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?????????????

 

[Mutineer]

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.

X2 again

 

[jtj1903]

so using wheel spacers with my stock rims will cause wheel bearing problems??????

 

[jtj1903]

I have already replaced them once and it was very expensive. I don't wanna have to do it again anytime soon.

 

[ld50]

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.

I must disagree

The load "arm" of the studs is irrelevant, since the studs connect to the hub/rotor, and that is where the bearings reside.
Spacers put just as much strain on your bearings as using offset rims to achieve the same width. A lever is a lever, envision the bearing surface being the fulcrum, the distance from the bearings to the tire's footprint (length of lever)is what matters, not what the lever is composed of.
Is there more strain on your studs with spacers? -yeah
The idea that use of the same mounting position negates any increased bearing load regardless of an increase in length through off-set rims doesn't compute, that leverage force has to go somewhere.

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.

This is a good point actually, although I ran spacers for a few years on my first gen, and ran them hard mind you, I never saw a problem with my bearings (which I re-packed regularly) I put a lot of hard kms on mine, including thousands of kms of hwy driving.
Perhaps the more rugged design was the most important factor.
There were quite a few nay-sayers when I got those spacers, actually.

 

[Anime]

Disagree? It sounds like you're agreeing.

A larger wheel/tire combo, or a wheel with more negative backspacing/offset that moves the inside tire track out will increase the load on the bearing, spacer or no spacer.

Moving the inside tire track closer (say using a high positive offset wheel) doesn't change that the load is only seen at the hub on the lugs. A zero-offset wheel is the lowest load you can get.

It's certainly true that you can get a certain wheel offset that will give a similar load on the bearing as a spacer and zero-offset wheel, but the spacers change things by adding a load-inducing length even farther out from the bearing that is constant until they are removed. Nothing will decrease this unless a smaller wheel/tire size is used, or the wheel is changed from a negative offset to a zero or positive offset.

Personally I just don't like the idea of multiple lug nuts holding a wheel onto a spacer onto a hub...but it looks pretty interesting when you're running gigantic rims with zero or positive offset.

 

[Mutineer]

so using wheel spacers with my stock rims will cause wheel bearing problems??????

Possibly. It depends on your driving habits, the width of the spacers themselves, and what tire/wheel combo you use.

It definately changes the load forces and how they are applied to the bearings, ball joints and studs.

I have already replaced them once and it was very expensive. I don't wanna have to do it again anytime soon.

I, personally, would stay away from spacers. You can lessen the increase of leverage on your bearings by getting a wheel with the proper offset for your setup.

 

[Mutineer]

The load "arm" of the studs is irrelevant, since the studs connect to the hub/rotor, and that is where the bearings reside.
Spacers put just as much strain on your bearings as using offset rims to achieve the same width. A lever is a lever, envision the bearing surface being the fulcrum, the distance from the bearings to the tire's footprint (length of lever)is what matters, not what the lever is composed of.
Is there more strain on your studs with spacers? -yeah
The idea that use of the same mounting position negates any increased bearing load regardless of an increase in length through off-set rims doesn't compute, that leverage force has to go somewhere.

I must disagree

If you get a set of wheels with the correct amount of backspacing for your truck, but they are a wider width, it is not quite true that you are putting the same amount of strain on your bearings as spacers.

Think of it this way:

The wheel has a balance point, This is the point at which you can reach into the middle of the tire and balance it on a single point. The Engineers at Ford took this into account when designing the front end regarding the backspacing of the wheel.

The had to try to get the mounting face of the wheel as close to the fulcrum point of the bearings, and still be able to fit everything(brakes, ball joints, etc...) within the right track wiidth for the truck.

You can bet that the balance point of the wheels is not over the fulcrum point of the bearings, even stock.

With a properly offset wheel, the balance point of the weight weight is still somewhat properly balanced over the fulcrum point as it was designed, with the same amount of rim on the inner side of the bearings as it was before. The balance point (or Zero leverage point) is not as far away from the fulcrum point of the bearings.

The added weight of the tire/wheel combo increases the leverage when the truck is in the air, but on the ground the weight is irrelevant as the weight of the tire does not push UP on the bearings, thats the weight of the truckpushing down on the other side of the fulcrum point, which did not change with the added weight of the tires, as long as the backspacing stayed the same.

The spacer does more than that. It takes balance point of the the entire wheel/tire combo further out from the fulcrum point of the bearings, thus creating FAR more leverage on the bearings, since there is not as much balance to the inside. This makes the weight of the truck when on the ground act with more leverage on the bearings, even though the weight of the truck did not change, and once again, the weight of the tires is irrelevant since it is essentially being lifted by the force of the weight of the truck on the other side of the fulcrum.

The weight of the tires only acts on the bearings when the truck is in the air, when on the ground (or during impact)the weight of the truck is the acting force.

This added leverage on the outside of the fulcrum causes more strain to the top of the bearing through upward force when the weight of the truck pushes down on the inside. This also pulls on the bottom of the bearing and wears it that way. Normally the same is true, but not at the levels caused by the added length of the outer side of the fulcrum.

I wish I had a white board... I draw better than I explain...lol

So the spacers are FAR more hurtful to the bearings than the wider wheel with the proper offset.

Keeping in mind that these are 1-peice Hub bearings we are talking about, with no Spindle to absorb some of this force, it can wreak havoc on your bearings, and they will fail MUCH quicker than normal. Like I said before 3 times in a year I had to replace them...

So Im not saying the wider wheel with the proper offset wont have similar effects, but I am saying the Spacer is MUCH worse for HIS stock bearing setup, and yes it will cause him problems eventually.

I ran 10" wide rims with 33" BFGs on my Hub bearings for years and they havent failed yet, but I notice more and more play on them each time I inspect. Its a time bomb waiting to go off at highway speed...

 

[ld50]

Awesome guys, this is what the internet is for! Disagreeing with each other in a public forum! :

Disagree? It sounds like you're agreeing.

I dunno..

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.

larger diameter/ heavier wheel argument aside, let's look at the exact application that I think of when asked if spacers are worse than off-set rims.
The original question was quite simple, and I read it as this fella wanting to merely space the tire he is running further out. Larger tires put more strain on everything, kay? That is a given.

Case in point..

Mr X. runs a 31x 10.5 tire on Stock rims and wants it out further.

Mr X. has decided that 1.5 inches for each tire is ideal.

Mr X. knows that His stock rims have been built by the factory to create an even distribution of load upon his bearings. This means that the ideal is for the mounting surface of his rims to place the rim center directly in line with his bearings.

If Mr X. buys an off set rim to mount these same tire on, in order to achieve his goal; he realizes it is impossible to do this without having the rims mount physically 1.5 inches off of center.

[side bar] -Mr X. could buy a rim that is 3 inches wider and run a wider tire, but for the tire to remain centered with the bearings he would gain 1.5 inches on either side of the tire, which is not what he is looking for.

Since we are discussing the spacing out of a certain size tire here we have to realize that it is the movement of the rim that affects the load back to the bearings. If we could measure bearing strain created by spacers versus offset both numbers would change with the movement of the rim in relation to the ideal bearing center.

The had to try to get the mounting face of the wheel as close to the fulcrum point of the bearings, and still be able to fit everything(brakes, ball joints, etc...) within the right track width for the truck.

You can bet that the balance point of the wheels is not over the fulcrum point of the bearings, even stock.
QUOTE]

I would have to interject there, they will attempt to get the center of the rim to ride dead center of the bearings. The mounting face can be off-centered to allow this to happen.

 

[Mutineer]

Awesome guys, this is what the internet is for! Disagreeing with each other in a public forum! :

Well, it fills the time anyway

I would have to interject there, they will attempt to get the center of the rim to ride dead center of the bearings. The mounting face can be off-centered to allow this to happen.

You are exactly right. This is what I meant but I stated my point incorrectly.

Let me re-iterate... eh HEM....


"The had to try to get the mounting face of the wheel to be where it can position the Balance point (center) of the rim/tire combo as close to the fulcrum point of the bearings, and still be able to fit everything(brakes, ball joints, etc...) within the right track width for the truck."


So in this case, I Must Agree

I love this site.

 

[BrianDye]

Im so confused.

Im running stock sized tires and rims, just want them to sit out an inch and a half further or so...

Yes or No?

 

[Mutineer]

Im so confused.

Im running stock sized tires and rims, just want them to sit out an inch and a half further or so...

Yes or No?

In your case I dont think it would cause a catastrophic failure...

You'd prolly be okay as long as you arent jumping the truck on a regular basis.

I personally would not do it.

Sorry for the science project...lol

 

[BrianDye]

Lmao its okay, pretty much scared me away from doing it, its just a DD, I have a heavy foot and once in a while there are some tracks that are like jumps

 

[Mutineer]

Lmao its okay, pretty much scared me away from doing it, its just a DD, I have a heavy foot and once in a while there are some tracks that are like jumps

I know EXACTLY what you mean!

 

[ld50]

Im running stock sized tires and rims, just want them to sit out an inch and a half further or so...

I think you would find anyway, (If I recall my original research correctly) that you might need at least a 1.5 inch spacer to clear your studs, your studs have to sit inside the spacer.
This is the ideal spacer I am referring to; that bolts on, and has studs in it to bolt the tire to.

There is always pros and cons for every mod.
Wheel bearings are not engineered to grenade as soon as they are loaded differently; they are engineered to receive a variety of loadings and abuses.
They are not engineered to only receive a load based on driving upon a completely flat surface without having to turn right or left or hit a single pothole -all things that affect bearing life.

Wheel bearings eventually need replacement, and this depends on the abuse they get, look it up and you will find anywhere from 80,000 to 200,000 miles claimed for bearings on various vehicles, from various vehicle owners.

I don't know of an equation to calculate wear from off-set rims/ spacers. I know many people with off-set rims and a couple with spacers that have beat the hell out of their vehicles for years and never complained of bearings wearing out prematurely. It's all about your comfort level, if you are okay with replacing your bearings after 80,000 miles as compared to 100,000 miles (figure off top of my head only) then that might be okay with you. I can do my own bearings so shop time is not something I have to worry about, this obviously makes me more comfortable. Also, I can re-pack mine with grease (once a year), which is likely more than most vehicles get, and it increases bearing life considerably. So to a guy like me, spacing is an acceptable operation to achieve a wider stance, or a better look for that matter.

The only thing that bothered me about the spacers specifically was the extra effort I had to take when doing my rear drum brakes or doing anything that made them have to come off.

I can provide diagrams and/or exertion tables to try to pinpoint the actual extra work involved, if need be; but I will suggest that taking a drum off with a spacer in the way was aproximately 51% more difficult than without a spacer.
You might think 50% but you have to account for the actual movement of the spacer and wheelnuts from drum to ground, and from ground back to drum.

 

[Riceman]

So... I'll revive this thread with a spacer question. I want to run a set of wheels with +24 offset. Thats 1/2" more offset than stock, and I am worried about inner clearance.

My solution: run 1/2" spacers (yes... the kind that sandwich between the hub and wheel) with ET style lugs. This setup would only lose .2" of lug thread, and would "maintain" stock offset.

Will these lugs work? Or will they not fit through the lug holes of most wheels?

If those lugs aren't and option, I'll just run the shortest bolt on spacers I can find. I'm just not to crazy about having to torque 40 lugs instead of 20.

 

[Mutineer]

So... I'll revive this thread with a spacer question. I want to run a set of wheels with +24 offset. Thats 1/2" more offset than stock, and I am worried about inner clearance.

My solution: run 1/2" spacers (yes... the kind that sandwich between the hub and wheel) with ET style lugs. This setup would only lose .2" of lug thread, and would "maintain" stock offset.

Will these lugs work? Or will they not fit through the lug holes of most wheels?

If those lugs aren't and option, I'll just run the shortest bolt on spacers I can find. I'm just not to crazy about having to torque 40 lugs instead of 20.

You have to have wheels made for those style lugs, moslty aluminum, as Ive seen them.

like these:

Besides Im not sure how running these lugs would help you much, youre not talking stellar amounts of movement from stock here, as someone using a 1 1/2 inch spacer would be... depends on the use you plan for the truck as to whether it would work out for you or not. Youre still moving the mounting surface of the wheel out 1/2 inch from stock, so youre still losing the 1/2 inch of lug stud that the spacer is sitting over... Its a personal choice, in this instance, it is less of an issue than when you move the wheels outward.

As for the clearance, it depends on what kind / size of tires you run, as well as what mods you have done to the truck...