Who's running wheel spacers post lift?

[T Y L E R]

After reading some of the info here within some prior posts, I'm not certain a wider stance is a safer stance. However I still plan on widening mine .. Not by a whole lot. I have been planning 10" wheels forever it seems, but would like to know what you guys that have gone to spacers with stock wheels think of them.

I'm thinking 1 or 1.5" ought to suffice.


Thoughts?



TY

 

[NorCalDoug]

I'm planning on going with 1.25" spacers. For stability, wider is better, IMO. I don't recall where it was that I read/heard it, but I think 1.25" is the optimal width for 80 spacers -- something to do with the length of the OEM lugs.

 

[LX_TREME]

T, you mean those down below?

 

[Curran]

I installed wheel spacers after switching to Christos 6" lift. I ordered billet aluminum spacers from www.mcmotorsports.com. IIRC the limit on how wide you can (should) go with the spacers is the width of the exposed hubs. I think that my spacers were 1.25 and I have a small bit of wheel hanging over the edge of the hub. Someone (kumar) once claimed that 1" was as wide as you could go but he also had centramic wheel balancers stuffed on the hub as well.


Curran

 

[treerootCO]

I bought 1.25 spacers as a temporary fix until I get the FJ60 axels under my 40. (not an 80 I know)....

Lots of people run them but make sure to retorque them often.

My expierence is that they WILL amplifiy anything that isn't perfect in your setup. Steering, shocks, tie-rods ends, tires, balance, wear, slop, vibration, etc.

 

[corbs]

This is the exact debate I'm going through right now. 10" wide rims or spacers? If I did go with spacers I think I'd stick with 1" ones, just so that the tires didn't stick out too far. Technically/legally they are perfect right now (tread is right at edge of wheel well) but I'd like a wider track as well.

FWIW, I ran 15x10 with 3 5/8 backspacing and I did rub some in the back at full stuff (just a little), it was on the area above the "mud flap".

 

[clownmidget]

I've got 1.5" spacers that I ran with the stock 16" rims with the Michelin xzl's and with the Sequoia/Tundra 17" alloys and 315's and with Christo's 6" springs. I had the same setup with the smaller lift (around 4-5") and thought I should have gone with 1" or maybe 1.25" spacers. But with the 6" lift it is perfect. I still have the fender flares on (at least most of the time) so that helps I think but I don't feel the tires stick out at all. I've had zero problems with them too but I'd recommend checking the torque on the lugs on the spacers every time you do a tire rotation just to be safe and be prudent on the torque settings.
Mike R

 

[bluto]

"Clownmidget, I am lucky enough to get a set of 2003 Sequoia 17" alloy rims for free. I am putting them on my 95 LC stock. You mentioned you have some on your rig. Will I need any mods to fit the 17s. What tire size do you recommend to avoid any modifications. I would like to put ATs or Muds.

 

[NorCalDoug]

To fully answer the question I think we'd have to take into consideration the backspacing on the 17" tundra wheels vs the backspacing on OEM? If they're the same, then 1.5" would be cool.

 

[clownmidget]

Doug, they aren't the same. The 17" ones sit further in than the stock 16" ones. I'm not sure if that's more or less backspacing. But I found that it didn't matter for my purposes. I had bigger tires on the stock rims and they were used off-road so I didn't mind that they stuck out a little more and made the stance wider. With the 17's I use on the street, the 315/70's BFG AT's end up about just right.

But it definitely is up to each with what lift they have, what tires they want to run and how they use the truck. I just couldn't pass up how cheap the Tundra rims were and most bling-bling boys are virtually throwing away the BFG AT's off the H2's. That goes a long way towards not being able to justify aftermarket rims.

txkndu, if your truck is bone stock you could run the 17's with the stock 265's that come on it but they are not much more than street tires. But you won't really know about spring spacers until you mount them up.

I'm going out to shoot some pictures.

 

[NW-sickboy]

I run them (1.5) with rims that are pro comp alloys (4.5 inch bs).... I am going to a 2 inch BS rim just becasue i still want to be wider. FWIW i only want to be wider for trail use. My rig currently tracks great on the freeway and feels plenty stable but would like a little more width on the trail...... tourque frequetnly and you should be fine.

 

[MTNRAT]

i have 1.25" spacers with slee 6" lift. There was a very noticable improvement in tracking with the spacers.
Cheers,
Sean

 

[wb1948]

I put on j springs and 35s. Looked cool. Then I put 1-1/8 spacers and it looked like a beast. I didn't drive it much with out them so I can't comment on ride quality, but as far as looks... it will definately change the look of the vehicle(IMO in a good way).

 

[TX_TLC]

I put on j springs and 35s. Looked cool. Then I put 1-1/8 spacers and it looked like a beast. I didn't drive it much with out them so I can't comment on ride quality, but as far as looks... it will definately change the look of the vehicle(IMO in a good way).

Got any before and after pics???

 

[Shipwreck]

I've got 1.5" spacers that I ran with the stock 16" rims with the Michelin xzl's and with the Sequoia/Tundra 17" alloys and 315's and with Christo's 6" springs. I had the same setup with the smaller lift (around 4-5") and thought I should have gone with 1" or maybe 1.25" spacers. But with the 6" lift it is perfect...

Did you notice the increased scrub radius?

I added 1.5" spacers to my FJ40 after doing the SOA and I could definitely feel the resistance do to the increased scrub radius when running on the rocks. After a couple runs on the 'con my saginaw pump was working hard. It started squeeling a bit and overflowed when the fluid bagan to heat up. I added a second cooler to the line and the improved cooling and increased volume solved the problem.

I plan to install Christo's 6" lift this fall and will do the 1.5" spacers. I'm wondering if I should plan to add a second steering fluid cooler at the same time.

 

[T Y L E R]

Great info so far guys! Thanx .. . I was expecting only a few to reply, but as more do it becomes clearer which particular setup might be best served by what size spacer.

In my case I think I'd stop at a 1.25". Given that I only run approx 4" lift and 315's on stock alloys. I should see if anyone powder coats in town. I bet the stock alloys would look great in a gunmetal grey. You can powder coat 'alloys' yes?



Peace,


TY

 

[hoser]

I've run 1" spacers with OEM wheels on my 80. The OEM lug bolts will protrude slightly past the spacer but they fit right into the gaps of the OEM wheels. Does that make sense? Steering effort went up slightly but it handled just fine. The 1" spacers worked pretty good because it allowed the wheel to still make contact with the hub--keeping the wheel easy to install.

 

[ginericLC]

Mickey Thompson Classic 2 as the 16x8 is 3 5/8" backspacing. http://www.4wheelparts.com/4wp/prod...an=MT&parentProdline=WheClassicMT&expand=sub1


Or an Allied Alloy http://www.alliedwheel.com/one-piece/rockcrusher.html which is a rip off from the Weld Stone Crusher. The cool thing about these is that they have 3 5/8" backspacing and they are fairly cheap.

I know the Mickey Thompsons just got hammered for the finish corroding with road melt solvent.

The other option is custom steel. I've found these to be expensive and not very attractive. Getting a raw unpainted wheel doesn't appeal to me. And where I live we don't have powdercoaters on every corner, heck we don't even have a chromer in the state of Idaho.

It is tough finding less backspaced wheels to make it wider in 16x8. A 16x10 with 4" backspacing is fairly common. Which really widens you up but you would most likely need to be running wider tires to keep them seated properly fo the trail. Then you can be really wide!

On my 91 I ran 3.25" backspaced wheels 15x8s and I loved the added width. Technically, I was 4" wider than stock minus the added tire width just by switching wheels and tires on that rig.

3 5/8" is roughly 3.6" so I'd be almost 2" wider than stock than a stock FZJ80.

17" rims are much worse as most are 5" backspacing which means if you use a Sequoia 17x8 you are 1" narrower than stock.

I was really against spacers but I'm thinking about doing a 1.25" spacer on my 94 because I don't like the two wheel choices I've found with less backspacing. Plus they are cheaper than buying a new set of wheels. I'm still a little unsure of the safety thing. I want my wife to be safe in this rig and not have to worry about retorqing lugnuts.

I have 2" spacers with 3.5" backspaced 15x8s on my 40. It needs the width to clear the 36x13.50" Iroks. Technically I'm running a 1.5" backspaced rim which I don't think is possible to make.

It appears there are a lot more people running spacers than what I thought. I'm going to run without for awhile and see what I think I need for width before jumping on the bandwagon.

 

[T Y L E R]

Eric, what about the Rock Crawler wheels you see at 4Wheelparts ? They come in 16x10 with around 4" or more BS .. If I don't go spacers, I'll likely go that route. They're a steel wheel, and ring in at $72 a pc I think.


TY

 

[clownmidget]

17" rims w/spacers pics

Ok, so here are some pics of the Sequoia/Tundra wheel on 1.5" spacers. Also, here is how I modified the rear center caps so they will fit over the FF hub. I'll get a pic from the front and rear for perspective on how much the tires stick out first thing tomorrow if anyone is interested.