Wheels spacers, are they really that bad?

[Wes Siler]

I'm debating what size wheel spacers to put on my Ranger, 1 or 1.5 inch. I have the Fox Ford 2.0 lift and am currently running 255/75R 17 tires but would like a wider looking stance. Some two track roads to hunting camp is about it for me, not serious off roading. Thoughts and pictures anyone?

One inch, no more.

Sponsored

 

[awd.nv]

Spacers are okay....Don't cheap out, use high quality Billet spacers...( aka Faction Fab)....Keep width reasonable ,,1.0 - 1.5" ..
Install properly...use a little antiseize, and Red Loc-Tite ...Torque to specs (110 ft lbs)

Yeah, I dont know what all the fear is with spacers. 100% get quality for machining tolerances and included hardware being properly rated. In my time in the auto industry (6yrs) and years being a car nut on top of that, I have never heard of anything more than a vibration caused by poorly made spacers. Still, no excuse to buy cheap ones.

I have been off-roading (dunes and trails), towing and just daily driving with my 1" spacers for at least 2yrs now, never loosen, always good. I went with quality spacers though (FactionFab 1.0").

There are plenty of videos online of peoples wheels coming off on the highway because the wheel was not torqued properly. By this logic, do not drive your vehicle at all without torquing your own wheels. lol that said, I always check the torque on my wheels after it being serviced in case I came across a lazy tech.

Two years ago, a Honda dealer tech forgot to put a bolt in our front brake caliper after a brake job. Thankfully the rotation of the axle kept it from hitting the wheel. It was noticed by my buddy's tire shop when they were replacing our tires about a month after the brake job. I couldn't believe that it was not making any noise and braking fine, good on Honda engineering I guess and some luck.

So, my point is the repair/install workmanship must be done correctly or ANYTHING can fail. I am sure someone has

 

[peterson1604]

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.

Did you have to trim the lugs for them to fit?

 

[Ranger@]

So I’m looking for a new tire and wheel setup and I really like the tremor wheels but the problem is the offset of +55 and tire clearance. Would it really cause me a huge headache to run a 1/4” spacer or would it be better to run a new wheel with a different offset? Sounds like a lot of people on here run spacers but everyone else I talk to says to stay clear of them. I mostly drive to work and school, and some occasional off roading

i have a 2020 ranger with 265 65r18 with 1 1/2 spacer and i think it really adds character to the over all truck appearence

 

[awd.nv]

Did you have to trim the lugs for them to fit?

No not at all. I will say SOMETIMES I wish I went for the 1.5" but the 1.0" is pretty much flush with the Tremor wheels n all.

 

[peterson1604]

No not at all. I will say SOMETIMES I wish I went for the 1.5" but the 1.0" is pretty much flush with the Tremor wheels n all.

This has been an internal debate for me. 1.0 or 1.5 inch? I'm thinking the 1.5 inch may be a bit wide and spray more rock and crap up the side of the truck which could result in some paint chipping.

 

[Wes Siler]

This has been an internal debate for me. 1.0 or 1.5 inch? I'm thinking the 1.5 inch may be a bit wide and spray more rock and crap up the side of the truck which could result in some paint chipping.

Again, if you're fitting taller tires then you want a 1.0-inch spacer to correct scrub radius. 1.5 inches would push that out of spec again, and will also poke your tire outside the wheel arch. Not only does that look stupid, but it will ruin your paint, make the vehicle less stable during emergency braking, and reduce the precision of your steering.

 

[awd.nv]

This has been an internal debate for me. 1.0 or 1.5 inch? I'm thinking the 1.5 inch may be a bit wide and spray more rock and crap up the side of the truck which could result in some paint chipping.

Yeah, I see it like Chip Foose would put 1" spacers on it. That is the approach I took with my Tremor. I want someone to double take when they see it. With the 1" level, 1" wheel spacer and 1" taller tire (k02). It looks like the Ranger Tremor in the Ford app lol. The way it should have been from the factory.

1.5" would be for that slightly more aggressive look.

Sponsored