Wheel spacers and off roading

Shinny said:

I'm not trying to start a you "should" or "should not" use spacers while off roading (Wheeling) or get properly backspaced wheels. I've read quite a few threads on that.
I'm interested in knowing if anyone has used them and if there have been any problems doing so.
I tried a search and got nothing that answers my question. I'm just curious.
Thanks

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Currently at 60K miles with mine. Lots of off roading in the desert south west and a number of big name western trails. Never an issue nor do I expect any. "Spacers" or more correctly "adaptors" become and integral part of the axle because they are bolted on just like any other bolted on part. Conversely true "spacers" are thin metal disks that are simply sandwiched between the axle and rim that rely on the rim to hold them in place. These type are not safe and should not be used other than for show vehicles.

Folks have come to call adaptors by the wrong name (spacers) for so long even the manufactures use the term to describe their products. Simply put adaptors are bolted on, spacers are not. Adaptors are safe and quite strong when installed correctly and checked at each tire rotation. This is why your search came up with nothing. Other than maybe a he sad she sad with no factual hard proof.

Personal though I would not run them with stock 17" rims and 37"+ tires. Some things can be pushed and IMO that limit is stock 17" rims and 35" tires. After that it is a better option to go with proper spec'd after market rims.

I did run wheel spacers on my stock 18" Sahara wheels, for about 15000 Kilometers and I did some light off roading,my Jeep is a DD as well. I had no problems with the wheel spacers.....but...... I have subsequently gone to properly backspaced and offset 17" wheels to;

)Do away with checking the torque on them at every oil change-tire rotation.
)Get rid of the "they've been good so far knock on wood" factor.
)More tire choices @ 17" with an eye on a re-gear and 35's down the road.
)Less to pull apart(thread locker on wheel studs that hold on the spacers) when it comes to brake jobs..or any job where the discs-rotors have to be removed.
)I prefer proper back spaced wheels and offset just from an engineering "less is better" mechanical couplings-fastenings standpoint.
)Related to the point above I believe that wheel spacers put more stress and strain on bearings and ball joints, over time this will shorten their service life.
)my current set up is lighter in weight than the previous 18" wheel set up with wheel spacers.

My Jeep with 275/70/18 BFG KO2 A/T's and stock wheels with wheel spacers.Top pic, and bottom two pic's are 34X10.5 KO2 A/T's with pro comp series 35 17X8.5 alloy wheels.

Jeeperitis said:

I did run wheel spacers on my stock 18" Sahara wheels, for about 15000 Kilometers and I did some light off roading,my Jeep is a DD as well. I had no problems with the wheel spacers.....but...... I have subsequently gone to properly backspaced and offset 17" wheels to;

)Do away with checking the torque on them at every oil change-tire rotation.
)Get rid of the "they've been good so far knock on wood" factor.
)More tire choices @ 17" with an eye on a re-gear and 35's down the road.
)Less to pull apart(thread locker on wheel studs that hold on the spacers) when it comes to brake jobs..or any job where the discs-rotors have to be removed.
)I prefer proper back spaced wheels and offset just from an engineering "less is better" mechanical couplings-fastenings standpoint.

)Related to the point above I believe that wheel spacers put more stress and strain on bearings and ball joints, over time this will shorten their service life.

)my current set up is lighter in weight than the previous 18" wheel set up with wheel spacers.

My Jeep with 275/70/18 BFG KO2 A/T's and stock wheels with wheel spacers.Top pic, and bottom two pic's are 34X10.5 KO2 A/T's with pro comp series 35 17X8.5 alloy wheels.

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I can agree with your points to some degree, except the 'more stress' comment. There is no difference in the physics of an adaptor vs. a wheel with the equivalent offset.

If you could, think of what would happen if you bolted the adaptor to the wheel first... what do you have? A wheel with more offset. If you broke out the welder and welded the adaptor to the wheel... what would you have? A wheel with more offset. If you could now bolt that onto your hub... anyway, you see what I mean... whether you cast another 1.5" of metal into the wheel, or bolt/weld it on, the forces on the hub will be the same.

I've yet to see anyone that has broken an adaptor speak up... and given the large number of them sold... there should be a pretty robust discussion of them failing if it were happening.

BeyondYourFrontDoor said:

I can agree with your points to some degree, except the 'more stress' comment. There is no difference in the physics of an adaptor vs. a wheel with the equivalent offset.

If you could, think of what would happen if you bolted the adaptor to the wheel first... what do you have? A wheel with more offset. If you broke out the welder and welded the adaptor to the wheel... what would you have? A wheel with more offset. If you could now bolt that onto your hub... anyway, you see what I mean... whether you cast another 1.5" of metal into the wheel, or bolt/weld it on, the forces on the hub will be the same.

I've yet to see anyone that has broken an adaptor speak up... and given the large number of them sold... there should be a pretty robust discussion of them failing if it were happening.

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I agree with this ^^^^^^. There is no hard verifiable evidence that I have ever seen showing adaptors aka "spacers" cause any more wear to bearing than rims with equivalent backspacing. Again what is out there is heresy, he sad she sad stuff. If they were causing
rapid wear we would see countless threads about it.

Adaptors do not require as much work as one poster would lead others to believe. Sure folks have to check them at each tire rotation, but this is as easy to do by simply placing "witness" lines on the bolts and visually checking to see if they have moved, which takes seconds to
do. Sure folks have to remove them to change out your brakes which adds a little time to a the brake job, but how often are folks going to need new brakes something like 50k miles on average. So when weighing the far lower cost of adaptors and the extra minutes of time to run them, IMO this out weighs the high cost of new rims that will end up being scraped and
dented when used off road especially if one runs rocky trails.

The saving in adaptors vs rims can be put towards other more important mods and up grades IMO especially if the owner is new to off roading. New folks tend to damage rims more often and get upset, old timers seem just not to give a darn about it anymore.

^^ LOL, you can disagree all you want. Free country. But it's Mr Physics you're disagreeing with. The extra forces on the bearings are a function of sliding the wheel and tire outboard from the vertical plane of the bearings. You are creating a lever that multiplies the natural forces already on the bearings. How you achieve that extra force doesn't matter as far as the bearings are concerned.

If you use a 24" breaker bar to increase torque on a stubborn nut, do you think that somehow the force is less than if you use two 12" extenstions to get the same effective length? Sure, one may be more reliable or more positive or whatever (depending on how the extensions are attached to each other) but they will exert the same force.

EDIT: I reread your statement: As for wheel spacers not adding more stress to wheel bearings and ball joints than proper back spaced and offset wheels...

If you actually meant "proper backspaced" like you said, then your statement is correct. But "proper backspaced wheels" are ones with factory OEM backspacing (6.25" is it?), which by the definitions of this discussion, are off the table because of larger tires rubbing on fenderwells. So I have assumed you meant "aftermarket wheels with the same effective backspacing as the OEM wheel PLUS spacer".