Spacers for stock size wheels / tires - benefits? risks?

[TheComedian]

56mm Spacers here (28mm p side) and I needed to remove my … how are these called? … plastic housings at the tires and rebuild them since it was rubbing very strong while steering.

I use them to be more stable on the street… and for the optics

 

[LC Mike]

Great thread! This has been a question on my mind lately as well. Just ordered the Geolandar G015’s to give them a go.

For a 275/70R18 (listed at 33.3”) would a .75” (19 mm) spacer be ”better” vs. no spacer?

I am also trying to finalize my decision on 275/70R18 (Nitto Ridge Grapplers) which list at 33.2 inches to go with or without spacers. For my 2019 200 the rear wheel stud is 1.09 inches long and the stock OEM wheels only have about 0.17 inch of recess, so there is not enough room for a 0.75 inch wheel spacer without some alterations. I need an additional 1.09-0.75-0.17=0.17 inches for the wheel to sit flush on the spacer. A 1-inch spacer would work, but it gives me less offset than what I want. I think the front wheel studs might be a little shorter, but I need to measure those to confirm. That leaves three options if I want to keep the OEM wheels and use 0.75 inch spacers: change the studs to shorter ones, cut down the studs shorter, or deepen the recess in wheels to provide the clearance. I am thinking about doing the last option.
I don't know what other LC years have either (I would think the +16s are the same), so you might be in the same situation.

 

[ThirdShore]

I am also trying to finalize my decision on 275/70R18 (Nitto Ridge Grapplers) which list at 33.2 inches to go with or without spacers. For my 2019 200 the rear wheel stud is 1.09 inches long and the stock OEM wheels only have about 0.17 inch of recess, so there is not enough room for a 0.75 inch wheel spacer without some alterations. I need an additional 1.09-0.75-0.17=0.17 inches for the wheel to sit flush on the spacer. A 1-inch spacer would work, but it gives me less offset than what I want. I think the front wheel studs might be a little shorter, but I need to measure those to confirm. That leaves three options if I want to keep the OEM wheels and use 0.75 inch spacers: change the studs to shorter ones, cut down the studs shorter, or deepen the recess in wheels to provide the clearance. I am thinking about doing the last option.
I don't know what other LC years have either (I would think the +16s are the same), so you might be in the same situation.

I have no expertise in this regard, which is why I’m seeking confirmation for the “best” solution for my soon 33.3” 275/70R18 setup, but this other thread seems to say .75” should still fit for 2016+ OEM wheels.

Can anyone confirm?

Post in thread 'Bora .375” or .5” spacers'
Bora .375” or .5” spacers - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/bora-375-or-5-spacers.1259677/post-14034869

 

[TeCKis300]

I am also trying to finalize my decision on 275/70R18 (Nitto Ridge Grapplers) which list at 33.2 inches to go with or without spacers. For my 2019 200 the rear wheel stud is 1.09 inches long and the stock OEM wheels only have about 0.17 inch of recess, so there is not enough room for a 0.75 inch wheel spacer without some alterations. I need an additional 1.09-0.75-0.17=0.17 inches for the wheel to sit flush on the spacer. A 1-inch spacer would work, but it gives me less offset than what I want. I think the front wheel studs might be a little shorter, but I need to measure those to confirm. That leaves three options if I want to keep the OEM wheels and use 0.75 inch spacers: change the studs to shorter ones, cut down the studs shorter, or deepen the recess in wheels to provide the clearance. I am thinking about doing the last option.
I don't know what other LC years have either (I would think the +16s are the same), so you might be in the same situation.

I have no expertise in this regard, which is why I’m seeking confirmation for the “best” solution for my soon 33.3” 275/70R18 setup, but this other thread seems to say .75” should still fit for 2016+ OEM wheels.

Can anyone confirm?

Post in thread 'Bora .375” or .5” spacers'
Bora .375” or .5” spacers - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/bora-375-or-5-spacers.1259677/post-14034869

A 33.2" tall tire wants about a +43 offset. That's not to say it has to be exactly that. A .75" spacer puts a stock 60mm wheel at an effective offset of +41mm. That's practically perfect.

I've run a 305/55R20 33.2" tall tire with 1" spacers for years. Effective offset of +35. I personally noted some scrub radius symptoms but then I'm hyper focused from my sports car track days. Still very acceptable and I would say that the majority would probably not no difference. A 1" spacer paired with a narrower 275 tire would sit nicely flush at the fender.

 

[LC Mike]

I just did a measurement of my front wheel stud and it is 0.95 inches (the rear was 1.09 inches), which means I need 0.20 inches of recess in the wheels to clear the studs with a 0.75 inch spacer. The recess varies, but is just about that, so I can see how you could get it on without any stud trimming, but mine will bottom out in some spots in the recess ever so slightly. Interesting that the studs are 0.14 inches (3.6 mm) shorter on the front wheels so there is about 2.5 less turns of engagement on the wheel lug. I counted about 12 turns on the rear, so that gives about 9.5 turns in the front, which is where you want to be. So I can trim down the rear studs some and probably still be good, or just go with slightly wider spacers in the rear (which of course does not change scrub radius in the front).

 

[Glock3540]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I got another year of life out of my “old” tires.
I recently did in fact purchase a new set of Michelin Defenders in 305/50R20 size and I Love Them! They provide a very nice ride quality and performance and I love the way they look.
I know my ride is more of a mall cruiser but these tires give it just a hint of capable off-road prowess.
I added .75” Bora wheel spacers as well.
I think the overall look is clean but at the same time purposeful.
Thanks for letting me share.
Blessings, Brian

 

[highfructose]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I got another year of life out of my “old” tires.
I recently did in fact purchase a new set of Michelin Defenders in 305/50R20 size and I Love Them! They provide a very nice ride quality and performance and I love the way they look.
I know my ride is more of a mall cruiser but these tires give it just a hint of capable off-road prowess.
I added .75” Bora wheel spacers as well.
I think the overall look is clean but at the same time purposeful.
Thanks for letting me share.
Blessings, Brian

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Did you happen to drill out reliefs/pockets in the rear of your wheels to accommodate the lugs which protrude beyond the 0.75” spacers and into the rear face of the oem wheels?

 

[Glock3540]

Did you happen to drill out reliefs/pockets in the rear of your wheels to accommodate the lugs which protrude beyond the 0.75” spacers and into the rear face of the oem wheels?

Hello,
I know this sounds kind of crazy but I really cannot remember. I bought and installed the spacers over a year ago about the time I posted on this thread. With that being said, I do remember doing something. I don’t think I modified the wheels but maybe I trimmed the unthreaded ends of the OEM studs a bit? Sorry, I really cannot remember.

I did fail to mention that I had a bit of an issue at Discount Tire. The 305’s were technically two sizes “wider” than the 285’s that were on it. Michelin did not list a 295 in the Defenders but skipped to the 305 on their website. I showed the tech that was waiting on me a review a customer posted On Their Website where they had installed these exact tires on his LX 570 and he was very pleased. The tech seemed a bit confused and said he had to ask his manager if it was OK to sell me and install the 305’s. The manager came over, looked at the computer screen for a moment and then asked me with a confident tone “Does it have that air suspension on it?”.
I’ve done extensive maintenance on my AHC system. I’ve replaced all of the accumulator globes, flushed the entire system several times and went through literally hundreds of dollars of Toyota suspension fluid. I’ve also removed and disassembled the pump for inspection (twice) and reinstalled everything so I’m pretty familiar with the system. I knew it wasn’t an “air suspension” at all. I didn’t want to make him look foolish so I said “Yes.”.
He then told the tech that it “raises and lowers so it would be alright” and they sold me the tires.

When I got home I checked clearances and noticed some rubbing on both of the front plastic fender liners. Not a huge amount but enough to bother me. I ended up trimming the plastic where it was rubbing and now all is great!

Sorry about not remembering about the mods but I do highly recommend the tires.
Hope this helps a bit.
Blessings, Brian

 

[highfructose]

Hello,
I know this sounds kind of crazy but I really cannot remember. I bought and installed the spacers over a year ago about the time I posted on this thread. With that being said, I do remember doing something. I don’t think I modified the wheels but maybe I trimmed the unthreaded ends of the OEM studs a bit? Sorry, I really cannot remember.

I did fail to mention that I had a bit of an issue at Discount Tire. The 305’s were technically two sizes “wider” than the 285’s that were on it. Michelin did not list a 295 in the Defenders but skipped to the 305 on their website. I showed the tech that was waiting on me a review a customer posted On Their Website where they had installed these exact tires on his LX 570 and he was very pleased. The tech seemed a bit confused and said he had to ask his manager if it was OK to sell me and install the 305’s. The manager came over, looked at the computer screen for a moment and then asked me with a confident tone “Does it have that air suspension on it?”.
I’ve done extensive maintenance on my AHC system. I’ve replaced all of the accumulator globes, flushed the entire system several times and went through literally hundreds of dollars of Toyota suspension fluid. I’ve also removed and disassembled the pump for inspection (twice) and reinstalled everything so I’m pretty familiar with the system. I knew it wasn’t an “air suspension” at all. I didn’t want to make him look foolish so I said “Yes.”.
He then told the tech that it “raises and lowers so it would be alright” and they sold me the tires.

When I got home I checked clearances and noticed some rubbing on both of the front plastic fender liners. Not a huge amount but enough to bother me. I ended up trimming the plastic where it was rubbing and now all is great!

Sorry about not remembering about the mods but I do highly recommend the tires.
Hope this helps a bit.
Blessings, Brian

You may want to pull a tire and check if the modification was made…if a pocket wasn’t drilled or the studs weren’t trimmed, then the wheel likely isn’t “flush” against the spacer and, instead, is merely torqued up against the exposed studs…which may, over time, “Waller” out and become loose, potentially leading to the same type of catastrophic wheel from car separation that can occur when people improperly install non hubcentric spacers.

 

[Glock3540]

Great Advice. Thank You.

I knew I didn’t have the studs resting against the inside of the wheel because I’m the type of guy that checks, rechecks and checks again to make sure a diy type project is performed properly.
I embarrassed myself by not remembering exactly what I did so
after church today, I took off two of my wheels (both on the driver’s side).
As you can see by the pics, my wheels have more than enough clearance to accommodate the wheel studs. Looking at the studs themselves, I cannot remember if I replaced all of them with shorter studs or if these are the OEM studs that came on the vehicle. I do however remember being very methodical on attaching the hubs.
I torque spec everything that I can when working on anything but especially on vehicles due to the possible safety issues that can arise from tightening something “good enough” vs OEM torque spec.
When I installed the spacers, I do remember triple checking their fastener torque spec, installing my wheels, driving it several miles (50 miles?) and then taking off my wheels and torquing them to spec yet again. I did this procedure at least once and maybe up to three times (again, I didn’t document my procedure so I’m going off memory).

My father worked at Pirell/Armstrong for decades. He started off building tires and worked all the way up to working in their tire laboratories. Our evening meal topic was usually something to do with tire development of and proper tire care. “Son, Always rotate your tires religiously. Check the air pressure regularly as well, etc., etc.
He was so anal about tire wear that he replaced his tires when they were Appx 1/2 worn. We also had our own tire changing machine in our garage. We changed our own tires for quite sometime.
(BTW: Even though he worked for Pirelli, and having a vast knowledge about tires he told me on more than one occasion “Son, There is Michelin and then there are everyone else”. He meant they were in a class all by themselves. He said they could not figure out how they could make such a well made tire.
Watch Jay Leno’s garage. Jay says he buys Michelin every time he can because “they are round!”
Sorry about chasing rabbits…

Please do not trust any retail tire seller to treat your vehicle with as much care as you do. For example, after this set of tires that I purchase just weeks ago, I jacked my LX up one corner at a time and checked their torque spec. Although it is hard to get exact measurements, on the drivers side front wheel, two wheel nuts were well over 100 lbs (120lbs?), one was close to spec, the fourth nut was around 75 lbs and the last was close to 55 lbs! I have no idea how they could be so inconsistent!
The other 3 wheels had similar variances.
I realize that alloy wheels can be much more sensitive to improper torque and lug taper. The faces get deformed and seating the lug to see true torque is harder to achieve. This causes the stud nut to ride on a minimal contact area and quickly wears this down, becoming loose. Discount Tire is less than 4 miles from my house so there is no way they could have naturally loosened in that short of a trip! The fact is you cannot trust these places to do all procedures properly. You have to do what you can to insure the safety of yourself and those around you.

After I checked their wildly inconsistent wheel nut torquing, I reinstalled the nuts and torqued them in stages. I guess due to working on and rebuilding engines all my life, I treat them similar to head bolts!
Using the proper torquing sequence pattern, I start off torquing them to 75ftlbs, then 85, then 95 Ft lbs and finally 97 ft lbs. I check each wheel but on the final torque I check the torque an additional three times to insure they are torqued as well as I’m able to in a home shop.

Sorry for all of the detail and I’m not really answering your question except to say
“ In my case, it appears my wheels had more than adequate clearance for the wheel studs but not sure if they are the OEM length studs or not.”

Hope this helps on some way.
Blessings, Brian

 

[Glock3540]

BTW; I Love How Wide They Are!
( My wife used to be a 1/4 mile drag racer back in the day. She calls these tires “Road Hogs!”)

 

[spazzyfry123]

Anyone running OEM wheels and tire size with spacers? I believe that may have been the original intent of the thread, but unless I missed it, I don't think I saw with OEM sizing - most were +1 or so.

Curious how 1.25" spacers would do (with OEM front coil spacer as well) with 16+ OEM 18" wheels and tires 285/60/18 BFGs.

 

[lx200inAR]

Anyone running OEM wheels and tire size with spacers? I believe that may have been the original intent of the thread, but unless I missed it, I don't think I saw with OEM sizing - most were +1 or so.

Curious how 1.25" spacers would do (with OEM front coil spacer as well) with 16+ OEM 18" wheels and tires 285/60/18 BFGs.

Not sure what your question is. It will certainly work, at least anything that works for a +1 is going to work for a stock size. You will be putting more stress on your steering components, but the truck isn't going to burst into flames.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Not sure what your question is. It will certainly work, at least anything that works for a +1 is going to work for a stock size. You will be putting more stress on your steering components, but the truck isn't going to burst into flames.

Understood, but I have not seen it with effectively OEM suspension and 1.25" wheel spacers. Will the truck see rubbing?

 

[lx200inAR]

Understood, but I have not seen it with effectively OEM suspension and 1.25" wheel spacers. Will the truck see rubbing?

Looks like some people say 285/65R18 barely rubs with a 1.25" spacer, so i suspect a stock tire probably clears fine. I probably should just see my way out since I'm not running spacers or stock size tires and have little real world input to this scenario.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Looks like some people say 285/65R18 barely rubs with a 1.25" spacer, so i suspect a stock tire probably clears fine. I probably should just see my way out since I'm not running spacers or stock size tires and have little real world input to this scenario.

Thanks. Not sure why my searching has been resulting in net zero. This is admittedly strictly for aesthetics. 80 series is the true toy with the 200 hauling gummy bears and dirty diapers on factory sized all-terrains. Mama needs to look cool.

 

[LTSR]

Understood, but I have not seen it with effectively OEM suspension and 1.25" wheel spacers. Will the truck see rubbing?

I ran 1" spacers with stock 16+ wheels and stock sized tires for a short stint. No rubbing anywhere. I'm pretty sure I posted pics here too. My goal was not to have the sunk wheel factory look. It was on the factory tires so they still look geeky but with stock sized ATs + spacers, I bet they look good.

 

[TeCKis300]

Anyone running OEM wheels and tire size with spacers? I believe that may have been the original intent of the thread, but unless I missed it, I don't think I saw with OEM sizing - most were +1 or so.

Curious how 1.25" spacers would do (with OEM front coil spacer as well) with 16+ OEM 18" wheels and tires 285/60/18 BFGs.

Will the physical fitment work? Yes.

Maybe part of the question is there other trades?

Dynamic performance is where you're going to give up some. Offset is integral to suspension geometry and without up sizing tires (which naturally wants lower offsets from a geometry perspective), the scrub radius will not be good. That will cause things like steering pull on acceleration/braking, and more steering feedback (the bad fatigueing kind) when on irregular surfaces. There will be handling impacts with less cornering traction as the tires don't point and work together as optimally. On really low traction surfaces like rain and ice, cornering may just have the traction wash out unexpectedly.

I wouldn't do it. If you must, less is more and .75 or 1" spacers would be preferred over 1.25.

 

[nor_cal_cyclist]

FYI - your dealer will refuse to adjust your e-brake and rotate your tires if you have spacers. Between that and other issues, I'm pulling my 1.25" spacers and getting a wheel that will accommodate my suspension/current set up (BBS TRD wheels and the spacers).