wheel spacers generally create more problems than they solve, and may result in the destruction of the front hubs.

 

and the 4th day it starts all over... lol... i know i know... i just want to make sure i get what I need for what I do, and don't screw something up... or make a $1K mistake with my lift decision... but my bro is pushing for the PC lift too, so we'll see here in the next two weeks - its gonna go on if all works out

I just want to keep my 20s and I cant run them with the lift w/o the wheel spacers... so if I do the tires first then the lift i figure it will look better than doing the other way around...

 

I bought these from Inland wheel center 909-888-6324 for about $250-$290.

They build them there.

I only got them cause I couldn't find a wheel I wanted in the 5x135mm bolt pattern.

These changed me over to 5x5.5

 

So what are the washer style lug nuts? Do I have them on my factory 18's?

 

bump

 

The 04-08 F-150 uses tapered seat lug nuts with OE wheels.
The washer type mentioned is the 97 - 03 F-150.

 

yes that is correct. i havent looked at the style lugnut on the 04+ models. i had a 98 and it had washer style. my bad.

 

the 97-03's have both types of lugs.

washer and tapered seated lugs. just depends on what wheels you have.

and 2" wheel spacers fried my hubs in 3 months, they also kept comin loose so i had to loc-tite them on.

 

How did they fry your hubs? If you torque the nuts and use loc-tite, how is it any different than using aftermarket wheels?

 

So I towed a 7500 lb. TT about 200 miles last weekend through the mountains on a twisty road. The wheel adapters held up just fine. I checked the lug nut torque after the trip and all were up to spec. Just wanted to provide an update for those who might still be on the fence about doing wheel adapters.

 

could it be because you are using such a big tire in the first place? I want to run these because I don't want to run my 35's in the winter so I am planning on using my factory 18's with a 2 inch spacer so it doesn't look funny and gives my truck a more wider stance. I think if i slap on my factory 18's with a 6 inch lift it will look goofy / be unstable.....please correct me if I am wrong

 

OK. So here is the documented evidence. I broke 3 studs on the left front adapter the other day. I'm not exactly sure why they broke. The only thing I can think of is that when I was pushing my trailer in on the side of the house, I was was in 4-High and turning sharp. Maybe there was too much stress?

I didn't hear any popping or breaking sound but I can't think of any other time I would have stressed the LF wheel to cause a breakage. I only noticed there was an issue after getting up to highway speed that same day. There was a pretty good vibration in the steering wheel. I went back home and jacked up the front to see what was going on. I grabbed the wheel and it literally rocked back and forth. Freaked me out as I was leaving in 2 days for a 1000 mile trip towing my travel trailer.

I took off the hub cap and lo and behold several of the lug nuts came of IN THE CAP. There was no other damage but the broken adapter studs. For those of you (like I did) who think these things can't break, think again. I will NEVER use adapters again, even if they are made out of beryllium with a Rockwell hardness of C100.

I'll post a pic as soon as I can snap one. Any one want to buy 3 good adapters?

 

whats "such a big tire" I bolded that cause i really could use a laugh at the answer

pretty easy to see the problem. i was running the tires for 8 months no issues, added wheel spacers then 2 months later started having hub issues

The wheel spacers are a bad idea. IMO. Specially on the newer F150's that have a very touchy ride.

but do whatever you like.

and whoever asked about aftermarket wheels... they do the exact same thing over time. But the Spacers are generally add TOO much offset and thus causes parts to wear faster. What i also found was aftermarket wheels were balanced better and didnt come loose.

Ill say this, my ride was crap after the wheel spacers, i could take them off and my ride would be fine. put them back on and it would be crap again. Everything was aligned properly and had new ball joints and tie-rods with less than 500 miles on them

but again do whatever you like.

 

geuss no one wants to question my story now.

 

You stated you were using 1.5" adapters, weren't your oem lugs too long and kept the adapter from laying flush against the rotor ? The reason I ask is that I have 2" adapters and have run / towed with them for a couple of years with no issues but they hardly clear the oem stud, I wouldn't think the 1.5" adapter would not be thick enough to clear.
Just curious .