Wheel Spacers

Post by **Josh_GQ** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:07 pm

I have been told that steel wheel spacers are better than alloy cause they expand, heat up and cool down at the same or similar rate as your hub whereas alloy heats and cools differently so they nuts could work loose.
Can any one tell me if this is true? is it worht the extra $19 per spacer?

thanks

Post by **Area54** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:34 pm

Are you looking at running the wheel spacers full time or just when you put on your play tyres (if you use them)? If only for playtime, seriously think about deeper offset rims (illegal - disclaimer). Using wheel spacers will double your time to change wheels if you only use them for play time. CORE make machined cast steel spacers, I have a mate that runs them full time and never has a problem with them loosening or with balance problems. I also think that the different expansion rates of aluminium to cast steel will have an effect on wheel nuts tension, yet the experience of people on this forum that use aluminium spacers may prove otherwise.

Also with the GQ front end, if you were looking at them for road use, be aware that you may (will) induce excessive front shimmy from the leverage of the front wheels. Oh, and they (spacers) are illegal too (just a disclaimer), but then we all knew that anyway.

Post by **N*A*M** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:43 pm

save your money and get a second set of wide offset rims

Post by **Flange Raider** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:45 pm

well, they certainly won't be used on the road*

as stated, that's illegal... and us outerlimits folk don't tread in those waters*

(*possibly untrue)

Post by **Area54** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:57 pm

Flange Raider wrote:well, they certainly won't be used on the road*

as stated, that's illegal... and us outerlimits folk don't tread in those waters*

(*possibly untrue)

What a pisser!

Ah, yes, :oops:

I would never recommend anything that would be illegal, nor fit any product to my road registered vehicle that may prove to make my vehicle unroadworthy. In fact, I doubt whether anybody on this site even has anything fitted that would make their vehicles unroadworthy, admittedly, there is always the 'extreme' crew with their 33 inch tyres who think they are above the law...hmmph I say to them and their little secret language...

Geez, it didn't take long to hijack the thread...sorry about that... back to the subject...

Post by **Flange Raider** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 2:33 pm

my apologies also..

Post by **greg** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 3:56 pm

N*A*M wrote:save your money and get a second set of wide offset rims

Have to agree - sunraysia rims (between $60 and $120 new), plus $50 each to have them professionally offset to whatever offset you want - it's pretty hard to beat that :cool:

Post by **Leprecaun** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 4:50 pm

Is there any major advantage to getting spacers then... Being in a Terrano Its a fairly wide, squat car so I don't seem to have to many stability problems, but I was looking at offsetting the wheels a bit, but the rims seem to be a more appropriate choice. I go off road most weekends but its a daily driver as well!
Opinions ?

Post by **N*A*M** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 5:30 pm

my recommendation (i used to own a td27t wd21 too)...

remove fibreglass flares if you have them and replace them with a wider flexible flare
fit a low body lift
get offset rims
get 33s
get rear locker
don't crank torsion bars

Post by **Leprecaun** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 5:47 pm

Thanks Nam. Flares are already removed and I have a set of bushranger wides sitting here. Was going to trim the guards to get a bit more space under there, want 33" ideally will get a 2" lift done, will that be enough ?
Rear Locker is coming in 26 days time

What do you mean by don't crank torsion bars ?
Thankyou so much Nam - Finally someone else had a Terrano!!!!!!!!!!

Post by **N*A*M** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 8:04 pm

"cranking" the torsion bars is a cheap and nasty way of achieving lift in the independent front suspension. i don't recommend it as the makes the ride harsh and doesn't really gain articulation.

with IFS, it's difficult to get decent lift unless you get custom control arms. seems that there is some aftermarket support in the US but not much in australia. a 2" lift, if it's a good lift would also increase your articulation. this means 33s will still rub.

i would put a 2" body lift in, hammer the seams of the wheelwells and make as much clearance as you can (trim guards and bumpers if you need too). then fit the biggest tyres you can - probably only 32/33. but with a rear locker, you'd still go pretty good. it's kinda like a little hummer eh?

good on you for doing up a terrano. i kinda miss mine but it wasn't really the vehicle i wanted. it's a tough on because there's not much support available so good luck!

Post by **Leprecaun** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 8:28 pm

I have been fairly fortunate as I thought of doing that, but couldn't work out which way they had to be turned.
I have found with IFS that as long as you pick a decent line I can get most places. I have tried 32" and they touch the wheel arches and flares, so I know that if I take 20mm off they will fit. I am able to take upto 3" off in all the quarters though, trying to find the time is the problem.
Yeah it is like a hummer.
Supprisingly ARB has a fair amount of stuff for it, I am finding out the cost of injector cleaning and the like at the moment.

Still in relation to the original topic how much strain would wider/offset wheels do to my axles/CV's.

Post by **Area54** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 9:16 pm

Leprecaun wrote:
Still in relation to the original topic how much strain would wider/offset wheels do to my axles/CV's.

Rear end should be okay, unless you regularly load up to GVM and travel lots of highway KM, front will suffer more wear from more leverage on your upper and lower ball joints and wishbone bushes, more load on your wheel bearings also.

Post by **-Mick-** » Wed Dec 03, 2003 9:56 pm

Is there any major advantage to getting spacers then... Being in a Terrano Its a fairly wide, squat car so I don't seem to have to many stability problems

They do have a wide track by the looks but extra stability for a small outlay is still worthwhile IMO

Post by **Josh_GQ** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 8:12 am

yah thanks for that,
i only want to run them on the rear at the moment cause i've got enough articulation now that the tyres are scrubbing on the chasis real hard. the reason i dont want offset rims is cause i only have one set of tyres and dont want to be flogging out my bearings all the time as it is a daily driver. although it is only an alloy tray back so maybe it wouldn't have much effect on the bearings in the rear?

Also where do you get rims modified offset for $50?

Post by **Area54** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 8:33 am

Rear application will be fine for your ute.

Give Les Duffell from BATC a call on 3890 4211 for offset rims, he is located at Tingalpa, just around the corner from Todds HiFi.

Post by **Josh_GQ** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 8:35 am

are big offset rims illegal?

Post by **Area54** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 9:35 am

The rims themselves, no. Fitting them to your vehicle and changing the track width from the spec as stated by the vehicle manufacturer, is though.

When you say the current wheels are causing fouling on your chassis, what rim/tyre combo are you currently using?

8 inch 75 series white wheel (sunraysia) is the largest offset that you can get in a mass produced wheel (without going to a 10 inch rim) If you have a not so deep dish rim atm, you may find by changing to a 75 series rim that this may solve your problem. What sort of lift are you running/mods done to the truck? More answers can be given once we know this...

If you are looking for just a rear solution (and you have some funky wheels you don't want to change) perhaps you were right in your original thought of using those things

Post by **hophoar** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 11:55 am

Whats the offset on a 75 series rim?

Post by **Josh_GQ** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 12:34 pm

not sure on the offset of my current rims but there just sunraysia's. i have about 3 inchs of lift on the leaf springs and i have superior shackles. at the moment the shackles are only opening halfway cause the compressed wheel is hitting the chassi and wont allow the other side to drop. i have 33" muddies.

Post by **christover1** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 3:09 pm

I've been using 2" 50mm alloy spacers for over a year, all the time, on loan from a good mate...I have not had any wheel nuts come loose, which is something you should check regularly anyway..they are a pain to take off, 2 sets of nuts....they give same handling as offsetting your rims, the wider ya go, the worse the handling and scrub radius......advantage is you can take them off easily for a rwc, and if ya a skinny tyre lover, like me, you can get the track width, wheras some skinny rims are hard to offset, also useful if ya like alloy wheels...in a nutshell, I'd recommend offsetting ya wheels, way cheaper, and less nuts to check. christipover

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