wheel spacers pros and cons

[NEILH]

hi , im thinking of some wheel spacers on my vitara . whats the pros and cons ? and whats there purpose?

       thanks neil

[Terranosaurus]

Cons:

Increase loading on whee bearing can lead to premature failure.
On the type that use a replacement, longer stud, increase loading on wheel stud possibly leading to failure of wheel stud.
On the type that bolt onto hub and then have own studs through the wheel - one more set of nuts/bolts to come undone on a critical point - the wheel.
Increased loading on steering.
Bad ackerman leading to increased tyre wear on the road and imprecise steering due to the 2 front wheels fighting each other on different but incorrect turn radius.

Pros:
Can make smaller/narrow tyres fill the arches better.
Can adapt wheels from other models to correct offset, when much of the cons do not apply. Or even adapt 5 stud to 6 stud and vica versa.
Increase steering lock when fitted with wider wheel/tyre combos that rub inner wing or suspension member.


Pros/Cons
Can soften the effective rate of the suspension due to greater leverage over the spring. This can be a plus or a minus. On beam axles this only applies in roll where roll will increase.
With independent suspension this is all the time. Truck will sit slightly lower with wheel spacers. (it will measure it if you don't beleive me).

Personally I am not a fan, would rather use different offset wheels, which still increases loading and steering/suspension effects etc but at least removes much of the problems with the studs. If I were to use the bolt on type I would definitely apply stud lock or better still lockwire the bolts/nuts in place.

[davidlandy]

a pro is that if u raise your truck then it will be less stable - if u put on spacers then u make it more stable again.

[Whatmot]

i was put off using wheel spacers because people have been known to have them fail at dangerous moments eg at high speed, which as you might guess could lead to a serious accident. however, others have been using them for years and havent had problems, personally ive decided not to run the possible risk and got 1" offset rims instead

[marjan]

Had them on my Vit for over a year and have had no adverse effects. I regularly travel at high speed and with a lift I'm sure they help the stability.

[davidlandy]

i m ok with them

as long as you make sure that the surface of the hub is clean when you fit them - I didnt and one came loose!  :shock:

[larry]

I have been running on spacers with 32"s and 33"s for over two years no problems

[generation-x]

as with larry ive run spacers for 4 yrs with no issues

simon

[wrecker]

ive run with spacers b4 i got wider wheels and no probs,BUT,,,

like above,make sure the area to whitch the spacer sits against is clean becouse mine came very close to coming off :shock:  :shock:

cleaned it put it back and was fine :D  :D

mark