Are wheel spacers as bad as my friends are making them out to be? They are all saying NO NO NO? Input?

 

I think it depends on how much of a spacer you are talking about. I think if you just need a 1/4" for clearance issues you will be OK. If you can possibly avoid them I would.

 

How big of a wheel spacer do you want to get? Most are made out of aluminum and depending on the size of your tires could prove to be dangerous. I have a buddy on here willys555 or something like that who has an almost identical truck to mine with lug adapters/ spacers on his front wheels and unfortunaltey with him running 38.5 baja claws the extra stress it added to his lugs actually sheered them right off. this happend a few times causing his wheel to roll off as he was driving down the road. Which caused the adapter to break.

If you really want them look for a pair that are a good quality/name brand not some knockoff on ebay

Just my .02 cents

 

I dont need clearance or anything, i recently sold my 16.5 x 14 weld rims and the new wheel combo i have now are 12.5 wide. i just really miss the look of my 14.5 parnelli jones on the 14inch wide weld rims. just trying to get a little bit of a wider stance.

 

If that's the case I would have to agree with your friends - don't do it. I don't know the OS/BS differences between two wheels, so I don't know the ultimate loss in stance width you experienced that you are trying to make up for.

 

majority rules. i guess i will need to look into some new wide rims and tires. sucks because i just bought these ones.

 

BTY: Good looking bow! Im a Hoyt man myself though

 

Thank you! Hoyt makes a great bow too. I think when you start comparing companies like Bowtech, Mathews, Hoyt, etc its about which one feels best to the one using it, they can all perform.

 

Agreed!

 

Yo MD, If you know.... could you explain why the problems are, and the geometry associated with the problems for wheel spacers. Lets assume we are talking a 1" or 1.25" Fred Goeske Hub Centric Spacer here. My local 4X4 shop strongly suggested staying away from them, and seemed a little too eager to sell me new wheels with a different offset. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the difference.

 

Places extra stress on hubs most of all. Grab a 15lb weight and hold it close to you. Then extend your arms out straight and hold the weight. Over simplified analogy but same concept. Thats what spacers(actually wheel adapters is what you are talking about) do to your hubs. The weight is not being supported directly on the hubs as it should. Hope that helps

 

But this example does little to substantiate the difference between "spacers" and wheels with a different offset, in my head anyways. With either methon, and the wheel being pushed out an inch further, the same pressure increase is applied to the hub assy, is it not? I'm not seeing the math.......

 

So with a wheel with a differnt bs than stock(would be less bs to push it out) they weight is still bolted directly to the hub. With adapters the weight is not bolted directly to hub. Its bolted to adapter which is bolted to hub. Although rims sit at same distance out from hub the way the weight is being distributed is a differnt way. Thats where the extra stress comes from.

 

i need some 1 1/2 or 2 inch wheel spacers 4 a 7 lug f150 the bolt pattern is 7 on 150

 

Most of what I hear you guys talking about is front mount applications (I think)...front clearance issues, front wheels breaking off and rolling down the road etc.

I hate to even say this but...I actually like the stock wheels I have, but the front track seems wider than the back, or somehow the front wheels come to the edge of the fender and the rear wheels do not.
Soooo...I too wanted to space (just) the rear wheels out a bit...
Everyone seems to be against it, and in an off-road racing environment, I would be too...without question. But Stock wheels and tires, on a little 4.6 liter V8, 2wd, street use (maybe a slow dirt road) rear only (non turnng) application, doesn't that seem less risky?

Or, is the risk the same with a 500 horsepower, 35" tired, 4wd, front wheel application in Baja (load factor wise I mean, obviously not conditions))