Anyone run wheel spacers? I figured my rims are already 8" wide, so they can take up to a 12.50 wide tire (give or take) but I would like them to stick out a bit. Also, I figured they would be way cheaper than new rims, although I know there's the possibility of putting more wear on the ball joints and bearings. Thanks.

 

I run a 1-1/4" bolt on hubcentric spacer. you need to re-tourque them every oil change, but so far I have had zero issues. I replaced my ball joints just before they went on, so cant be much worse the ball joints were trashed without spacers and big tires!

 

Hubcentric spacers are good for stock rims. Aftermarket rims need to use lug centric spacers, because the new rim won't ride on the hub like a stock rim.

 

im using 1.5" hub centric spacers w/o problems. decided i better get them now so down the road when i upgrade my tires there wont be any fitment issues.

 

agreed

 

There is a changing of the guard I think here. Used to be they were really looked down on by just about everyone. You heard horror story after horror story about them failing. I personally know a guy lost his wheel while on an exit ramp in rush hour traffic in Atlanta about twelve years ago.

But more and more guys are using them, and you don't hear a lot of negatives like you used to. Maybe materials and technology is getting better? Dunno?

Personally, I would never use them, but a lot of guys do...

 

At my dads shop we won't change wheels/tires if the vehicle has spacers.

 

Wheel spacers used to be made from cheap cast metal with slotted holes for the wheel studs. They were prone to slipping and cracking. The slipping made it impossible to balance, and the cracking resulted in an instantly loose tire. Those type were/are very dangerous.

Modern spacers are made from billet hardened aluminum and can be had in lug centric and or hub centric version. There is no comparison between the two types. Shops that refuse to work with modern spacers are simply stuck in the past.

 

If that were completely true then we wouldn't have had recent events of them failing. A lot of owners do not retighten them like they should. Given the failures were under extreme conditions the profit from working on the vehicles doesn't outweigh the liability.

 

I don't know what kind of spacer you even used. Did they bolt to the hub with a new set of lugs for the rim? Probably not.

I'm not talking about some ghetto set of 2" spacers that simply slide over the original lugs....