Spacer a bad thing?
03-12-2009, 03:19 PM
#3
I think it is because there were some horror stories about them breaking and wheels coming off and stuff. People use them on race cars sometimes. The way that current manufacturing is with high tollerece and good materials I would trust a spacer from a manufacturer like spidertrax. I wouldn't trust my life on some ebay cheepos.
03-12-2009, 03:19 PM
#4
JK Enthusiast
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I think past designs of years ago had problems and in some cases were dangerous. The new designs from Spidertrax are very high quality and have no safety problems or negative effects on your Jeep.
03-12-2009, 03:39 PM
#5
JK Freak
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There is a type of spacer also called a shim that goes over the stock lug bolts, then the weel goes over the stock lug bolts. This puts the torque on the lug bolts further out than it should be which multiplies it and causes them to break easier. Most places do not even sell this type anymore.
03-12-2009, 04:15 PM
#6
JK Newbie
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There is a type of spacer also called a shim that goes over the stock lug bolts, then the weel goes over the stock lug bolts. This puts the torque on the lug bolts further out than it should be which multiplies it and causes them to break easier. Most places do not even sell this type anymore.
There is another area of concern with spacers, but for the most part it is very limited. The concern is if the spacers are quite large, and the vehicle is still on stock suspension. The stock setup was designed to work with a set moment being applied by the wheel. Spacers lengthen the moment arm, increasing load on suspension. But again, this is less of a concern then the "shims"
03-12-2009, 04:18 PM
#7
JK Super Freak
The biggest problem is the wear and tear on ball joints. Moving the wheel out via a skinny piece of metal causes added stress at the upper and lower ball joint. Combine that with a large tire diameter and you have the equation for pre-mature wear and tear. But......that didn't stop me from buying a set off of here for only a hundred fifty!!!! 
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03-12-2009, 04:22 PM
#8
JK Super Freak
The biggest problem is the wear and tear on ball joints. Moving the wheel out via a skinny piece of metal causes added stress at the upper and lower ball joint. Combine that with a large tire diameter and you have the equation for pre-mature wear and tear. But......that didn't stop me from buying a set off of here for only a hundred fifty!!!!
03-12-2009, 06:16 PM
#9
JK Super Freak
However, on a JK, if the spacers result in a net backspacing of less than 3.5", you will experience premature ball joint and bearing wear due to the excess leverage--especially with large tires, running offroad, locked.
A properly installed, quality wheel spacer that produces net wheel backspacing of say...4"...will have no different effect on wear than a wheel with 4" backspacing.
A properly installed, quality wheel spacer that produces net wheel backspacing of say...4"...will have no different effect on wear than a wheel with 4" backspacing.
