wheel spacers; who likes them?

so i am DEFINATELY getting wheel spacers. i do know that. but what size should i get?

i need a little space to pull my 33" boggers away from the frame, shock mount bolt, leaf spring, and header for when my suspension is pressed up hard and my tire is turned all the way.

i am leaning towards 2"... i don't think 1" is enough, 1.5" may do it, i'm sure 2" will clear, and 2.5" just seems like too much. :? any thoughts about what size?

also, who can tell me the troubles that i am going to add and experience? i would think that having the tires an extra 2" away from my axle knuckle/tie rod end will produce a little extra stress on the steering (which has always been one of my favorite problems to deal with).

:? anything else that i should know about?
:? any other thoughts or opinions about wheel spacers?

thanks all, i'll just kick back and have a couple 's and wait to hear from ya.

 

I run 1 1/2" up front & 1 3/4 in the rear of my '78 w/ 32-11.5-15s. I like 'em. Keeps the tires clear of parts. I still rub my fenders a bit but I only have 1 1/2" lift shackles. Putting on a 2" susp lift this weekend. 2" spacers are gettin out there a bit. You should probably be good w/ 1 3/4" spacers. Just my .02.

 

I agree with 1.5" to 1.75" spacing. This should be fine for clearance. But I would get rims with the correct backspacing. I don't have anything against spacers but not sure I would put them in my rig. Too many nuts for me. :? Just my 2.5 cents.

 

yea, all the x-tra nuts are a downfall. You need to check them more often. I used locktite on mine. Mine are also made from stainless, so I have less expansion/contraction as opposed to the alluminum ones.

 

I would never use wheel spacers. the best part of having an old cj, besides simplicity, is width. Some of the trails around here are pre 76 cj5 only trails. an inch or two wider and you can't even get in. I just deal with the 33's rubbing. they've got some gashes from bolts, but never suffer performance wise.

The best part is going through two poles your friends swear you can't fit between.

 

and they have been treating you well for 7.5 years i assume..?

so, i have the tires already, they are mounted on some alloys. tires are 33x14.00x15 (some fat boy boggers), alloys are 15x10. i don't know the backspacing on them. i know it is a good amount, and the tires require a 10" to fit them. the tires are just super wide. out here in southern california, i'm not stressing width too much.

besides a couple people not really liking the idea of having them, and needing to use locktite on the inner lugnuts... has anyone ever experienced problems with having them?

thanks all.

 

A buddy of mine has been running 2" spacers on his rock crawler for years. He's currently running them with 40" tires and hydraulic assist steering on a heavily built YJ that has seen every extreme trail in the country. He has never had any problems with them. His boy used to run them until he went to full width one-ton axles. I will definitely be running them when I get my lift and 35's on.

 

ok, so i am still leaning towards 2" spacers then. ideally down the road, i'd like to put a couple full width d60's under mine, so both now and then, i'm really not concerned with the width issue. i've been wondering lately how long of life i'll be getting out of my d30 front. people on here run them and smaller ones, makes me think i may not need them, but time and trails will tell. hopefully i'll be getting these soon, along with a lift. leaning towards the bds 2.5"... the wife actually is pushing towards getting the lift with the tax refund check! i was the one saying maybe put it in our savings and blah blah blah, but she wants the lift and use the sweet boggers that are just sitting in the garage. what a gal!

 

Once you go to full width 60's, you shouldn't need the spacers. The only reason my buddy runs the spacers is to keep the tires off the suspension when turning. Having run full width axles and monster tires myself, I know there is such a thing as too wide, expecially when it won't fit on a standard car carrier any more. Once you get past 82" sidewall to sidewall, things get a little dicey.

FWIW, these guys run Spidertrax spacers. Forged aluminum with top notch hardware. They'll take plenty of abuse.

 

I'm running 1 1/2" spacers on the rear to even things out with the D30. I've never had a problem with them. I used Locktite on the lugs. They've never come loose. Get the sawzall ready for the rear fenders when you put those 34 x 14 tires on. I think you'll have to cut them even if you go with a 4" lift.

 

I've got spidertrax spacers, just to keep tires from rubbing when turning hard.

 

I run 2.5" spacers on my NT44 rear to bring it out the the same track width as the WT 30 front. I have had them for several years now and have had ZERO problems. I also shelled out the $$$ for the high-end forged custom made spacers.


before

After

 

Another option is to buy wheels with the proper offset or have the wheels you have changed. I have a set of 12" Eagle's that have a 4" off set that keep the rubber off my suspension and headers pretty well.

 

ok, i went with the 2" spacers and put them on. i got a great deal on them... set of 4 for $146 shipped to my door the next day (of course east LA to north san diego county is not that far). i put them on a couple weeks ago and forgot to show them to you all. oops! so here are some before and afters... the before pics are on 31's, after pics obviously not, it is now sitting on the 33x14x15 boggers (quite possibly the greatest bday/xmas gift ever-thank you wifey!)



...and.......

 

Looks sweet, I am looking at a set od billet 6061 2 inch spacers right now, now that you have had them a while how do you like them? Any problems?

 

i had 1.5 inch spacers on my old cj7 for a loooong time ,and never had a problem.
i used red loctite and rechecked them every so offten and never had to re tighten them.
adding wheel spacers is know different then running wheels with a different back spacing. so any steering/bearing/hub.... issues are the same. i personally never experinced any bad "issues" at all.