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Wheel Spacers. Yay or nay?

36K views 97 replies 44 participants last post by  nectoxicdragon 
#1 ·
I was looking at a set of wheel spacers to give myself a little wider stance. In speaking with a friend of mine who also owns a jeep, he said to not do it, that it is bad for the jeep. I noticed quite a few people on this forum using them, so I am confused. What are the pros and cons of spacers, and can they actually damage the vehicle or suspension?
 
#2 ·
Not a problem if properly installed. I ran them for quite a while on my 4 door before getting different wheels. Have them on my daughters JK right now.

I prefer the 1.25" which is the smallest you can use. TF has a nice set...

The spacers are effectively the same as an aftermarket wheel with the same back spacing. You do have some additional mechanical connections, but you had 4 of those to begin with that aren't a problem.

Just have to make sure you remove the factory retainer clips during install.
 
#4 ·
Yes, tons of people here running them.
 
#6 ·
by moving the mounting point of the wheel out you can run a wider than stock tire without it rubbing. I had 285 70 17 tires mounted on my stock wheels and the front tires rubbed the sway bars when turning sharp. I have had 1.5 inch wheels spacers for 2 years now with no problems. just be sure to check them periodically
 
#8 ·
If you get them go with Spidertrax. They are high quality. I'm running them in addition to aftermarket wheels. I like them a lot.
 
#18 ·
Is it the price, colored anodizing, or something else that gives the perception that the SpiderTrax spacers are high quality or even a higher quality than other available spacers?

Extreme Terrain sells a silver 1.5 spacer for $60 and a black ano 1.5 for $85 (prices before forum discount).

Why would you spend the extra money?
 
#11 ·
I've been running 1.5" ones on my Jeep for almost 3 years now. I kept them installed even after getting proper backed spaced wheels about 2 yrs ago and I haven't had any issues. I know spider has a strong reputation on here but I went with the rough country ones and all my buddies run the rough country ones as well. One guy for over almost 10yrs on his rig. They are a little cheaper than the spiders but are the same quality pretty much from what I have saw comparing them side by side.

http://www.roughcountry.com/wheel-s...Hdqy-JCzSRITQ5zLd-zOY_s6ENq7A9IN3yhoCPX3w_wcB

There is a link to them. They are about $80 cheaper than the spiders. You can look around and probably find them cheaper. I only paid $100 for 4 3 years ago.
 
#14 ·
I have been running 1 1/2 inch spacers for a year. Now my Jeep is up for the yearly PA state safety inspection. PA will not pass a vehicle with wheel spacers. Luckily I had not put bigger tires on my stock wheels yet or I would be up the creek! I removed the spacers for the inspection and spent the big bucks for wheels with the offset needed for bigger tires. Lesson learned at least in PA. Anyone need four 1 1/2 inch Spidertrax wheel spacers???
 
#40 ·
I have been running 1 1/2 inch spacers for a year. Now my Jeep is up for the yearly PA state safety inspection. PA will not pass a vehicle with wheel spacers. Luckily I had not put bigger tires on my stock wheels yet or I would be up the creek! I removed the spacers for the inspection and spent the big bucks for wheels with the offset needed for bigger tires. Lesson learned at least in PA. Anyone need four 1 1/2 inch Spidertrax wheel spacers???
send em my way. luckily, a guy I went to high school with passes my cars regardless of mods.

Have a 2014 GT500 fully catless and the resonators are the visual for a "cat". lol
 
#16 ·
I was told the same. Was told even worse things about a leveling kit and slightly larger tires.......then this forum saved my life and my jeep has never been the same. When I first put 1.5" spacers on (prior to leveling kit and 33's), the Jeep drove so much better. It also looked better, felt glued to the road, was less wobbly etc. Widening the stance will put some added stress, but then again so will driving it like a retard. Unfortunately, only the latter is covered by your warranty.
 
#27 ·
Ive seen too many broken studs because of spacers, I refuse to use spacers.
But if you already made up your mind, go for it.
 
#59 ·
that's funny."too many", well I have yet to see one. As a matter of fact I put 1.5" spacers almost day one and it's been a year and zero issues. Running 315's with stock rims and zero issues. And yes I check the torque every time I rotate the tires.
 
#39 ·
If you compare stock wheels with spacers to stock wheels without spacers. But if you compare stock wheels with spacers to aftermarket wheels with a comparable amount of backspacing to the stock wheel with spacer the effect is the same. The force is applied to the hub the same.
The final backspacing determines how the forces from the wheel are applied to the hub / bearing. The spacer does the same that changing the backspacing does.
 
#34 ·
Personally I think if you start pushing the wheels out and don't lift a jeep it looks pretty retarded. I hate seeing a jeep sitting stock with wheels sticking out about 2 inches beyond the fenders. Puts me in the mind of when they use to run the McLean stick outs on cars back in the 90's. Didn't look good then and definitely to me doesn't look good on a jeep. Just my opinion on it though.
 
#33 ·
I just put spacers on my rig. I've got a Wrangler Sport Unlimited with stock suspension (no lift). I do have take-off wheels/tires from a HardRock so I've got the black wheels with the 255/75R17 BFG Mud tires. I just wanted the tires to fill out the wheel well a bit better and I'm preparing for running bigger tires when these need to be replaced. They now sit about 1/2" to 1" outside the fender flare which looks way better IMO. It also seems easier to predict where the tires are now that they are closer to where the end of the fender flares are at, like when I'm parking next to a curb.

I used the $60 chrome spacers from ExtremeTerrain. Seem very sturdy. Installation was easy (making sure to remove the clips). Will have Discount Tire hit them with a torque wrench every time I rotate tires which should be sufficient I think. Haven't noticed a difference when driving. Can't speak to long term feedback since I just added them a couple weeks ago.
 
#35 ·
I put 1-1/2" Rugged Ridge wheel spacers on our 2016 Hard Rock as a first step toward lift and bigger tires. The only thing I was sure of with the mod planning was that my wife and I wanted to keep the stock HR wheels. The spacers made the Jeep look better, as everyone agreed that saw it. The Jeep now has a 3-1/2" AEV lift and 35"x12.5" Nitto Ridge Graplers on the stock wheels with spacers and it looks awesome.
 
#47 ·
Here's mine, Wrangler Sport Unlimited, no suspension mods, added HR wheels and tires along with the RedRock wheel spacers. As I mentioned, this config has the tires sitting out just slightly past the fender flares. I think it looks much better, actually makes the tire appear a bit bigger because it is not tucked in so far under the fender flare.



 
#50 ·
In wheel spacer history, there were some seriously bad designs and constructions... The "universal" spacers caused you to not have enough threads on your lug nuts and this ended in broken and stripped studs.

But the one that was the worst was the adapter style that we run built from cast aluminum instead of solid machined billet. They would break where the stud was pretty easily.

Some also used low quality china bolts for wheel studs... This is still the concern with buying the eBay spacers.

I remember the "tire fell off" thread from another forum with Spidertrax spacers and the result (as I recall) was that he drove around for a long time with a loose wheel before something broke.

But I guess for the naysayers... Something can happen, but that something can happen no matter what you do.

 
#52 ·
T-6061 Aluminum is T-6061 Aluminum (as long from a reputable company). Saved $40 going with Synergy. Make sure you take the rotor retaining clips off. And make sure they are anodized, esp if you are planning on keeping them for a good period of time.

 
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