Rear Spacers Only?

[zipper]

Long time listener, first time caller.

I recently picked up a 1984 fj60 as a winter beater. It came with 33's (10.5) and seems to sit normal to maybe an inch high in the rear. I notice on full flex, the rear tires rub the inner wheel well. Also, it has the old fj40 wheels, and using search and FAQ, i think they dimensionally the same as the originals.

I do notice the fronts seem to sit about right at the fender line, but the rears sit inward about an inch to an inch and a half.

Is it OK to just run spacers in the rear only? Has anyone done that? How deep of a spacer?

I did see the rear track is .6" narrower than the front track in stock form, so I don't see why the rear being wider by 2 inches would pose much of an issue, and I think it would look much cleaner and solve the rubbing.

I'm not experiencing any problems up front with rubbing on brakes, tre's, or the wheel well, that i read about while searching, so I'm reticent to mess with it and cause one issue while fixing another.

I did spend time on search and FAQ and while I learned much about wheels and spacers, I could not find any experience or opinions on my specific question.

Thanks for any guidance.
EZ

 

[90FJ]

The 40 wheels are .5" narrower I believe so that will suck it into the body more so than the stockers.

Rear spacers shouldn't be an issue but I'm surprised the track width is different. Did you check to see if you have spacers up front already? PO might have put them on to clearance the TRE.

Pics!

Oh and make sure to buy quality spacers, Loctite and torq to spec.

 

[Mace]

Most vehicles have a narrower rear axle than front. It helps with cornering.

I ran a taco rear in my 40 with the stock front. I hated it. The rear would cut corners horribly. I never got used to it. ended up swapping both axles shortly after the conversion.

 

[zipper]

The 40 wheels are .5" narrower I believe so that will suck it into the body more so than the stockers.

Rear spacers shouldn't be an issue but I'm surprised the track width is different. Did you check to see if you have spacers up front already? PO might have put them on to clearance the TRE.

Pics!

Oh and make sure to buy quality spacers, Loctite and torq to spec.

I never did check that. I was merely going by factory spec. I looked because i was trying to ascertain if the the rears sat in deeper due to body taper or axle track. It appears both.

 

[zipper]

Most vehicles have a narrower rear axle than front. It helps with cornering.

I ran a taco rear in my 40 with the stock front. I hated it. The rear would cut corners horribly. I never got used to it. ended up swapping both axles shortly after the conversion.

Its true on pavement in an F1 car or a z06, but in a top heavy off road truck that has lugged tyres, and a front suspension set up to flex and not grab corners on turn in, other than scrubbing a curb now and then, I don't know how you can tell an inch of difference. I doubt I could, but i guess I'll soon find out.

Keep in mind, track is wheel center line to wheel center line, not the edge of the tyre, or the mounting surface of the axle. So when discussing a Z06, the rear track may .5 narrower,true, but the tyre surface is .5" farther out. You can adjust your track with a +/- rim, but on the front this may have some affect your handling, bearing life, cause scrubbing, etc.

I just recall off road guys saying they want the front the rear tyres to follow, especially on soft surface like sand, and I don't comprehend as to why, and I don't want to muck up things.

 

[Mace]

I'm not talking about handling at speed, I'm talking about the rear end following the front tire tracks.

The reason it's a good thing is because it sucks ass to make a turn on a hill and have the rear end cut the corner... Or, if you are trying to keep a technical line and the rear decides that it wants to be 6" over (enough to stop you in your tracks).

Like I said, it sucks..

 

[zipper]

90fj, I noticed 1.5" and 1.25" spacers seem to be common ones sold. I was also thinking of having these wheels widened to 7.5" which I think makes the backspace 5" as I measured a 3.5" backspace with the tyre on the rim. Will the 1.5" spacer make the tyre stick out beyond the sheet metal on a proper width rim?

The best test may be to just buy some parts, slap them on, and adjust as needed?

 

[zipper]

How much wider was the rear track?

I'm not talking about handling at speed, I'm talking about the rear end following the front tire tracks.

The reason it's a good thing is because it sucks ass to make a turn on a hill and have the rear end cut the corner... Or, if you are trying to keep a technical line and the rear decides that it wants to be 6" over (enough to stop you in your tracks).

Like I said, it sucks..

 

[Mace]

If you widen your wheels, you can have the backspace set to whatever you want. that being said, If you go more than about 3.75" backspacing, the front rims will rub on the Tierod ends.

 

[Mace]

The rear was an inch wider on each side. Doesn't seem like much huh..

 

[zipper]

The rear was an inch wider on each side. Doesn't seem like much huh..

No, not at all.

Definitely food for thought.

 

[zipper]

If you widen your wheels, you can have the backspace set to whatever you want. that being said, If you go more than about 3.75" backspacing, the front rims will rub on the Tierod ends.

Sort of.

I was wanting to open up the possibility of 12.5 tyres. I think the rims are 6", so I'm figuring 7.5" is as narrow as i fo for the tyre, and as wide as I dare for a 15" rim on this truck.

Wheels are typically widened from the back, because that wouldn't require cutting out the center and welding a band where it would be seen in the front. It's all just to complicated and cost prohibitive on this wheel from what i can see, so any additional width will be backspace with spacer correction. Kind of excessive effort to keep a stock(ish) wheel, really, but I like the look of Toyota hubcaps on these.

 

[Mace]

Wheels are typically widened from the back, because that wouldn't require cutting out the center and welding a band where it would be seen in the front. It's all just to complicated and cost prohibitive on this wheel from what i can see, so any additional width will be backspace with spacer correction. Kind of excessive effort to keep a stock(ish) wheel, really, but I like the look of Toyota hubcaps on these.

Perhaps in your neck of the woods (not really sure where you are other than your use of "Tyre" seems not in the US

Typically widened wheels in the US involve removing the centers out of a set of rims and welding in a new outer shell. There is no additional band tacked in.
How do you your steelies widened.

If you widen the inside of the rim by any perceptible amount without adding spacers, you will rub all over the place.