Join Our Ford Truck Forum Today

Document your Ford truck project here and inspire others! Login/Register to view the site with fewer ads.

Wheel spacers

MuddyAxles

MuddyAxles~a van man~
I guess that's what you call them. Some do anyhow. The device used to make the rear wheels track with the front wheels.

I have seen where some swear by them. Others say they are a benefit.

Does anyone use them? Do they actually help?
 

godblessmud

CHECKERS OR WRECKERS
1,596
63
Moscow, ID
before doing the swap to wagoneer dana 44s in the wheeling cherokee my buddy and i installed 4.5" wheel spaces on it in addition to 3.75" of backspacing in order to get used to driving with wider "axles"
 

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
Because the previous owner put on Bushwacker Fender Flares, even the Super Swampers on my rig stuck in a tad too much for me....made me feel like it wasn't filling the wheel well very well, so I put 2" spacers on all four tires and it really made a difference....to me anyways. I've been riding on these spacers for the past 2 years, but I only put on about 1500 miles a year or so on mine, I would guess. I've driven down the highway at 75-80 with no problem.

If I had to do it over again, I'd do away with the flares and then I wouldn't need the spacers. The tires would probably stick out, which would be ok with me.
 

BuzzGun79

Nov.TOTM 2012 / 2012 TOTY
2,388
55
I do have some "mixed feelings on the use of wheel spacers,some like them others dont.I do have a set on my Jeep Wrangler that the previous owner installed...up to this point ive had no trouble with them.the idea behind this is to kick out the wheels on this type of vehicle ( High center of gravity) is to add stability by widening its track to reduce the possibility of a roll over.personaly i dont think i would buy them myself.it is always in the back of my mind,what if the spacer fails or comes loose.
 

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
I do have some "mixed feelings on the use of wheel spacers,some like them others dont.I do have a set on my Jeep Wrangler that the previous owner installed...up to this point ive had no trouble with them.the idea behind this is to kick out the wheels on this type of vehicle ( High center of gravity) is to add stability by widening its track to reduce the possibility of a roll over.personaly i dont think i would buy them myself.it is always in the back of my mind,what if the spacer fails or comes loose.

If you buy quality ones, the hubs will break before the spacers do.
 

BuzzGun79

Nov.TOTM 2012 / 2012 TOTY
2,388
55
Ken Quoted "If you buy quality ones, the hubs will break before the spacers do"

Ken I can respect your statement.and im sure you would not have installed them on that sweet truck of yours if you were not comfortable doing so.Have you had to re torque them? also dont they put stress on the factory lugs more so than the hub itself ?
The reason i ask is, I was taught in Auto Mechanics by the instructor and he does know his stuff, to stay clear of them unless it is a factory design.the risk of shearing the lugs off was his reason.he new someone who yeilded catastrophic results from extreme driving conditions from spacer use to make a custom rim fit his vehicle,Grant it it was long ago but it was something i always remembered.
 
Last edited:

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
Ken Quoted "If you buy quality ones, the hubs will break before the spacers do"

Ken I can respect your statement.and im sure you would not have installed them on that sweet truck of yours if you were not comfortable doing so.Have you had to re torque them? also dont they put stress on the factory lugs more so than the hub itself ?
The reason i ask is, I was taught in Auto Mechanics by the instructor and he does know his stuff, to stay clear of them unless it is a factory design.the risk of shearing the lugs off was his reason.he new someone who yeilded catastrophic results from extreme driving conditions from spacer use to make a custom rim fit his vehicle,Grant it it was long ago but it was something i always remembered.

I did a lot of research before I put those babies on my baby, but from what I've found, wheel spacers are like Moxy and Black Licerice, you either love em or hate em, or you believe in them or don't.

Since my rig isn't a daily driver and I only put a few thousand miles on it annually in the summer, I feel confident from my research to keep these on. Like I mentioened before, I'm even confident to drive this thing down the highway with my family in it. I might be a little more cautious if I had a highway daily commute, but even then, I would tend to lean towards them being ok.

Here's what I heard from my research:

The loads on the studs are no different when bolting on a spacer, then bolting on a wheel, but when bolting on a wheel to the then bolted spacer, the stud loads are supposedly increased to handle more.

Suspension loads are only affected by the centerline of the wheel, which when you go aftermarket or put massive tires on, will completely change anyways.

One company claims to have used spacers on racing cars and extreme off road rigs for over 20 years without a single failure.

And yes, I had them re-torqued after 1000 miles of use the first time they were installed.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
I'm no engineer, but wouldn't the spacer stress the outboard bearing more?..and put more stress on steering parts such as tie rod ends and ball joints?
I know the guys running them on atv's (which is a high load/stress situation) go through those parts more quickly.
 

BuzzGun79

Nov.TOTM 2012 / 2012 TOTY
2,388
55
I'm no engineer, but wouldn't the spacer stress the outboard bearing more?..and put more stress on steering parts such as tie rod ends and ball joints?
I know the guys running them on atv's (which is a high load/stress situation) go through those parts more quickly."quoted by Duncan"

I have to agree Duncan..Under extreme conditions myself i wouldnt recommend their use.as i stated before my jeep does have them(previous owner installed) But i dont subject the vehicle to abuse either..ive had the vehicle about 3 yrs and run 31" tires,so far i have had no prolblems and the tires show no signs of uneven wear in 20k miles with 120k on the clock.I dont want to start a war here,people gotta do what they gotta do and in Kens case I dont think he abuses his rig either.but i see alot of vehicles here where the tires stick way out past the fenders and they are in a bowed state from the extreme spacing..just an accident waiting to happen imo.Now a manufactor of spacers are not going to tell you the risks of their use (nothing personal Ken) for they want you to purchase them and maybe the technology has changed from when i went through the Automotive learning curve back in the mid 70's it probably has. but my instructor who was well versed in High performance vehicles of that era...along with a colledge degree and a ASE Master Tech in the field said they are a no no on any vehicle not designed for their use,especially in high risk situations..There is risk of premature wear on front end components,along with possible lug (hub,bearing) damage your moving weight to the outer part of the spindles...take it for what it is.I did post a couple pics of my jeep in my gallery it does show some tire extension past the wheel wells from spacing....it is not extreme though,and see's daily normal use at highway speeds..but nothing extreme or off road.Bottom line it is a personal choice to use them or not.
 
Last edited:

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
^^^I hear you fellas and I'm no engineer either, just what I've researched before doing anything to my rig.

I think, anything other than factory, when it comes to the mechanics and engineering of a rig (their engineers designed them for reasons they thought was best for the trucks and cars they make), I suppose my train of thought and common sense says anything you do to a rig outside of factory engineered specs is going to alter SOMETHING other than what the factory engineers thought was best for the rig for the technology they had at the time.

-lift kits
-bigger tires
-wheel spacers
-etc, etc, etc.
 

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
I always wondered why the rear axles were narrower.

I didn't even know this.....(shows you how little I really know about this stuff) but my unnkowledgeable guess would be because of loads where pick ups were designed to carry weight in the beds and on the hitch when hauling something.

It's why they have experts I guess. But when half of the experts are saying one thing and the other half are saying another, then what?
 

Ford Truck Articles

Top