[map101]

Was looking at thread regarding wheel spacers and was wondering
if they had much of a downside with regards to the wheel bearings.
Since the put the wheel further out making a slight lever arm so to speak would this cause any premature wear on front axle components? Or is the distance so minor that there should not be really be any problems?

[camcruiser13]

depends alot on the width of the spacer. anything other than stock setup is going to put more stress on parts just a fact, i personally wouldnt worry about it unless you running some big meats

[greencruiser]

Originally Posted by map101

Was looking at thread regarding wheel spacers and was wondering
if they had much of a downside with regards to the wheel bearings.
Since the put the wheel further out making a slight lever arm so to speak would this cause any premature wear on front axle components? Or is the distance so minor that there should not be really be any problems?

yes they add stress to the trunion bearings and wheel bearings aswell as tie rod ends but so do big tires

[cjgoode]

I did a lot of research on this and they will not put any more stress on any part. If they wheel has 3 inch back spacing and a 1 inch spacer that equals 4 inches the tire sticks out. If you instead get a wheel with 4 inches of backspacing the wheel is the exact same 4 inches out, the distance from the bearings joints etc is the same, the leverage is the same the wear is the same. You do add another point failure in the additional set of wheel studs.

If you google this you will find where engineers put all the models together to prove there is no added stress on the axle or turning components, assuming you are comparing a wheel with the back spacing that equals a wheel and spacer to get to the same amount of backspacing.

[camcruiser13]

i dont think that he was going to run 6 inch backspaced wheels with 2 1/4 spacers to get back to stock.

he is going wider than stock i assume and is questioning based on that, i think.

being rude i hope i am not

[Splash]

I am running 1 1/2" spacers with 10" steel rims and 35" BFG mud terrains. I have about 10,000 miles on this set up. No problems so far. At first I pulled the wheels every few hundred miles to check for loose nuts on the spacers. The passenger side might have a couple that were at 50 pounds and not the desired 100 pounds. Drivers side was always tight. I just pulled them after several thousand miles and two trips through the Rubicon and all were still tight. Just my experience.

[PGH854runner]

I run nearly the same setup as splash and never had a problem....5 years of hard wheeling and theyve been fine

[fogblanket]

what are you putting these spacers on (fj40, mini truck ect..) and what tire wheel bs do you want to run. if you are planing on sticking these on the front of a landcruiser axle and want 1.5" spacer I would recommend looking into a sky widening ket. it puts the spacer behind the hub that way you are only dealing with one set of lug nuts per wheel instead of 2 I ran this and 1.4" spacers on the rear of my fj45 until I swapped in the fj62 rear. great if you are running alluminum wheels so the sapcers are the same materiel but I had a horrible time keeping eveything tight with the alluminum spacer sandwiched between a steel wheel and the steel axle. alomost lost a wheela nd had to pound out the spacer studs and put my trail spare toyota suds in the spacer to get me home upon getting home I stopped procrastinating and swapped the rear axle. maybe it has to do with climate but I am not a fan of spacers. I would look at other options first like the sky kit or wider axles
Jason

[map101]

thanks all. I have been looking at a lot of used wheels for my 1977 FJ40 and most would require using at least a 1.5 inch spacer. I just want to get some taller tires, maybe up to 33". However with budget the way it is looking to find some cheap used wheels. Found a few locally, but would require backspacing. Thanks for all of your input.

[bustanutley]

Originally Posted by cjgoode

I did a lot of research on this and they will not put any more stress on any part. If they wheel has 3 inch back spacing and a 1 inch spacer that equals 4 inches the tire sticks out. If you instead get a wheel with 4 inches of backspacing the wheel is the exact same 4 inches out, the distance from the bearings joints etc is the same, the leverage is the same the wear is the same. You do add another point failure in the additional set of wheel studs.

If you google this you will find where engineers put all the models together to prove there is no added stress on the axle or turning components, assuming you are comparing a wheel with the back spacing that equals a wheel and spacer to get to the same amount of backspacing.

This is totally backwards, do a little more research about the how the measurement of backspacing is achieved

[Lil'John]

By themselves, wheel spacers have only one issue: 6 more nuts to loosen up/keep track of.

I think overall backspacing is what kills bearings (ie wheel spacer plus actual wheel backspacing) and that is something that be shown with standard physics.

It all boils down to a simple lever type problem. The longer the lever, the more force it produces. The more the offset, the more force it produces on the axle pivot areas.

[bustanutley]

[nitpicking] the word you are looking when talking about levers is moment, the force remains the same [/nitpicking]

[camcruiser13]

how much are wheel spacers? pretty pricey

you can get some plain jane steel wheels for cheaper than you can some wheel spacers. i got mine with custom backspacing for pretty cheap.

point being its your rig
do what you want.

youll find out sooner or later you gotta replace lots of stuff on these things, no biggie

[CruisinGA]

Many people have run 1-2" wheelspacers for years, with larger tires on the road and off and have never had a problem, myself included.

There is an effect on steering, just as there is with wheels with less backspacing, the scrub radius is enlarged and can affect steering effort etc. Some complain of the truck catching grooves/edges in the road worse.

Nice thing about wheelspacers is you can buy them, try them and easily sell them if you don't like.

[Lil'John]

Originally Posted by camcruiser13

how much are wheel spacers? pretty pricey

I paid under $100 for a pair about a year ago.

Originally Posted by camcruiser13

you can get some plain jane steel wheels for cheaper than you can some wheel spacers. i got mine with custom backspacing for pretty cheap.

Depends upon one's goals. If one wants some good looking rims that are only available in certain offsets, wheel spacers may be needed.

Case in point, I wanted a set of black alloy tundra rims on my FJ55. They come in ONE offset. I bought 1.5" spacers so I could run them.

I did not want some "ugly" steel wagon wheels on my pig

[camcruiser13]

you can get wheels for as cheap as 30 bucks. just a suggestion, too many options out there

al depemds on the use of th rig i suppose,

but like like i always do whatever you want

[cjgoode]

I run 3 inch spacers on my scrambler, but that is because i wanted these aluminum rims and the offset was not right for 35's. They rubbed on the leaf springs, two choices different rims or wheel spacers, but I wanted the outside of the rim to be more flush with the tire. I would not have gotten those rims used and some wheel spacers if I did any rock crawling, but here in FL that is not a real option. 2 rims probably wold have cost me that I paid for 4 nice rims and 35 mud tires on them.

[map101]

Amazing what we do to enjoy our Landcrushers. I constantly am looking at new things to do. Sounds like I am not alone. It sure can be enjoyable. Have a classic which is fun to work on and you can work on instead of taking to a shop and also have a beast which can give you loads of fun. Glad I bought my friends 77 FJ40 cruiser back in 1995. I think he made a big mistake selling it to me, I got all the fun. Wheels are my next project.