Wheel spacers.. are they really that bad?

[crankycruiser]

I know they are illegal, but are they really that bad? do they come loose?

Im having problems getting the same offset rims for my 80 as wat i have on it, well if i spend 480 a wheel i can get mickey t DC-1's in 12" wide and that gives me the same offset.. but they are a bit bling for me!

So i was thinking of getting something that was cheaper and just using wheel spacers?

bad idea?

EDIT: have now answered my own question in post 12!

[alien]

if you get billet steel ones (theyre very heavy!) then its not so bad - but its something else that HAS to be checked frequently as they do come loose.

Personally i'd sooner have rims flipped than spacers put in.

[stock 4runner]

i have run a set of 5 inch spacers and they only ever come loose if they wernt fitted right wich was a bit of mud behind one cause i fitted them in the rain . my two previous sets were both 2 inch and both where on cars for over a year and i never touched them once fitted

[Micka]

I've been using them on road for quite a while now and they have not come loose. I've checked them a few times now and then and they are fine.

I bought them to get some steering lock back and thought that I would put them on just for wheeling. Turns out that I was too lazy to change them again.

Apart from the whole "they are illegal" thing - but so is the rest of the rig - I don't see any dramas with steeting them.

My2c.

[macca81]

locktite the studs. wont come loose then

[crankycruiser]

so who to get spacers off then?

i see the big companys do em.. any guys off here sell em?

[macca81]

snake and superior. i rekon bubs prob does. cpl of the engineering places in hobart/derwent park would prob be able to do somethin for ya also

[GRIMACE]

Or try Ballistic fabrications in the states. Or Polly performance. Maybe cheaper then buying here.

[yamaha__308]

so who to get spacers off then?

i see the big companys do em.. any guys off here sell em?

Locktup sell em.

[Z()LTAN]

ive had my snake racing 3" wheel spacers on my car for some time now, they have never come loose, i did not use any king of locktite on them i just made them very tight.

I have already gone through a set of wheel bearings but at $30 a corner its nothing for the 6" of extra track.

Only bad point i can make is they take their toll on steering ability.

If i were to fit dana 60's or another wider diff i would again think of spacers!

[DR Frankenstine]

G'day Ray. I had alloy ones on my 60 and they don't come loose. Checked them a few times first up but now they only get checked when I have to take a wheel off.

Locked up 4x4 mate

[crankycruiser]

I can now answer my own question on this.

I dont rate wheel spacers.........

I snapped all 6 studs off my passenger side hub a few weeks ago, my guard and flare didnt rate it at all

now I know that the big offset puts more stress on these studs etc, but the thing i dont like about the spacers is that u cant see if u have a busted stud..

I probably had a broken stud for ages but couldnt tell as they were hidden behind the spacers....

So will I run spacers again... well yes, but only on my bush rims!

[Eddy]

... Cranky I reckon it's time you got some diffs off a full size 4X4 truck so ya don't have to run silly offset on ya wheels

[Yom]

ive had my snake racing 3" wheel spacers on my car for some time now, they have never come loose, i did not use any king of locktite on them i just made them very tight.

I have already gone through a set of wheel bearings but at $30 a corner its nothing for the 6" of extra track.

Only bad point i can make is they take their toll on steering ability.

If i were to fit dana 60's or another wider diff i would again think of spacers!

here's some info I had bookedmarked about scrub radius.

changing the offset of a wheel will change the scrub radius of the tire/wheel combination.

Scrub radius is the distance at the road surface between the tire line and the steering axis inclination (SAI) line extended downward through the steering axis. SAI is an imaginary line, that on strut suspensions runs through the lower ball joints and the upper end of the strut. The line through the steering axis creates a pivot point around which the tire turns. If these lines intersect at the road surface, a zero scrub radius would be present. When the intersection is below the surface of the road, positive scrub radius results. When the lines intersect above the road, negative scrub radius occurs. The point where the SAI line contacts the road is the fulcrum pivot point on which the tire is turned. One of the main effects of SAI is to promote directional stability, the tendency of a wheel to straighten from a turned position and remain straight. SAI is not adjustable on most vehicles and is usually only affected by loose, worn or damaged suspension parts or by frame damage.

Characteristics of Different Types of Scrub Radius
At zero scrub radius, the car steers easily and will have little or no kickback from bumps. At the same time there will be virtually no road feel or feedback and there will be a feeling of directional instability while cornering due to the tendency of the tires to squirm. This condition is also known as center-point steering.

A positive scrub radius will increase steering effort, torque steer and kickback on bumps to a considerable degree. At the same time, a blowout or a failure of one front brake could yank the wheel hard enough to pull it out of your hands. The advantage is that there is much greater road feel and feedback so that you can feel when the front tires start to break loose in a corner. Consequently, this is often the set-up of choice on race cars.

Negative scrub radius will also increase steering effort, torque steer and kickback but to a noticeably lesser degree than the positive kind. Additionally, front tire blowouts and single brake failures will act with less force on the steering wheel. Finally, there will be less road feel and feedback and less ability to feel when the front tires are about to break loose as compared with the positive state. In general, front-wheel drive cars are set-up with negative scrub radius.

Incidently, the term scrub radius derives from the fact that either in the positive or negative mode, the tire does not turn on its centerline (it scrubs the road in a turn) and due to the increased friction, more effort is needed to turn the wheel.

A significant reduction in positive offset of the wheels will EFFECTIVELY change the steering geometry's scrub radius, possibly increasing the steering effort and making the car harder to control during turning and cornering. As already stated, SAI is not adjustable on most cars so alignment changes may not be adequate to compensate for changes in scrub radius. That being said, I have no idea how much positive offset would have to be reduced for the change to be considered significant. It's just something to think about, particularly for those of you who consider your cars to be primarily daily drivers.

Reference:
http://www.ingallseng.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't write it, but is worth considering if the vehicle is used onroad. On some vehicles with certain suspension designs it can seems to make a biiig difference to handling and also even safety.

[dank]

makes a bit of sense I reckon, I went from -30 to -80 offset rims and noticed it was much harder to steer but for some reason I felt more confident through the corners on fast dirt roads....maybe a consequence of a wider track rather than effect on scrub radius. Cranky, what width spacers are you chasing? I might be able to help, do you need two or four?

[bazzle]

If they are not legal then why use them?

If they or something attributed to them fails and an accident occurs you are in the sh!t.
More and more people keep doing the wrong thing and it just makes it harder and harder to get approved things done.

Bazzle

[sierrajim]

If they are not legal then why use them?

If they or something attributed to them fails and an accident occurs you are in the sh!t.
More and more people keep doing the wrong thing and it just makes it harder and harder to get approved things done.

Bazzle

So I guess we'll all run on 31" tyres, never fit harneses, never fit cages and call a tow truck next time we have a mud flap fall off??

[tehekho]

If they are not legal then why use them?

If they or something attributed to them fails and an accident occurs you are in the sh!t.
More and more people keep doing the wrong thing and it just makes it harder and harder to get approved things done.

Bazzle

So I guess we'll all run on 31" tyres, never fit harneses, never fit cages and call a tow truck next time we have a mud flap fall off??

Or break a side mirror!