Wheel Spacers and Adapters are completely safe when installed correctly with care and patience.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Improved handling | Increased steering effort |
Allows for larger wheels or tires | Decreased ride quality |
Allows for larger brake calipers | More suspension wear |
Gives vehicles a unique look |
Do wheel spacers need to be hubcentric? Yes, you absolutely need to ensure any spacers mate with the wheel center bore and wheel hub precisely, either by being the correct diameter themselves or with hubcentric rings to make up the difference in size.
Because steel wheel spacers are heavier and more durable, you should probably stick with steel. Aluminum could possibly bend when towing a heavy load. Towing heavy loads will likely wear the wheel spacers out more quickly, but it will do so even more if you have aluminum wheel spacers.
After the initial installation, torque should be checked every 6,000 miles.
Wheel spacers are safe to install on your vehicle, only if they are properly installed. When wheel spacers fail, most of the time it is due to the quality of the wheel spacers themselves.
Over tightening the spacer nuts can distort them, making for a difficult removal. Some use Loctite which is not a recommended practice. Using anti-sieze on the wheel to spacer is a good idea. Tightening the lug nuts yourself is the best option, an impact wrench leaves undesired marks.
Torque to 85-95 ft-lbs. Reinstall the wheels and tires. Lower the vehicle to the ground. Torque lug nuts to 95-115 ft-lbs.
No, wheel spacers does not make your car slower. They make you infinitesimally slower in a straight line because they add more weight. But overall they are a performance gain - unless they change the thrust angle of the steering too much (15mm on the front isnt good), then they can make the car react more slowly.
Yes, get longer studs.
Therefore, properly installed wheel spacers are perfectly safe. The more clamping force applied to the joint (in this case the joint between the wheel and the hub), the more force required to make the wheel slip relative to the hub. Unless the wheel slips on the hub, there cannot be any bending load on the stud.
One way to measure for the spacers needed is to use washers. If you have lug studs, this is simple as you will just install washers onto the studs and remount the wheel to verify clearance against the suspension. The size spacer you need will be equal to the thickness of the washers used.
Wheel spacers are commonly used in vehicles that have larger or wider tires. This is usually due to a custom installation where the tires you install are larger than the standard tires that came with the vehicle. Because of this, you may need wheel spacers to help them fit in the space.
Wheel spacers can sometimes cause an accelerated pattern of wear on the hub components of your vehicle and its suspension. Because you are creating a wider track than what the frame was initially designed to support, you can place stressors that go beyond the tested tolerances that are recommended by the manufacturer.
Yes, spacers affect the alignment. Spacers (or wheels with odd offsets) may also technically affect your suspension warranty.
Because a vehicles weight is not sustained by its wheel studs, the use of wheel spacers is generally considered to be safe.
Yes would be safe to use the 2 spacers together but as for the bolts i wouldnt risk the chance, for the sake of 25-50 quid its not worth it, to think how much damage it could do if 1 wheel comes off.
Secondly, installing wheel spacers on a car increases the leverage on the wheel bearing. The larger the spacer, the larger the leverage becomes. This reduces the life of the wheel bearing as they are not made to take leverage forces and can therefore wear faster, increasing rolling resistance and power loss of the car.
When installed correctly, not only are they safe, but they can end up making your car safer than the stock setup too. Youll have a wider track on the axle that you have installed spacers on.
Adding wheel spacers to your vehicle may be necessary for upgraded component fitment such as brakes or suspension. Fitting larger or even different brakes to your vehicle may cause clearance issues with your stock wheels. This may also cause damage to both your new brakes and wheels.
Spacers can potentially change the ride quality. You are altering the suspension geometry after all. But its a minute difference at best. You will have a wider track front and rear so theoretically more stability.
General rule of thumb is to re-torque after 60-80 miles of driving. Which means youll have to install your spacers then your wheels, drive around for 60-80 miles, re-torque your spacers, drive for another 60-80 miles then re-torque your wheels.
Wheel spacer is a term used to describe a disc that pushes a wheel away from the hub, hence lowering the offset at which it is. A wheel adapter is usually a spacer of sorts, however a change in bolt pattern (and possibly center bore) occurs in the process.