I'm toying with the idea... another friend of mine has a jeep Liberty with some spacers and aftermarket rims, and to tell you the truth it looks pretty slick.

I get two sides on the subject of wheel spacers. Some people say no, their a bad idea, they can screw up your truck. Others say their fine if you need'em.

Let's say I got 1/4" spacers. What could I expect? How would it effect the steering performance?

Should I just stay away from them all together and just find some rims that fit fine without rubbing?

 

What are you driving and what do you use it for? tire size? rim size? lift? More info would help...

 

3rd gen, stock suspention, stock rims.(for now)

Considering moving to 18" rims & some toyo ST's to fit'em

 

I've been running 1/4" spacers for many years now (probably 7-8 yrs.). No problems as long as you have enough lug stud length to allow the lug nuts to screw down fully and have at least one thread exposed beyond the nut. I run mine with steel wheels mainly but now have some aluminum wheels and will use them with those as well. Just take care and properly torque and re-check the lug nuts periodically.

 

4Crawler,

What brand of wheel spacers are you using and where can I buy them? I also like to have 1/4" spacers to bring out my tires as I'm having difficulty in looking for 3.75" BS wheels (currently have 4" BS).

Thanks.

 

Not sure what brand they are, whatever the local auto parts store carried, a universal 5- or 6-lug fit:



I do have some extra, they run about $12.50/wheel.

My alloy wheels are 3.75" backspacing, made by American Racing:

 

ask somebody from hawaii, that seems to be a favorite mod on the islands.

 

I used to run a huge spacers on the rear of my prev BMW M Roadster, 20mm as well as on my prev BMW E39, 27mm spacers up front and 12mm spacers in the rear. As long as they are hubcentric and high quality spacers, you shouldn't have a problem with them. Be sure the bolt is long enough... extended bolts are highly recommended.

 

the ones from the parts store never balance, and have been known to crack and fall out, thus leaving you with lose lug nutz. if you get the good ones from protrux that are hub centric, you're good to go. i've been running the 1.5" ones, been down to San Felipe and back no problem. the guys there sware by them. i tihnk they're actually total chaos brand.

 

4Crawler -- Thanks for the pics/info. Are the spacers aluminum or steel?

Kamron -- Protrux have the thick ones. I only need 1/4" thick spacers.

Thanks.

 

well, i can tell you with the .25" spacers you won't be able to tell much of a difference. ..i'm running 4" bs wheels with a .25" spacers and it looks no different without the spacers. i'd go with 3 5/8" bs. ...they will stick out a little, but nothing drastic.

check out www.wheelsforless.com ...they even have free shipping.

i really like these wheels..

http://www.wheelsforless.com/search_...t_ID=ea1014-68

 

Yotas are lug-centric, so spacers like 4crawlers work fine.

I ran the same setup as 4crawler on the front of my 85 for about 13 years and 200,000 miles. Never had any issues. You couldn't even tell they were there. That's not enough spacing to affect much, and it's also not enough to change the "looks." I needed them because my aftermarket rims rubbed the steering components slightly. (Actually the rim didn't - the wheel weight did.)

 

How much torque is needed?

Would they effect the ride at all? How is turning into corners after the spacers?

 

The normal lug nut torque.
And they made no difference what
so
ever.
It's only 1/4".

 

i'll say it again ....1/4" spacers are a waste. ...they make no noticeable difference in the way it looks or drives....except for maybe causing vibrations ..... imho, you would do better to sell your wheels and get some that are backspaced like you want them...

 

Agreed, except they aren't a waste if what you need is just 1/4' ....

And to get wider stance, I would get different wheels rather than the bolt on 1 1/2" or bigger spacers. But then, they seem to be fine on all the SAS rigs so maybe they're okay.

 

i guess i'm thinking about getting some wheel spacers. not really for looks but mainly for the small improvement in handling. wider the better

 

Agreed, 1/4" isn't much unless you are trying to eliminate rubbing and a 1/4" is all thats holding you back.

To safely get a considerable difference in looks, just wait until you're ready to buy new rims and do it then via backspacing. Thats what I did with my old 2nd gen, worked out GREAT!

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