How to get that wide tire look?

[TheBadger]

@Jerry361 Thanks! A little hard work and countless hours spent on Tire Rack and tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/ really paid off hahaha!

Supposedly the spacers were hubcentric. I re-fit them a number of times and could never quite get rid of the vibe though. It was only up around 75mph. Maybe I got ripped off, or maybe 2" is just too much.

The 33s at +4 offset (+55 factory wheels minus 2"/51mm spacer) rubbed the very corner of the air dam over bumpy turns like pulling into a driveway etc. The 34s on +18s I think are juuust catching the bottom corner of the bumper under the same conditions. Not sure yet.

BDS replacement front intrusion beam is clear. Pulled the rear In-beam, liner and plastic block. Looking at the Fabtech or Readylift replacements.

Here's the poke.

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[awd.nv]

Well, dang, thanks all. This is a lot to digest.

As for the mod bug, it's too late for me. I come from sports cars (most recent being an M5 and a CTS-V). This was supposed to be less expensive and help me get out more, haha.

I already have a downpipe in my garage and am itching to get the catback, not to mention a tune, larger turbo, fmic, etc. But then I've been dreaming of a coyote swap with a 6-speed.

I'm trying to distract myself, but likely going to fail.

Best way to quench that but a bit is to apply that energy to finding trails in your area, planning trips, finding out what gear makes you more comfortable outdoors or help you stay out longer, etc.

Totally get the bug for upgrading the vehicle though. This Ranger is a lot cheaper than upgrading my '66 Mustang at this point.

 

[awd.nv]

17x9 -12 offset. No wheels spacers.
Pics without and with fender flares. Highly recommend the flairs if you bring the tire out of the wheel well. This combo gives an aggressive stance. Not like a dude who's been skipping leg days at the gym, lol. Zero issues offroad.

Looks like a mini Big Foot! And I mean that in a good way!

On this forum? Not that I'm aware of. Anywhere else in the world? You bet your ass it has happened!!

I respect your stance but that type of rhetoric is just fearmongering

Poor quality wheel spacers with bad hardware can cause issues, you bet! Good quality ones with proper hardware will serve you well for the life of the vehicle. Like everything, proper maintenance is needed. Check the torque on them during tire rotations.

Does it put more stress on wheel bearings? Sure but no difference than the same amount of offset wheel. Maybe your wheel bearings will only last 120k miles instead of 200k miles, was it worth it? For me, yes. (Those are hypothetical numbers obviously).

You have a higher chance of a car accident than a tire falling off your vehicle from a wheel spacer.

(Frenchy, honestly do not mean that as a personal attack, it is my normal example I give)

 

[mtsoxfan]

I want to bring my stock wheels out to the fender lip, but that's as far as i like to go for esthetics. any further and the look starts to make me turn away.
Wheel spacers would be my go to for this, as I want to keep the stock wheels and tire size. buuuut.....the price of them in Canada gets stupid.

I have stock tires and wheels, with a Bora 1.25" spacer. Brings the tread edge PDC to the edge of the fender. I put mud flaps on, but the tire sidewall still flings stuff all down the side. Wasn't a deal breaker.
No vibration, or any other negative effects. I actually think it rides nicer...

 

[Frenchy]

Looks like a mini Big Foot! And I mean that in a good way!



I respect your stance but that type of rhetoric is just fearmongering

Poor quality wheel spacers with bad hardware can cause issues, you bet! Good quality ones with proper hardware will serve you well for the life of the vehicle. Like everything, proper maintenance is needed. Check the torque on them during tire rotations.

Does it put more stress on wheel bearings? Sure but no difference than the same amount of offset wheel. Maybe your wheel bearings will only last 120k miles instead of 200k miles, was it worth it? For me, yes. (Those are hypothetical numbers obviously).

You have a higher chance of a car accident than a tire falling off your vehicle from a wheel spacer.

(Frenchy, honestly do not mean that as a personal attack, it is my normal example I give)

Even if you get a "high quality" wheel spacer you still run the risk of the spacer falling off. How you ask? Simple, if the lug nuts holding the spacers down are not torqued correctly(without the brakes being held good luck) then you simply have a high risk. It has happened to many people across the world. If you change offset with only a wheel(not using spacers) you have waynless risk because the lug nuts have a much higher chance of being torqued correctly.

Like it or not it is the truth

 

[mtsoxfan]

Even if you get a "high quality" wheel spacer you still run the risk of the spacer falling off. How you ask? Simple, if the lug nuts holding the spacers down are not torqued correctly(without the brakes being held good luck) then you simply have a high risk. It has happened to many people across the world. If you change offset with only a wheel(not using spacers) you have waynless risk because the lug nuts have a much higher chance of being torqued correctly.

Like it or not it is the truth

How does the brakes not being applied have to do with torqueing lug nuts? Ford Dealer applied brakes when torqueing. No different than torqueing wheels on the ground.

 

[Frenchy]

How does the brakes not being applied have to do with torqueing lug nuts? Ford Dealer applied brakes when torqueing. No different than torqueing wheels on the ground.

For wheel spacers you have no way to torque the lug nuts unless the brakes are held. For tires the tires can touch the ground (no brakes needed) allowing you to torque the lug correctly. If the wheels are in the air and the tech decides to use torque sticks I can pronise you the lugs will fall off(especially if not checked with a torque wrench). To say the least I have seen enough wheels fall off in Automotive.

 

[mtsoxfan]

For wheel spacers you have no way to torque the lug nuts unless the brakes are held. For tires the tires can touch the ground (no brakes needed) allowing you to torque the lug correctly. If the wheels are in the air and the tech decides to use torque sticks I can pronise you the lugs will fall off(especially if not checked with a torque wrench). To say the least I have seen enough wheels fall off in Automotive.

When I did mine originally, I used a snow scraper to hold the brakes down...
I thought you were saying you shouldn't hold brakes.
And WTH is a torque stick?

 

[Frenchy]

When I did mine originally, I used a snow scraper to hold the brakes down...
I thought you were saying you shouldn't hold brakes.
And WTH is a torque stick?

A torque stick is a common device used in automotive that would go in between an impact gun and whatever socket you're using used to torque lug nuts. To say the least it's a horrible idea because even though the torque stick is supposed to have a predetermined torque to not let the plug and socket to go past it's not always accurate.

Here is a link too one set

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-torque-limiting-extension-bar-set-10-pc-69870.html

 

[TheBadger]

So, @Frenchy, if one were to, by some miracle (or ya know... with an axe handle/bat/buddy/spouse/child) hold their brakes on while the spacers are torqued, then they should be fine right?

Instead of all the drama every time someone mentions spacers you could just chime in with a, "make sure they're torqued correctly", and leave it at that.

Hell, you could even start a new thread titled "***IMPORTANT*** Check here before installing spacers" and the message body "Make sure they're torqued correctly."

Unless of course you just like to make drama. Fair enough.

 

[Frenchy]

So, @Frenchy, if one were to, by some miracle (or ya know... with an axe handle/bat/buddy/spouse/child) hold their brakes on while the spacers are torqued, then they should be fine right?

Instead of all the drama every time someone mentions spacers you could just chime in with a, "make sure they're torqued correctly", and leave it at that.

Hell, you could even start a new thread titled "***IMPORTANT*** Check here before installing spacers" and the message body "Make sure they're torqued correctly."

Unless of course you just like to make drama. Fair enough.

And how many people here do you think actually put the wheel spacers on themselves and torque them properly? Better yet how many people here do you believe own a torque wrench? Have you thought about that? Chances are they take it to a shop and the job gets done incorrectly. I'm still waiting for someone on here to report a wheel falling off because of such thing. This isn't me causing drama. This is simply me stating the facts

 

[TheBadger]

You're alright, @Frenchy. Good lookin' out bud.

P.s. @RANGER PRIDE says hi.

 

[awd.nv]

Even if you get a "high quality" wheel spacer you still run the risk of the spacer falling off. How you ask? Simple, if the lug nuts holding the spacers down are not torqued correctly(without the brakes being held good luck) then you simply have a high risk. It has happened to many people across the world. If you change offset with only a wheel(not using spacers) you have waynless risk because the lug nuts have a much higher chance of being torqued correctly.

Like it or not it is the truth

We agree that a proper installation is required, just like anything done to your vehicle.

If the installation was not done properly, which leads to a failure, I would blame the installation rather than the component itself though. If a wheel falls off a bone stock car because it was not torqued down, it is not the wheels fault.

 

[Frenchy]

We agree that a proper installation is required, just like anything done to your vehicle.

If the installation was not done properly, which leads to a failure, I would blame the installation rather than the component itself though. If a wheel falls off a bone stock car because it was not torqued down, it is not the wheels fault.

And that's the exact problem with wheel spacers all together. You have a higher chance of a wheel being installed correctly versus a wheel spacer. That's why I don't recommend wheel spacers whatsoever.

 

[Stangman570]

And that's the exact problem with wheel spacers all together. You have a higher chance of a wheel being installed correctly versus a wheel spacer. That's why I don't recommend wheel spacers whatsoever.

I'm with Frenchy on this one from direct experience. Wheel spacers are perfectly fine for mall crawlers. I've used wheel spacers on my F150 4x4, tacoma 4x4 and paid the price. You put these off road enough times and bind them up from being stuck, climbing rocks, etc they can and will loosen up unexpectedly. My last set (high quality) I ever ran on my 06 tacoma completely sheered the studs completely off when the tire got bound up with full torque (Trust me Tocos ain't that torquieee) Had to walk miles out of the trail I was on at the time. Never again, learned my lesson and now buy the wheels with the correct offset the first time round. Gives me a better piece of mind that I'm not constantly have to remove the tires and recheck the spacer torque at each oil change. Just doubles the work... Just my direct experience that's changed my mind over the years.

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