Wheel spacers

I have a 2022 SR5 and recently installed a 2" lift and purchased 275/70/R17 tires. The rims I choose only came in a 0 offset. Wanting my tires to stick out just a bit. Hence the 1.25" spacers I saw on ET. Is putting spacers a BAD idea?

 

Buy a quality spacer, ignore the naysayers. There are people pushing their trucks at very high speeds off road running spacers without issue, while the guys bragging about their MPG on the way to the grocery store are convinced they'll kill you in your sleep.

 

I like it.....

 

Buy a cheap set of spacers with good reviews. It's just a chunk of metal with some bolts in it. you don't need to spend a stupid amount. It's metal that sat in a CNC machine for a couple minutes... At any price tag.

$84 Orion Motor Tech 6x5.5 Wheel Spacers 1.25in Blue Wheel Spacer Kit Compatible with FJ Cruiser Tacoma 4Runner Tundra, 6x139.7mm Hub Centric Wheel Spacers 106mm Bore with 12x1.5 Studs, Set of 4

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B083NZF7QW?ie=UTF8

I've been running those for years on stock rims to bring them close to 0 offset. 285's. No issues, offroading and all that. Only thing I would change in retrospect is hit them with some spray paint prior to install. I don't like the blue.

If you go wider though, you may start to run into issues rubbing on your cab mount or fender liner.

 

Spacers are fine just install it with a torque wrench. Remove the wheel after a few hundred miles and re torque the spacers. If they loosened up then re torque them again in a thousand or so. Most spacer issues are because they loosen up and eventually fail. My brother and I have been slowly building his tacoma up with long travel and he has rear spacers to match the front better. That truck has been jumped and ran over rough terrain at high speeds multiple times. I will be honest they are Amazon spacers not high quality ones. I know some people put a small amount of blue loctite on the spacer lugs to keep them tight.

As far as fitment of the wheel with the spacer and rubbing. I can't really answer that, I don't know wheel specs on these truck well enough.

 

Thanks guys, In my research, I read a few negatives about premature wheelbearing failure and just was looking for knowledgeable advice

 

What is the worst that can happen? If you are ok with that, then let your freak flag fly.

 

I've had 1.25" Spidertrax spacers on my truck for 4 years. No problems so far but I'm fine with fixing a wheel bearing when it happens.

 

WHAT IS THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN? Thats what the Pilgrims said at plymouth rock when the indians offered them some tobacco to smoke.

 

Be INCREDIBLY careful if you run spacers. Make sure to retorque your lugs after a couple hundred miles of driving on them after install, or you’ll end up like me..

If you install them correctly, you’ll never have an issue. My truck has been jumped over 10 times, been 110-120 fairly consistently, and I never had an issue with my spacers till I installed them wrong. Moral of the story is just do it right lol

 

It does put more leverage on them the wider out you go. Which will lead to more wear. I don't think 1.25" will lead to excessive down time, but it will shorten the life of the bearings. (I'd imagine minimally, like by 20% or less)

 

everything Ive read states that you should re-torque after a few hundred miles. I agree, however, using RED thread locker dries hard and will crack when re-tigtened. Blue thread locker is a little more pliable and will give just a bit while still retaining its locking ability

 

I’ve had 2” BORA spacers on my rear wheels. Never had issues riding them hard too. Unfortunately, I’ve come across bad quality wheel spacers which almost resulted in catastrophe. Like everyone said above get good quality spacers and torque to specs. I have lug centric wheel spacers on my 4Runner and they are fine too. Took it to rubicon and Fordyce with no issues. Of course, quality and torque is again the key. Get the theme here?

 

orange thread locker. Get the best of both worlds.

 

I’ve never been a huge fan of spacers but like others have said just find ones you like with good reviews and then torque and recheck after a few hundred miles. It’s not exactly the same thing but I had a 944 Turbo for 10 years and I ran 996 wheels on it. I had to use custom made ones and the rears were really thick, I want to say 2 inches or more. I drove that car really hard through the mountains every day and never hear an issue. I also had Jeep buddies who ran wheel spacers that adapted 4.5 to 5.5 lug pattern and they never had issues…except for the guy who never torqued anything and had problems on all his vehicles. lol

 

number one most important thing is to get extended thread lug nuts to hold the spacer on. almost all spacers you buy will come with regular lug nuts. our factory wheel studs are super short and running those only gives a few threads on engagement.

 

0 offset wheels and 1.25" spacer is less than -38 offset which is super common on these trucks. i actually ran -3 offset wheel and a 2" spacer for nearly 10 years while running 35" tires. never had to replace a single front end component or bearing. swapped same setup onto my current 2023 and still no issues after 2 years. recently swapped to 1.5" spacers to equal -38 offset and have some -38 scs wheels to install when winter is over.