Wheel spacers: The good, The bad and the ugly

[cruisn06]

Quick note: I am not here to start a fight, if you feel wheel spacers are the devil that’s fine. But with all the poor info getting around I figure I would clear up some information for all. But a well thought out conversion / discussion is always welcome




Disclaimer: If you install wheel spacers and loose a wheel that’s your problem, not mine, I have never had issues and follow pretty strict rules while installing them so they stay put.
I will start with a description on hub spacers:


Hub centric: as pictured, this is great for alloy factory wheels that require centering due to using washer style wheel nuts that don’t actually support the wheel, they also lock the wheel into a central position. I prefer this style over the later,



Lug centric: As pictured, This relies on the lug nuts to center the spacer and the rim. Quite common for use on older 4wds with larger 108mm center bores. The studs take that weight. No more extra stress placed on studs than if you were to bolt bigger offset wheels.



The good:
Lets start with some goods, basically not everyone can afford new rims, but pumping out the factory rims may by you the clearance you need for bigger tyres or you may do it for looks or more vehicle stability. I would state a safe range would be less than 50mm but in saying that, those 6mm spacers can be quite risky as you will need longer studs and some people forgo that little bit as it is to much work.

I personally run 2 types of spacers, both hub centric and wheel nut centric.
I have hub centric on a gen 4 pajero, 35mm wide. They have been on for a total of about 25000 kms to date as I traveled around Africa weighing in at 3000kgs and smashing pot holes and what ever else was on the highway/dirt roads. I have never had a wheel come loose, or wheel bearing fail. Nothing, a completely clean run.

Before on stock rims:



After: (alignment out due to no weight in back)



The other type is centered by the wheel nuts, I have a set of 25mm spacers on my Gen 1 pajero, they are only at about 5000kms, although it did a trip to exmouth and got hammered down corrugations and never a fault.

The difference 25mm makes on factory rims:

Rear before:


rear after:



Front:




The bad:

I can’t sit here and tell you they are perfect in every way as there is always a downside, First will be extra wear on the wheel bearings due to pushing the load further away from the hub, how bad is it? I can’t answer that, I have had no problems to date.

The possibility of broken wheel studs / axel housings from the extra stress. There have been a few documentations of these happening, but the vehicles in question were being either abused or overloaded to begin with.



The Ugly:
Ejecto wheels, on the offhand these spacers are installed with little care you can risk losing a wheel completely. Nothing like having a wheel pass you going down the highway. This seems to come down to poor installation. I have never had anything come loose nor have I met someone in person with the same issue. You do hear stories about it though. Take those stories with a grain of salt.. wheels don’t just fall off without warning.



Installation tips:
1: Clean all the mating surfaces, take the extra 5 minutes. It makes a difference. I even broke out the sand paper to touch up the rougher areas.

2: Red/ purple Loctite – I Loctite all the spacers one and properly torque them to spec.

3: Torque to spec – I cannot stress this enough. Just running them on could cause issues.

Anyways, Enjoy and get out there. Except those in lock down.. you gotta wait.

[Two Emms]

OK, so some would say they enhance the appearance of the vehicle.

But for a deeper question, What do they "do" ?

Do they improve handling at high speed, or low speed ? Is off road capability improved or impeded? Do they require different suspension 'tuning' ?

Or are they like high heels, they look good and that's all that matters to some folks?

Not up for an argument either (hard pressed to get one here anyway) but would be interested to hear what people have to say about spacers and the practical benefits.

I might say, I like the look of them.

[Jasonmc73]

OK, so some would say they look enhance the appearance of the vehicle.

But for a deeper question, What do they "do" ?

Do they improve handling at high speed, or low speed ? Is off road capability improved or impeded? Do they require different suspension 'tuning' ?

Or are they like high heels, they look good and that's all that matters to some folks?

Not up for an argument either (hard pressed to get one here anyway) but would be interested to hear what people have to say about spacers and the practical benefits.

I might say, I like the look of them.

Well with tractors changing wheel track helps with Row Crop farming & provides stability on hills

What you need to watch with tractors but is it weakens the particular axle, brings the factory spec weight carrying capacities rite down & one needs to consider when you push the wheels out wider, especially front axles with loaders/ weight fitted out the front of the machine.

What does it do in this particular application is outside my scope & have no clue?
Wider wheels could be fitted I suppose?

Looks good though enjoy

[HomerJ]

Wheel spacers are illegal in Victoria -VSI 8-unless installed by the manufacturer as OEM and I'm guessing other states are the same.

[old Jack]

Illegal in all states in Australia so possible insurance issues if they can be attributed to incident/accident. Roadworthy inspection/certificates could be interesting also.

Warranty, is gone in relation to drive line and steering components.

More stone chips, dirt and mud thrown up on the body when running aggressive tyres.

Biggest issue I see is the change in steering geometry and self aligning torque characteristics/scrub radius.

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=42891

OJ.

[disco stu]

Wouldn't the same be said for running wheels with greater offset?

[nj swb]

You haven't mentioned scrub radius, an important parameter of your steering geometry. Unless you also change tyre diameter, every mm change in offset (spacer width) is a mm change in scrub radius. What was your factory scrub radius? For a parameter that may be very close to zero, a 35mm change is significant. Modern vehicles tend to have a small negative scrub radius - adding 35mm spacers has probably created a large positive scrub radius.

Scrub radius not only affects loads on your steering components but it also affects kick-back when a front tyre hits a bump, and can affect how the vehicle responds when one tyre drops of the bitumen at highway speeds. The larger the scrub radius the more pronounced the steering affect, which is likely to be amplified under brakes. If you get forced off the bitumen at highway speeds your instinct will be to jump on the brakes - a large positive scrub radius is likely to pull you strongly back onto the bitumen. Will that be good or bad?

I've never seen a vehicle with wheel studs set in an aluminium alloy - I've only ever seen an interference fit in steel. I'm happy to accept that an appropriate grade of aluminium alloy will work OK. A poor choice of aluminium alloy could "flow" over time, and allow the studs to loosen in the spacer. What grades of alloy are appropriate for to this application?

Your "lug centric" wheel spacers are clamped to your factory hub using tapered nuts. Tapered nuts are traditionally used on steel wheels, or alloy wheels with steel inserts. Your billet aluminium spacers don't have inserts - again, what grades of alloy are acceptable, that won't "flow" under pressure? Does the manufacturer specify the torque for tightening these nuts?

What grade are the studs, and how are they retained in the spacer? Does the manufacturer specify a maximum torque for the wheel nuts?

[cruisn06]

Illegal in all states in Australia so possible insurance issues if they can be attributed to incident/accident. Roadworthy inspection/certificates could be interesting also.

Warranty, is gone in relation to drive line and steering components.

More stone chips, dirt and mud thrown up on the body when running aggressive tyres.

Biggest issue I see is the change in steering geometry and self aligning torque characteristics/scrub radius.

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=42891

OJ.

We all know they are illegal, that wasnt the real point of this. it was more around the false knowledge of them having tyres just eject from cars from previous posts.

Technically according to new rules you cant even install your own lift anymore in this country wihtout paying 70 dollars for a permit and having it signed off by a competent mechanic.. what ever that means.

[cruisn06]

You haven't mentioned scrub radius, an important parameter of your steering geometry. Unless you also change tyre diameter, every mm change in offset (spacer width) is a mm change in scrub radius. What was your factory scrub radius? For a parameter that may be very close to zero, a 35mm change is significant. Modern vehicles tend to have a small negative scrub radius - adding 35mm spacers has probably created a large positive scrub radius.

I have no difference in steering weight or odd wearing. so it all seems fine. no differnt than adding large offset patrol wheels.

Scrub radius not only affects loads on your steering components but it also affects kick-back when a front tyre hits a bump, and can affect how the vehicle responds when one tyre drops of the bitumen at highway speeds. The larger the scrub radius the more pronounced the steering affect, which is likely to be amplified under brakes. If you get forced off the bitumen at highway speeds your instinct will be to jump on the brakes - a large positive scrub radius is likely to pull you strongly back onto the bitumen. Will that be good or bad?

I am hitting some serious bumps on my drive and no ill effects have been noticed nor does the vehicle pull.

I've never seen a vehicle with wheel studs set in an aluminium alloy - I've only ever seen an interference fit in steel. I'm happy to accept that an appropriate grade of aluminium alloy will work OK. A poor choice of aluminium alloy could "flow" over time, and allow the studs to loosen in the spacer. What grades of alloy are appropriate for to this application?

Your "lug centric" wheel spacers are clamped to your factory hub using tapered nuts. Tapered nuts are traditionally used on steel wheels, or alloy wheels with steel inserts. Your billet aluminium spacers don't have inserts - again, what grades of alloy are acceptable, that won't "flow" under pressure? Does the manufacturer specify the torque for tightening these nuts?

Tapered nuts have been used on everything from steel, to alloy to orginal mag whees. depending on the manufacturer obviously. as for torque spec, run oem. seems to work jsut fine. as for flowing of ally, you would be dealing with some crazy pressure to cause that. and would notice that you bought inferior product well before failure.

What grade are the studs, and how are they retained in the spacer? Does the manufacturer specify a maximum torque for the wheel nuts?

10.9 in both, press fit. as for torque spec, run oem or look up the yield of a 10.9 grade bolt and go from that, it is always an option.

[old Jack]

We all know they are illegal, that wasnt the real point of this. it was more around the false knowledge of them having tyres just eject from cars from previous posts.

Technically according to new rules you cant even install your own lift anymore in this country wihtout paying 70 dollars for a permit and having it signed off by a competent mechanic.. what ever that means.

Not sure about your first comment in regard "eject" ?

Your second comment about paying for a mechanic $70 to certify a suspension lift which you have installed yourself and is allowed under VSB-14, this requirement is only for WA!

Most of us choose which rules we are going to comply with and those we will not. This is a personal choice, however if the modification is not done correctly or is poorly designed then the consequences could be fatal to ourselves and other road users.
We all have a responsibility to acknowledge this.

The main concern is if people source cheap parts for modifications and install them themselves, then it is easy to get it wrong or overlook a substandard part or fitting procedure.

From purley an engineering point of view, wheel spacers have more negatives than positives compare to changing the offset of the wheels, there are simply to many more points of potential failure both human and mechanical.

Even changing the offset of the rims within the legal limit of 50mm widen of the vehicle track incurs some loss of long term mechanical reliability.

Please do not take this personally, I have really enjoyed reading about your African adventures with incredible envy. I just wish I had done it 30 years ago!

OJ.

[nj swb]

I have no difference in steering weight or odd wearing. so it all seems fine. no differnt than adding large offset patrol wheels.

The Patrol wheels typically fitted to Pajeros don't have a large offset. I don't know about Y62 wheels, but GQ / GU Patrol wheels are typically zero to +10mm offset.

Gen 4 Pajeros have a large +46mm offset wheel, such that fitting Patrol wheels would also be illegal, would have similar negative effects on suspension geometry, bearing loads and steering, but doesn't come with the additional potential failure points. Why didn't you fit Patrol wheels?

Fitting GQ or GU Patrol wheels (with zero or +10 offset) would probably be a good choice for your Gen 1. I fitted zero offset "Patrol fitment" steel wheels to my NJ, which was engineered with 33" tyres - and passed all steering, handling and braking tests with flying colours.

Tapered nuts have been used on everything from steel, to alloy to orginal mag whees. depending on the manufacturer obviously.

Wheels manufactured to meet an Australian Standard. Which Australian Standard(s) do your spacers meet? Which Australian Standard(s) are eBay cheapy spacers designed to meet?

and would notice that you bought inferior product well before failure.

Yes, and I am quite happy to acknowledge that you have the skills, knowledge, experience and cognisance to notice an impending failure. I admire your skills and experience, and the vast majority of what you post. I don't admire wheel spacers.

Will everybody else who reads and then buys and installs eBay cheapy spacers notice they have an inferior product that is about to fail? I didn't notice anything about skills, knowledge, experience, cognisance or product quality in your disclaimer.

10.9 in both, press fit. as for torque spec, run oem or look up the yield of a 10.9 grade bolt and go from that, it is always an option.

So the studs won't stretch under the nominal yield stress for a 10.9 grade bolt. Will the alloy in an eBay cheapy spacer resist the same yield stress? Which standard(s) should the spacers meet?

[cruisn06]

Not sure about your first comment in regard "eject" ?

Your second comment about paying for a mechanic $70 to certify a suspension lift which you have installed yourself and is allowed under VSB-14, this requirement is only for WA!


Most of us choose which rules we are going to comply with and those we will not. This is a personal choice, however if the modification is not done correctly or is poorly designed then the consequences could be fatal to ourselves and other road users.
We all have a responsibility to acknowledge this.

The main concern is if people source cheap parts for modifications and install them themselves, then it is easy to get it wrong or overlook a substandard part or fitting procedure.

From purley an engineering point of view, wheel spacers have more negatives than positives compare to changing the offset of the wheels, there are simply to many more points of potential failure both human and mechanical.

Even changing the offset of the rims within the legal limit of 50mm widen of the vehicle track incurs some loss of long term mechanical reliability.

Please do not take this personally, I have really enjoyed reading about your African adventures with incredible envy. I just wish I had done it 30 years ago!

OJ.

i'm no taking it personally, I jsut wanted to clear the air on this topic. As most go straight to the dangerous side where they are not that dangerous.

Its a post explaining the types and how they hold up.

[cruisn06]

The Patrol wheels typically fitted to Pajeros don't have a large offset. I don't know about Y62 wheels, but GQ / GU Patrol wheels are typically zero to +10mm offset.

Gen 4 Pajeros have a large +46mm offset wheel, such that fitting Patrol wheels would also be illegal, would have similar negative effects on suspension geometry, bearing loads and steering, but doesn't come with the additional potential failure points. Why didn't you fit Patrol wheels?

Didnt want to buy 6 brand new tyres for 17" rims. also this isnt a personal thing, its a explanation of how spacers are no where near as bad as people say.

Fitting GQ or GU Patrol wheels (with zero or +10 offset) would probably be a good choice for your Gen 1. I fitted zero offset "Patrol fitment" steel wheels to my NJ, which was engineered with 33" tyres - and passed all steering, handling and braking tests with flying colours.

Didnt want to change the factory rims as they look amazing

Wheels manufactured to meet an Australian Standard. Which Australian Standard(s) do your spacers meet? Which Australian Standard(s) are eBay cheapy spacers designed to meet?




Yes, and I am quite happy to acknowledge that you have the skills, knowledge, experience and cognisance to notice an impending failure. I admire your skills and experience, and the vast majority of what you post. I don't admire wheel spacers.

To each his own on the spacers, my main idea with the psot was for people that want to install them they get a real world review. and see the pros and cons, not jsut "yahh mate they look awesome" or "Dont do it" so people can make an educated choice.

Will everybody else who reads and then buys and installs eBay cheapy spacers notice they have an inferior product that is about to fail? I didn't notice anything about skills, knowledge, experience, cognisance or product quality in your disclaimer.

The disclaimer is 100% you are on your own. I've spent enough time with mechanics to know that "certified" can be a complete joke. so it seems to not matter who installs parts.



So the studs won't stretch under the nominal yield stress for a 10.9 grade bolt. Will the alloy in an eBay cheapy spacer resist the same yield stress? Which standard(s) should the spacers meet?

the maximium torque for a 10.9 I can find at the moment is 130nm and 160 for 12.9 which now that i see numbers is what mine may be. will need to check. either way, the yield between mild steel and 6061 ally is differnt by 6 MPa, so basically nill.

As for standards, basic iso standards, IE- grades of metal used shall be provided (which they are) and grade of studs shall be provided (which they are - i need to dig up the email)

I will agree you need to watch out on ebay though, I jsut had a look and you can get low quality grade 8 studs.

[Jasonmc73]

I appreciate the info & thread is great discussion & info


But just to me personally mods must carry benefit.

[Dicko1]

I appreciate the info & thread is great discussion & info


But just to me personally mods must carry benefit.

Same...mod must be proven to be safe , reliable and have a proven benefit....spacers dont fall into that category.