you've seen with shock relocation kits in the rear, well virtually all are running wheel spacers. There's some narrow minded people who like to fight against what works. Good hubcentric ones such as Spidertrax are great quality, perfectly centered, do not introduce wobble and are very strong. You'll bend the rear axle housing long before the spacers are stressed. I've run Spidertrax 1.25" for years, no issues.

I will say that an aluminum wheel spacer (with 2nd set of studs pressed in) should have a minimum thickness for it's own strength, so it doesn't flex. The typical 1.25" is very stout, but it is a little stronger to have long studs from the stock hub and sandwich a hubcentric spacer between the wheel and hub.

 

@COMMANDO740

It's a pro comp 6" DB lift. Went with full length bil 5100' made for drop bracket kits paired with OME 887 spring up front and bil 5100 in rear with ToyTec AAL + 2" spacer as well. That picture is before the bil 5100's up front when it just had a shitty spacer. Rides so much better with the full length shock and OME spring. Wheels are 22x14 Arkon off-road alexanders with 35's.

 

Generally speaking here the large majority of spacer issues you hear about are from the auto parts store non hub centric spacers that are usually under an inch in thickness. These are sandwiched between the hub and the wheel only using the wheel lugs to stay in place. These spacers usually are cheap material and do not center on the wheel. Lets be honest here what car scene do you think is using these spacers and what are they doing with the vehicles, hence the failures with these type of spacers.

When it comes to the spacers we are talking about - hub centric and usually at 1.25 for our trucks I have seen no failures. And even if you do find one on the web, the spacer is usually in one piece with the bolts sheared off. And that usually implies improper torque specs or the tire/wheel was hit so hard it was ripped from the hub. Spacer or not with a hit that hard the wheel is getting ripped off.

As for the law of the lever the illustration is correct and for your test of holding the weight on your chest then arm straight out. Both of those scenarios are moving the weight way too far out to apply here. A more accurate test would be to hold the weight against your chest for a minute and then test it again at 1-2 inches away from your chest. Is there a difference, yes it's minimal.

To the OP you do what you are comfortable with, just please do not use the non hub-centric spacers.

 

Bolt sheer is part of the concern. The point is that the forces on your suspensions system are not equal using spacers as it is with correct fitting wheels. The further you push the wheels out the more stress you put on the suspension components. That is the point. While correct fitting wheels put more stress than stock, you amplify that stress using spacers. The OPs question was pros and cons. That certainly is a con. The argument for those that use them is that 'it isn't much more stress', but the reality is that it is more stress. It introduces a point of failure that is unnecessary risk. Spending money on spacers is a foolish waste when you could get the correct fitting wheels.

 

I think I follow what your concern is. Stock offset in my case is +30. If I swap out my wheel with a +15 wheel, the added stress on any suspension components is identical to adding a small spacer that pushes the wheel out 15mm from the stock wheel. To the suspension, +15 is +15, no matter how you get there. The only possible stress difference anywhere in the assembly would be at the bolt, but bolt shear should not be a concern based on the Fy of the steel bolts (130K LB for a grade 8 bolt).

To the issue of whether or not +15 is inherently more stressful than +30, you need to see exactly how much force is acting on the system. The fact that Toyota offers different wheel offsets for different trim packages tells me isn't probably not a big concern, but absent the loads calculations, we are both just guessing.

If you think any amount of added stress is bad, and oppose changing offset, that's cool. It's really just a matter of preference or opinion. The only point I'm making is that correctly installed spacers put the same stress on all components (aside from bolts) that offset wheels do. Whether that is a meaningful concern of not is somewhat subjective.

 

Wouldn't it be best to have the wheel offset to do the job then the spacer?

 

That would be the best as you have one less part stacking up, but quality spacers and attention to detail during installation are a perfectly viable option.

 

Does the gravel road to the mall count...?

 

Haha! That’s definitely off-road. Make sure you got them E load tires for puncture resistance.

 

Snapped a pic of my -14 offset this morning:

 

The weak link is the bad spot in any chain,... just as the spacer or wheel can be bullet proof.
HOWEVER the weak "link" in spacers are the bolts / nuts hardware ,... either on the spacer to the hub or the wheel to the spacer HARDWARE.

The bolt / nut will break before anything else if they are well made spacers or wheels.
I have seen wheels snap apart from the hubs and the bolts were still holding.

Weak link is always the problem