I picked up some 2 inch wheel spacers and want to put them on my jeep. I have 285/75/17 maxxis buckshots on a 17" moab rims. I use my Jeep on a mail route and I was wondering if I'll have any problems using these spacers? I never put on spacers before so I don't know what to expect. Thanks for any feedback.

 

I recently installed Spidertrax 1.5" spacers. I did so because I am planning on upgrading to 35x12.50x17 and keeping my Moab wheels. In your case, it depends upon the type of spacers you have. Are they simply a puck placed between your wheel and the axle? Or are they bolted onto your axle and in turn, have their own bolts?

 

They are bolted onto my axle, then the spacers have bolts for my wheels. Another question I have, do they increase the stress load on your balljoints,spindles and bearings? And will it wear them out faster ?

 

I second that question. I am running the 1.5" spacers and my wheels have 3.74" backspacing. Am I destined to fail????

 

". Another question I have, do they increase the stress load on your balljoints,spindles and bearings? And will it wear them out faster ?"

i would say yes... is it any different than just running wheels with less backspacing?? i dunno...

the whole concept of spacers scares the shit out of me though, just having something else bolted between your wheel and axle seems like a terrible idea to me and if i had them i would do nothing but worryyyyyyyyyy that they would come loose and my wheel would fall off.

 

I have never seen a 2" wheel spacer before?!? Who makes them. I like the factory rubicon wheels. If the aftermarket sold some that looked just like them but with the correct offset I would likely be all over it. I guess spacing them out is next best thing.

 

Any time you move the center line of the wheel out from the hub, you are increasing the amount of stress on the studs, bearings, ball joints, and steering. The amount of stress all depends on the weight of the tire/wheel combo, and the distance that the tire is being moved out.

With that said, keep an eye on them, check their torque from time to time, and you should be ok. There have been people on here that have broken them, but they were generally running larger, heavy tires. The one that comes to mind was a sahara with what I think was 35x12.50 mud grapplers (a very heavy tire). He was off road, and the studs snapped. I should also note that just about every motorsports out there has banned the usage of wheel spacers. But, a lot of people use them here with no issues. So you mileage may vary.

 

If you're using your Jeep on a mail route, it's going to get ugly on rainy days. The fendor flares have to be even with or extended out past your tires. I had some 1.5' spacers for about a month and ended up taking them off. Every time it rained, mud slung up on my doors, windows, sliders, etc...

They also suck off-road. Caused all kinds of damage to my bushwackers...



They changed the pivot angle and caused my tires to rub against the corner of my bumper. Tires lost that battle; there is a small chunk ripped off the corner of every tread...


They also caused the inside of my tire to rub on the frame...


Plus, the differance wasn't even noticable...
Without spacers...


With spacers...


Save yourself some trouble and money. Send them back!