Are wheel spacers safe?

Hello again fellow ex lovers. I have a 1999 Ex limited 5.0 with the 16inch stock rims. I can't afford new rims right now because I am working on engine mods but I want a wider looking wheelbase so are wheel spacers ok to use? Will my truck still ride smooth?????????????

 

[BrianDye]

id like to know too...id love a wider look lol

 

[ld50]

If it is the spacers that bolt onto your studs, then you bolt your tires onto studs attached to the spacers, then they are fine. You will put no more stress on your bearings than off-set rims to the same width would.
I ran those type spacers for a couple/few years.
-check my mod thread if you want an idea of how they look/mount. (On a first gen)

 

[BrianDye]

Where can I get those spacers? I just have stock rims, and if I could push them out a bit, I think that would keep me from buying aftermarket rims lol.

And how much are they?

 

[Tbars4]

...This is from the "How To" in my signature...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153350

 

[ld50]

I`m not sure the cost nowadays, back then I would have put the cost in my thread. I got mine from performancewheelandtire -I think...

 

[BrianDye]

Was it under 100$ or what?

I thought I read somewhere in your post like 508$??

 

[BrooklynBay]

I've moved your thread to the tires & wheels section.

 

[jtj1903]

I found some at a shop in my area for $10 a piece put they are garbage. for stock fims a good set cant be more than $100 I believe. I am gonna do a search on the net now

 

[BrianDye]

I searched and all i could find were the spacers without the studs...


I wanna get a pair just enough to get my tires to stick out of the wheel wells just like an inch or so I guess.

 

[jtj1903]

I found sum good ones on speedbeatcustoms.com they also have alot of other performance parts for explorers. I gonna keep lookin though cause i wanna compare prices

 

[jtj1903]

One thing that I have read though, is that spacers put alot of pressure on your wheel bearings so if I got them I would need to replace them alot sooner. Does anyone know if thats true

 

[jordan1948]

speedbeatcustoms.com is not a website yet.....
copied and pasted in web browser bar and nothing

 

[jtj1903]

Sorry its streetbeatcustoms.com

 

[jordan1948]

Ahh yes they do have quite a few nice toys on there. Not trying to high jack but the highflow filter adapter on there for $45, I made mine for 15.

 

[BrianDye]

Yeah I was wondering the same thing about the spacers dealing with the axles and whatnot, is it even worth it? Will the life be significantly decreased?

 

[ld50]

Yeah I was wondering the same thing about the spacers dealing with the axles and whatnot, is it even worth it? Will the life be significantly decreased?

Think of the physics involved, an off-set rim places the tire further out, or spacers put it further out. If a spacer is detrimental to bearing life, so is an offset rim. Same thing.

 

[jtj1903]

Ok I understand. I will save the money and get the spacers for now

 

[Anime]

The load on the bearings is increased with spacers since the load "arm" of the studs is longer. This load is increased with larger/heavier wheels and larger/heavier tires.

Aftermarket rims that mount to the stock studs keep the same mounting position and so the load on the bearings is not increased by length, but usually by the much larger diameter and heavier wheel/tire combo that is used.

That said, spacers are a pretty popular option for using wheels with a bolt pattern that isn't made for your ride.

They're ok and you won't have any catastrophic damage from highway driving, but they aren't made to take a hard pounding off road or anything. I'd rather have different wheels with the width/offset changed to get a different stance, though.

Whatever you do, avoid the spacers that just squeeze between the wheel and hub, they reduce the thread area on the stock lugs and can cause the lug nuts to back off.
Those should only be used with longer wheel lugs.

 

[Mutineer]

Think of the physics involved, an off-set rim places the tire further out, or spacers put it further out. If a spacer is detrimental to bearing life, so is an offset rim. Same thing.

X2

You said this was a 99 Explorer unltd 4X4. Remember your Bearings are a one piece Hub setup, structurally MUCH weaker than a 1st Gen with the DBL Wishbone setup, which has spindle bearings.

I have seen spacers and offset rims destroy hub bearings. They are not designed for the amount of leverage applied by your rims/spacers. It increases the vertical leverage about 10X for 1 inch of outward movement.

Those bearings arent cheap...

Remember how your vehicle was designed to work and take into consideration the changes you are making and what they might cause to other components.

This is not to say its a bad Idea, just to warn you not to do it without thinking of everything.

I will also say I ran 10" wide rims and 33's on the Mutineer for YEARS and had no bearing issues, and I used the HELL out of it.
...so its a 50/50 chance... Im not sure exactly how your bearings are, but Ill bet they are close to how mine were.



my motto is Go before Show, Definately go with the wheels, they will be built to balance the weight whereas spacers just push everything outward and create more leverage.

IMO - I would definately NOT recommend spacers of any size except on maybe a 4-wheeler or something.

For an example I will show my Dodge Ram in the pics below(same type hub bearings). This is back a few years, when I was all about the wider, more aggressive look and didnt think about the consequences. I replaced my 3rd set of hub bearings in a year, and upgraded to less backspacing and 33" Bias-Ply tires. I could have gotten 10" rims that were built for my truck but these were cheaper (in the short run).

I was driving down the road at 45MPH when it went, so it tore up all kinds of stuff and I barely missed an oncoming car.

Dont end up like this: