Wheel Spacers; Good or Bad?

Bullet

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Looking at getting the FFP 2.0 sometime and with that I'd like to bump out the wheels for a slightly broader stance. I want to use my factory 18's, cuz I'm not looking to drop $ on new wheels.

I've read, "Spacers are bad, tears up the ball joints blah blah blah." and "Never had trouble with spacers blah blah blah."

Now I realize sticking the wheels wayyy out from the hub is a recipe for disaster. I'm not looking at doing that. Would 1.5" be too much? Or should I look to remedy it with a wheel offset down the road?

Thoughts please.... and THANK YOU!

(I know this information is already on here somewhere, but frankly I don't want to take the time to look through everything.)
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Frenchy

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So wheel spacers are most of the time a bad idea. Why you might ask? Well for quite a few reasons. To start with it can accelerate where on certain things like hubs and ball joints and other things if you go out too far. The same effect would happen if you went too far out with a wheel as well. Another thing to consider is the fact that you just added another joint that can fail. It could be as simple as the lug nuts coming loose because they were not torqued down correctly to hold the wheel spacer on or the fact that they just decided to break because that's extra load put on it. Does that sound a little silly to you? Well I certainly hope not because it can happen. I understand that you don't necessarily want to spend the money on Wheels right now probably because your pocketbook is a little tight at the moment. If you ask me I don't think it's worth the risk putting wheel spacers on. If you're on the street you could get away with it but if you're going off-road I highly suggest you don't even bother with them.

Here are some videos that will help explain a little bit more.



 

Dr.Me

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Simple, if you're strictly on road its fine, if you're doing any "performance" like off-road, wouldn't recommend.

Personally once I get some offset rims I'll probably buy spacers for stock tires, strictly for road use. But in general most people don't recommend spacers over offset rims.
 

AutobotXJ

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I’m going to be the oddball I guess and say that if you get a quality set and install correctly you will be fine, even in offroad situations. I had one for years on my XJ until I could afford offset rims and I used those spacers offroad. Not XXXtreme offroad, but lots of fun nonetheless.
The above are correct when they say it adds an extra fail point, but just keep that in mind when you rotate your tires to check the torque. Keeping your factory wheel offsets are the safest. Next would be offset wheels. Spacers are not the best but it can be a good option.
 

apotocki

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Looking at getting the FFP 2.0 sometime and with that I'd like to bump out the wheels for a slightly broader stance. I want to use my factory 18's, cuz I'm not looking to drop $ on new wheels.

I've read, "Spacers are bad, tears up the ball joints blah blah blah." and "Never had trouble with spacers blah blah blah."

Now I realize sticking the wheels wayyy out from the hub is a recipe for disaster. I'm not looking at doing that. Would 1.5" be too much? Or should I look to remedy it with a wheel offset down the road?

Thoughts please.... and THANK YOU!

(I know this information is already on here somewhere, but frankly I don't want to take the time to look through everything.)
I recently made the decision to add spacers to my stock OEM wheels. I researched and read a lot about spacers before I made the decision.
I wanted the stance to look a bit more aggressive and decided to go with 1 inch Faction Fab HUB CENTRIC quality spacers. I've had them on for about 2500 miles and couldn't be happier.
Will I have a problem? Well, maybe. Yes, the wheels are moved out 1 inch (which I have a hard time thinking the bearings and such have such little tolerance that they are going to fail 'a lot' sooner). I would think wider, taller, heavier wheels and tires would also possibly cause a problem - right? Do they introduce another possible point of failure due to another set of studs and lug nuts? Yes, but.....if you do the install correctly by using loctite (I used blue) and properly torque them - and do a torque check after 500 or so miles I doubt this will be an issue. I've checked mine twice with no issues.
If you do go the spacer route - buy a quality set like BORA - which ironically stands for BULLETPROOF 'OFF ROAD' ADAPTER or Faction FAB.
 


OFC Ranger

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Too much boogy-man.

1. Buy single piece T6 aluminum CNC machined.

2. Hubcentric

3. Pressed Grade 8 bolts or better

4. Red Locktite + Adjustable Torque Wrench

5. Research and buy American Made when it comes to critical parts. I'm all about some cheap chi-com plastics on non-critical items. Chinese can make whatever and claim whatever on the box with no punishment for faulty or poorly made parts, especially through Amazon or Ebay.

5. If it cost $60 on eBay for a full set of four, not no, but hell no. Items 1-3 cost time and money, I'd say your rock bottom minimum price point is going to be $150 and up for four. I did not buy BORA brand, but I did buy American made from a smaller known company out of California. I got four 2" spacers for about $170. They come bare aluminum with no additional coating, which keeps price down. You can always coat them yourself if you want.

Name brand off road equipment is extremely durable, but I fully believe the mark-up to recoupe R&D & product moldings is also astronomical (Cold Air Intake products are a great example of this). I have a mixture of name brand, lesser known, and cheap Amazon doo-dads for the non-critical stuff.

I mean I know its blasphemy, but chicom Nilight LED bars/pods are a great deal on Amazon if you take some time to add extra epoxy sealent. Then again, I am not a serious off-roader, mine is more bug out built.
 
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HDR

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I just recently bought a set of BORA 1.5 spacers. Very well made! They had a card inside the box that stated not to use any lock-tite, and if any was used, the warranty would be voided. It just said to drive 50 miles then check and re-torque. Just putting out there BORA's policy on install.
 

SheepDogRain-Jar

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So if I keep the size tire I currently have on my 2019 (255/65/17) and add a 1.5-2 inch spacer for the looks will that cause any issues with rubbing/removal of crash bars? I plan to put similar size M/T tires on and zero offset wheels but I plan to stay pretty much stock in size. Anyone see an issue??
 

Frenchy

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So if I keep the size tire I currently have on my 2019 (255/65/17) and add a 1.5-2 inch spacer for the looks will that cause any issues with rubbing/removal of crash bars? I plan to put similar size M/T tires on and zero offset wheels but I plan to stay pretty much stock in size. Anyone see an issue??
I would suspect there's a great possibility. The best thing you can do to verify is turn your wheels all the way in One Direction and the other and when they're turned all the way to each Direction measure 1 and 1/2 inch to 2 inch out from where the tire is right now. That will tell you where the tire will sit and whether you will have any rubbing most likely. Does that make sense?
 

Msfitoy

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For my purpose of filling out the stance and mild (meaning sensible) off roading + highway, I use 1.25" spacer from https://wheeladaptersusa.com/

I wouldn't do it if your drag racing and catching air lol...just another weak point that would end up badly...
 

P. A. Schilke

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So if I keep the size tire I currently have on my 2019 (255/65/17) and add a 1.5-2 inch spacer for the looks will that cause any issues with rubbing/removal of crash bars? I plan to put similar size M/T tires on and zero offset wheels but I plan to stay pretty much stock in size. Anyone see an issue??
HI Bill,

Yes, you will be creating a potential increase in the instance of wheel separation from the vehicle. Anytime you introduce a joint face and with a spacer you introduce two, you increase the chance of the joint working against its interface of which you have two. Brake disk to space and space to wheel. I have had my engineers test this on our Flat track machine time and time and the torque fall off is unfortunately highly likely. Fall off of Torque for wheel loosening...maybe, and maybe not. Also, spacers increase scrub radius beyond what is tested by Ford.

So you add spacers as many have done and state they have no problem...well maybe they do not recognize that the tire wear is reduced. When you deviate from OEM, you pays your $ and you takes your chances. I do not recommend wheel spacer unless the afermarket provider has documented via testing to Ford Standards that the spacers meet the durability criteria. Not sure, but last I looked at the Ford Performance offerings...spacers are not there. There is a tread here on these forums that I presented a back story of wheel separation on Ranger

You can find it here...
https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/colored-lug-nuts.2184/page-2#post-53338

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 

Msfitoy

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HI Bill,

Yes, you will be creating a potential increase in the instance of wheel separation from the vehicle. Anytime you introduce a joint face and with a spacer you introduce two, you increase the chance of the joint working against its interface of which you have two. Brake disk to space and space to wheel. I have had my engineers test this on our Flat track machine time and time and the torque fall off is unfortunately highly likely. Fall off of Torque for wheel loosening...maybe, and maybe not. Also, spacers increase scrub radius beyond what is tested by Ford.

So you add spacers as many have done and state they have no problem...well maybe they do not recognize that the tire wear is reduced. When you deviate from OEM, you pays your $ and you takes your chances. I do not recommend wheel spacer unless the afermarket provider has documented via testing to Ford Standards that the spacers meet the durability criteria. Not sure, but last I looked at the Ford Performance offerings...spacers are not there. There is a tread here on these forums that I presented a back story of wheel separation on Ranger

You can find it here...
https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/colored-lug-nuts.2184/page-2#post-53338

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
Hi Phil...I like to understand more about tire wear you mentioned...also, with or without wheels spacers, aren't most of who have aftermarket wheels with greater offset already creating a negative situation in respect to factory designed stress envelope?
 

P. A. Schilke

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Hi Phil...I like to understand more about tire wear you mentioned...also, with or without wheels spacers, aren't most of who have aftermarket wheels with greater offset already creating a negative situation in respect to factory designed stress envelope?
Hi Sid,

When you increase the radius of pivot with a spacer, You are not just rolling the tire around more due to caster and camber...thus you are asking the tread to slide across the pavement to some extent....What that extent is not documented but you are correct...increasing wheel off set had the a similar affect. Scrub radius is a term that means the tire scrubs across the pavement and an increase in scrub radius may promote more tire wear.

Another Back Story. We involved with the SCCA Racetruck Challenge, and I had test mule to develop things to make the Ranger Road racer faster. We changed the offset of the wheels to see if we could "bend" the rules and see if it merited trying to fudge, or leave alone. So we chose to offset wheels by about 1". Several test sessions showed minor improvement, but we were wearing out the "stock" shaved Goodyear tires faster than before we changed the offset. The tires were not lasting noticably, so I when to my Vehicle Dynamics CAE folks to understand what was going on. They did an analysis and then a simulation that showed the tire contact patch scrubbing, not turning. Bottom line...we abandoned the idea as the gain was minimal but my tire bill to The Tire Rack took a hit.

With all this....I have no idea of the geometry on the 5G Ranger and how it affects tire wear. Problem is aftermarket tires wear at an undocumented amount. When I had to remove the Firestone Tires from Ranger thanks to the Firestone/Jaques Nasser fiasco, we had to test any tire available to the Ranger owner. The handling and wear were assessed...wear was all over the map...handling had to meet certain criteria. Back story to the Back story....I was introduced to Hancook tires...they tested as junk and we discarded them from the list of tires approved for replacement of the Firestone tires for all Rangers. Then here comes my 2016 MKX on Hancook tires...Very poor wear as I had to replace at 22,000 miles...very poor tire wear.

Okay...Not sure I answered your question as you install spacers and accept the wear...is it good or marginal...who knows unless it is tested for tire wear.

Take away...if you have spacer...check your wheel torque ... Spacer to rotor...not sure how you check that but maybe the spacer mfg knows this...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 

Msfitoy

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Hi Sid,

When you increase the radius of pivot with a spacer, You are not just rolling the tire around more due to caster and camber...thus you are asking the tread to slide across the pavement to some extent....What that extent is not documented but you are correct...increasing wheel off set had the a similar affect. Scrub radius is a term that means the tire scrubs across the pavement and an increase in scrub radius may promote more tire wear.

Another Back Story. We involved with the SCCA Racetruck Challenge, and I had test mule to develop things to make the Ranger Road racer faster. We changed the offset of the wheels to see if we could "bend" the rules and see if it merited trying to fudge, or leave alone. So we chose to offset wheels by about 1". Several test sessions showed minor improvement, but we were wearing out the "stock" shaved Goodyear tires faster than before we changed the offset. The tires were not lasting noticably, so I when to my Vehicle Dynamics CAE folks to understand what was going on. They did an analysis and then a simulation that showed the tire contact patch scrubbing, not turning. Bottom line...we abandoned the idea as the gain was minimal but my tire bill to The Tire Rack took a hit.

With all this....I have no idea of the geometry on the 5G Ranger and how it affects tire wear. Problem is aftermarket tires wear at an undocumented amount. When I had to remove the Firestone Tires from Ranger thanks to the Firestone/Jaques Nasser fiasco, we had to test any tire available to the Ranger owner. The handling and wear were assessed...wear was all over the map...handling had to meet certain criteria. Back story to the Back story....I was introduced to Hancook tires...they tested as junk and we discarded them from the list of tires approved for replacement of the Firestone tires for all Rangers. Then here comes my 2016 MKX on Hancook tires...Very poor wear as I had to replace at 22,000 miles...very poor tire wear.

Okay...Not sure I answered your question as you install spacers and accept the wear...is it good or marginal...who knows unless it is tested for tire wear.

Take away...if you have spacer...check your wheel torque ... Spacer to rotor...not sure how you check that but maybe the spacer mfg knows this...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
Thanks for your detailed insight as usual Phil...I drive slow to compensate for any added stress lol...but I do drive far ?
 

SheepDogRain-Jar

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Thanks to Misfittoy, Frenchie and oc Phil for such a detailed analysis. I think my (limited) money would be better spent elsewhere like LED lights or a nudge bar. Still putting off tires and wheels till next year when I win the lottery (I guess I better start buying tickets!) or Mama (Congress!) authorizes the line item!
Always enjoy reading replies in this thread, is a nice change from cell microbiology or how the body produces ATP (especially when I get into my Ranger w Tux and we go for a ride!!) Ha! Thx again.
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