Wheels spacers, are they really that bad?

[McDeuce]

Off-set is not backspacing. Tremor rims are 42mm off-set not 42mm back space. Skip to 0:40 for a description and visual.

Thanks for sharing and adding clarity

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[txquailguy]

I would be more worried about cheap cast wheels than a spacer on an OEM Ford wheel. Every now and then you see a wheel break off a road car at an open track day.....impressive grip but shouldn't have cheaped out on wheels.

TECHNICALLY yes, not having them is one less failure point but a quality spacer that is installed properly and checked on tire rotations won't give you any surprises. I have zero worries about mine. It comes down to quality of product and quality of install.

I don't worry a bit about my spacers. If I did I sure wouldn't push my truck like I do....The bottom line is if you can get the look you want with a good wheel/offset it's one less breaking point at the wheel. I've run mine for over 50K with no bearing or tire wear issues....proper torque is essential and I definitely recommend application of an anti-seize compound.
I'm running 1.5" FactionFab spacers and XD Series Rockstar II wheels with a +30 offset.....
Tires are 265 60/18's

 

[Zvedza]

Was a little hesitant to run spacers on my truck due to all the stigma around them. They havent budged within 500ish miles since i put them on, and i checked them twice during that period.

One thing that calmed me down a bit was that these pre runner or w/e you call them builds generally run massive spacers in the rear to match the fronts. If those dudes can handle monster jumps on 35s, im sure mine can handle some decent trails, or at least, hopefully lol.

Too bad my fronts are rubbing when i hit bumps while turning, not keen on trimming my fenders or the plastic behind it.

(not my truck, i wish though)

 

[Zvedza]

Good to see you used the same amount of antiseize i did, was worried i may have over done it.

 

[awd.nv]

I don't worry a bit about my spacers. If I did I sure wouldn't push my truck like I do....The bottom line is if you can get the look you want with a good wheel/offset it's one less breaking point at the wheel. I've run mine for over 50K with no bearing or tire wear issues....proper torque is essential and I definitely recommend application of an anti-seize compound.
I'm running 1.5" FactionFab spacers and XD Series Rockstar II wheels with a +30 offset.....
Tires are 265 60/18's

**Snip photos**

Yeah I agree with that for sure.

Good to see you used the same amount of antiseize i did, was worried i may have over done it.

Yeah that is a good application, Any excess will just get pushed out

 

[BiilyJones]

Seems like a good price to me.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Wheel-Sp...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

I really appreciate the link! Very well made and it doesn't look like it's tippy toeing anymore. Thanks again me. ?

 

[Wes Siler]

It's perfectly safe running a quality, modern wheel spacer. Spidertrax, FactionFab, etc.

BUT, you don't want to add so much additional width that your poke the tires out of the wheel wells, as many people here have done. In addition to destroying your paint, that much extra track width ruins your scrub radius (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrub_radius#:~:text=The scrub radius is the,ball joints of the hub.) which will make your steering less precise, and reduce stability under heavy braking. It's also death on your wheel bearings.

The correct wheel spacer size for stock offset wheels (+55) is one inch. No more, no less.

Here's my truck, with one inch spacers, and both stock wheels and ROW Ranger Raptor wheels (same offset). The ATs are 285/75-17 and the winters are 285/70.





TL;DR: Don't poke your tires outside the arches. It's dumb, ruins your truck, and people will laugh at you.

 

[BiilyJones]

It's perfectly safe running a quality, modern wheel spacer. Spidertrax, FactionFab, etc.

BUT, you don't want to add so much additional width that your poke the tires out of the wheel wells, as many people here have done. In addition to destroying your paint, that much extra track width ruins your scrub radius (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrub_radius#:~:text=The scrub radius is the,ball joints of the hub.) which will make your steering less precise, and reduce stability under heavy braking. It's also death on your wheel bearings.

The correct wheel spacer size for stock offset wheels (+55) is one inch. No more, no less.

Here's my truck, with one inch spacers, and both stock wheels and ROW Ranger Raptor wheels (same offset). The ATs are 285/75-17 and the winters are 285/70.





TL;DR: Don't poke your tires outside the arches. It's dumb, ruins your truck, and people will laugh at you.

 

[Ibanezbass671]

So far been running 1.5" spacers for about 14 months now with no issues. Just did my 10k service and tire rotation. No signs of any abnormal wear. It helps to get good quality wheels spacers. One I got is from Spacer Experts, these are made of high quality 6061 T6 aerospace aluminum, CNC, 93.1mm hub-centric and made in the USA. I used some high strength thread lock and anti-seized.

 

[Msfitoy]

88K, 1" + spacers and +20 wheel offset...zero issues...

120K+...still solid...

 

[kendive]

Wheel spacers have gotten a bad name from the kind that are not hub centric, meaning the studs are all that keep them in alignment. Those kind can cause vibrations and such. Good quality hub centric spacers will center themselves off the hub like oem wheels as well as use good hardware so you should not have any issues.

I am running 1" factionfab spacers for about 5k miles now without issues.

Yes don't skimp on good ones.

I had the 1.5" Fred Goeske wheel spacers on my 15 F150 for years and years. I towed and all they were solid.

 

[kieefer]

Here’s my 2cents.
I mounted 1” spacers on stock wheels with 265/75/18 Michelin tires. Perfect setup and appearance for my use.

Issues, Tire Discounters had the best price on my tires, and mounted them with the spacers in place, at that time they never noticed or mentioned the spacers. They also aligned it.

5k later I go in for a R&B and even though they did the job they said they won’t be able to next time. They also mentioned ball joint movement, I jacked it up myself and felt none.

10k later went to another store and the previous store made a note in my account, refused to R&B because of spacers mounted.

15k later I rotated myself and notice slight inside tire wear. Checking on alignment quotes three shops mentioned they won’t align if spacers are added.

So I decided to remove them. Immediately noticed the truck felt a bit more nimble. Over time the lack of added width and appearance was unnoticeable.

Your local shops may not have “issues” but it wasn’t worth the hassle for me.

 

[awd.nv]

Here’s my 2cents.
I mounted 1” spacers on stock wheels with 265/75/18 Michelin tires. Perfect setup and appearance for my use.

Issues, Tire Discounters had the best price on my tires, and mounted them with the spacers in place, at that time they never noticed or mentioned the spacers. They also aligned it.

5k later I go in for a R&B and even though they did the job they said they won’t be able to next time. They also mentioned ball joint movement, I jacked it up myself and felt none.

10k later went to another store and the previous store made a note in my account, refused to R&B because of spacers mounted.

15k later I rotated myself and notice slight inside tire wear. Checking on alignment quotes three shops mentioned they won’t align if spacers are added.

So I decided to remove them. Immediately noticed the truck felt a bit more nimble. Over time the lack of added width and appearance was unnoticeable.

Your local shops may not have “issues” but it wasn’t worth the hassle for me.

No idea what their problem is. The Ford dealer does my rotations and never mentioned an issue with the spacers once.

 

[Frenchy]

No idea what their problem is. The Ford dealer does my rotations and never mentioned an issue with the spacers once.

The fact that no shop wants to have the liability of a wheel falling off because of a spacer. It's just too much hassle

 

[subquark]

This thread brings to me this incredible video (you've all seen it):

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