Wheel spacers

[J C]

I just installed the fabtech lift spindles and now my front tires stick out past the fender. I would like to make the rear wheels match. Anyone reccomend somewhere to order some wheel spacers? and what is the max spacing while still being safe?



pics of new installed parts to follow after a wash.



thanks



MCBrainz

 

[Jeff C]

I got mine off eBay. Get the good billet ones, not the cheap ones. Mine cost $80 shipped. If you look for a Mustang, you should be able to find some big enough. I'm running 2" spacers in the rear and love them. I used to have 1.25" in the rear, moved them to the front and got the 2" for the rear and I think it looks great. Had that setup for about a year now.

 

[Mat Deegan]

ebay

 

[Jimmy Lavoie]

What are the pros and cons of wheel spacers?



Is the only pro "looks"?



Do you have to change the lugs to accommodate?

 

[Jeff C]

Pro

-Looks

-Stability

-Allows for wider wheels



Cons

-Added stress on wheel bearings and/or hub assembly

-Some shops won't touch wheels with spacers on them

-If not properly torqued down, could lead to a wheel coming off



Jimmy, if you get the correct spacers, your factory setup will work. Just get 5x4.5" spacers in whatever width you desire, and they'll come with the correct nuts and you can use your factory nuts on the wheels.

 

[Woppy V]

Jeff- your front wheels aren't rubbing?! I put 1.5in spacers up there and couldn't turn the wheel all the way to save my life. Huh and we both have 265/70/16's? How much clearance do you have when you turn and by any chance do you have a link to the exact item?

 

[Jimmy Lavoie]

Jeff C,



Regarding the "cons":



Added stress - I tow just over 5,000 lbs from time to time (a camper). Should I worry about this?



Shops won't touch - what do you mean by this? Tire work?



Tire Torqued properly - Can I assume you mean simply tightening like you would any wheel - of do I need to use a torgue wrench?



Lastly - I'm more curious about the lug bolts being too short when the spacer is added. Is that going to be a problem?



THANKS for your response - VERY informative!

 

[Jeff C]

Oh, they rub, lol.



[Broken External Image]:

 

[Jeff C]

Jimmy,



The stress is on the wheel bearings, so I don't know why it would affect towing. If your truck is aligned properly (mine isn't :lol it should have no real consequences. I had to replace my bearings recently, but that's do to the camber, spacers, way I drive, etc.



Some shops will not do any kind of work involved with wheels/tires if you have spacers. You can always just take them off before you go in for service.



I'd recommend having a torque wrench, yes. I step mine up very methodically, and it takes a long time. 50, 75, 95. Test drive, take the wheels off, check the torque on the spacers to 95 again, put the wheels back on, 50, 75, 95, test drive, check the torque on the wheels. If everything is good, you're all set. I keep a torque wrench in my tool box in the bed at all times.



The lugs on the spacers should come out as far as stock ones do, and the spacers are designed to fit onto factory hubs, so they won't be too shallow either.



Here's a pic of my rears.



[Broken External Image]:

 

[Jimmy Lavoie]

oh... I see.



I thought it was a spacer that the original lug bots poked through.



As they say - a picture is worth a thousand words! Thanks, makes sense now.

 

[Jeff C]

They make those. When i said don't buy the cheap ones, those are the ones I was referring to. Get the billet ones like mine and you'll be fine.



Pic of the front for good measure

[Broken External Image]:

 

[Jimmy Lavoie]

I have 4 wheel disc brakes so I'll be needing 4 of these.



Cheap = baaad

Billet = goooood!



Thanks - the pictures help a lot!

 

[Woppy V]

LOL! Jeff how can you stand that rubbing? That would drive me completely nuts!!! Hmm.... but if anyone is running a smaller spacer up there that isn't rubbing with 265/70/16's lemme know!

 

[Jeff C]

It rubbed a lot at first. Now they only rub a bit, and mostly only when turning left (I turn right into my driveway, so that wore away in the first week or so). I basically just learned when/where they rub and avoid turning that far, lol.

 

[Jimmy Lavoie]

You should try oiling the tires - that may also help the rubbing be less noticeable. :wub:

 

[Dingo]

Oil eats rubber.

 

[Dan Long]

It makes drifting easy though!

 

[Dave S 2]

I have a pair of new 1.5" spacers that I bought from a member on here. I've never used them. I planned on installing on the rear wheels when I lowered my Trac but I went back to stock height about a month later.



They look just like Jeff C's rear spacers. If anyone is interested, they can have them for $50 shipped. Lug nuts are included.



Dave S.

 

[Cris Laroco]

I was running 1.25" spacers up front and 2" in the rear before I did the spindle lift on mine. I ran into the same problem with the front tires sticking out further than the rears, so now I'm only using the 2" spacers in the rear. If you're looking to even the tires out, I'd probably recommend going with 1.5" spacers in the rear and leaving the front the way it is.



And I got mine from ebay as well. Haven't had any problems with them at all.

 

[Todd Z]

Woppy....



my 04 has 275/70/16 no spacers at all, No rubbing.....



Todd Z