Wheel spacers? bad idea?

dirthound · 02-02-2009, 10:45 PM

So far my Jeep is completely stock...is it ok to put spacers behind the rims to throw the wheels out a bit? I was thinking .750 each side or more?

sethr21785 · 02-02-2009, 10:48 PM

i have wheel adapters on my tacoma. had no problems at all. just dont get the cheap ones off ebay. spidertrax.com is where i got mine.

**IslandTJ** · 02-04-2009, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sethr21785

i have wheel adapters on my tacoma. had no problems at all. just dont get the cheap ones off ebay. spidertrax.com is where i got mine.

My ebay 1.25" spacers are on my daily driven TJ, no issues to date

**Unlimited04** · 02-04-2009, 08:38 AM

if you're going to get wheel spacers, do yourself a favor and get a quality brand. pay close attention to the alloy of aluminum they use - Spidertrax uses the best (6061-T6), many other cheapo ebay manufacturers only use 6061 or 6061-T4. Whats the difference? About 27,000 psi and 19,000 psi of yield strength respectively [1]. Spidertrax wheel spacers are also hub centric, which is a good thing. so long story short, stick with http://www.spidertrax.com wheel spacers.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6061_aluminum

I run Spidertrax wheel spacers and I've been to their manufacturing facility twice and have been extremely impressed with them.

**IslandTJ** · 02-04-2009, 03:43 PM

TJs are lug centric.

**Unlimited04** · 02-04-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IslandTJ

TJs are lug centric.

yup, because they use acorn style lug nuts. hub centric simply means there is a detail on the hub to center the wheel, so when you slap the wheel on its not resting on the lug nuts alone. it rests on the axle detail that sticks out, or in the case of spacers, it rests on the hub centric portion of the wheel spacer. this is an advantage when you're changing tires because you set the tire on the hub and walk away and the weight of the tire isn't sitting on 2 or 3 threads of one or two lug nuts. this way, when you tighten down your lug nuts, the lug nuts don't have to push the weight of the tire up to center the wheel. hub centric isnt necessary, but it sure makes life a little bit easier.

see that shelf in the center of the hub your wheel rests on when lug nuts are NOT tightened??

Wheel spacers that are NOT hub centric don't have this detail:

But hub centric wheel spacers do:

Look at the backside of a pair of Spidertrax wheel spacers, they're actually machined to have the same details as the backside of stock Jeep alloy wheels. After learning all this in talking with one of the co-owners of Spidertrax about the subtle differences, I decided to buy their product.

**IslandTJ** · 02-04-2009, 06:52 PM

Unlimited04, that's actually a good explanation

OP, the Spidertrax spacers are probably the best spacers out there for your TJ. They are definitely a quality sound product that should put anyone’s mind at ease, especially those who are hesitant on using spacers.

I like the look of my stock gambler wheels and decided on using spacers to get rid of the washers on my steering stops. IMO they are a great product for Jeepers who opt to keep a particular wheel.

**spyder6** · 02-04-2009, 07:45 PM

i have been running spidertrax spacers for 24,000 miles and i have nothing but good things to say about them

dirthound · 02-05-2009, 01:12 PM

Each kit comes with only 2 wheel spacers? $200 to do the whole Jeep sounds a bit steep. Maybe I'll just machine my own...

**spyder6** · 02-05-2009, 01:54 PM

hope you dont kill yourself

**Unlimited04** · 02-05-2009, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirthound

Each kit comes with only 2 wheel spacers? $200 to do the whole Jeep sounds a bit steep. Maybe I'll just machine my own...

like i outlined above, you get what you pay for. Spidertrax wheel spacers are still cheaper than buying 5 cheapo steel wheels with the same backspacing. course if watch the forums and craigslist long enough you'll get a great deal on a set. call Spidertrax, almost every production run they do they'll have blem sets - usually f'ed anodizing, and they pretty much sell those for 1/2 off.

btw, I'm a mechanical engineer with access to mills and lathes, and I wouldn't think of making a set of these. Spidertrax has it down to a freakin' science with CNC's.

dirthound · 02-14-2009, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unlimited04

like i outlined above, you get what you pay for. Spidertrax wheel spacers are still cheaper than buying 5 cheapo steel wheels with the same backspacing. course if watch the forums and craigslist long enough you'll get a great deal on a set. call Spidertrax, almost every production run they do they'll have blem sets - usually f'ed anodizing, and they pretty much sell those for 1/2 off.

btw, I'm a mechanical engineer with access to mills and lathes, and I wouldn't think of making a set of these. Spidertrax has it down to a freakin' science with CNC's.

They would be tough...

I'm a ME too (high 5!)- I'm in the process of modeling them up on SolidWorks. Next I'll output it into GibbsCAM and then off to the HAAS!

Wouldn't be too hard to turn them down and use the rotary table to do the C'Bores if one were so inclined

It's nice to have access to this stuff ain't it

ak4774 · 02-14-2009, 09:48 PM

I run 1.25 spacers with a bolt pattern change to run jk moabs, no problem, you do get what you pay for