How do wheel spacers work?
What Do Wheel Spacers Do? Wheel spacers install onto your wheel assembly. This increases the space between the wheel hub assembly and the wheel itself, which sets the wheel farther outward. It's important to note that spacers don't move the hub assembly, they only move the wheel.
The main issue with a wheel spacer is that it moves the wheel to a wider position whilst the rest of the suspension arms remain in the same place. In particular, the king pin inclination axis remains in the same place. Therefore, fitting a wheel spacer moves the wheel outboard and alters the scrub radius of the car.
By widening the wheel offset (and pushing the wheels further away from the chassis), the wheel spacers reduce body roll. This helps improve your tires' lateral grip. The tires are more evenly loaded, which leads to better handling of the car and faster acceleration coming out of a corner.
That is why many racing enthusiasts will race and drift with wheel spacers. The brand manufacturer tests each spacer meticulously to make sure they give the biggest safety or reliability possible. So, you can use wheel spacers at high speeds with no problem.
If you installed them properly, 2-inch wheel spacers are exactly very safe to use and will not cause any vibration. It is recommended to get your wheel spacers installed at a reputable wheel shop. To ensure safety, the lug nuts need to be torqued properly.
Ideally, wheel spacers should last forever. However, that's not always the case. Wheel spacers can fail as a result of poor workmanship, botched installation, or sizing issues.
The Bad News...
For example, they may increase the wear of the bearings, axles, and hubs since the vehicle you are driving likely wasn't designed for the additional width you set it to; depending on how far out you are going with your wheel offset of course.
And improper installation, for example, untightened or overtightened lug nuts will also increase the chances of accidents. So, are wheel spacers safe for daily driving? — as long as you take the appropriate safety precautions, they are totally safe.
We prefer to stay under 2 inches when running spacers. However, you will need to be aware that some OE studs may stick out past the spacer's mounting surface. This means you'll need to trim off any overhang before mounting your wheels. Also, look for hub-centric spacers when possible, for the best and strongest fit.
Spacers are safe and even TUV approved, provided high-quality brands are purchased.
Are 1 inch spacers bad?
If properly installed, then 1-inch wheel spacers are exactly safe. As a rule of thumb, when you are going to install wheel spacers thicker than 1 inch, bolt-on type wheel spacers are better. They come with two sets of wheel bolts. The spacers are bolted onto the vehicle hub, and the wheels are secured onto the spacers.
Many people are wondering if 25mm spacers are safe. In fact, wheel spacers are safe whether for street driving or track driving. It seems that 25mm spacers work better than most others.
How to install your Wheel Spacers. Installing spacers is a relatively easy job and can be performed with basic tools and a jack. With your car still on the floor slightly lossen your wheel bolts or nuts to prevent the wheel spinning, a breaker bar may be necessary if they are tight.
| Wheel Spacer Pros | Wheel Spacer Cons |
|---|---|
| Improved Handling | Increased Steering Effort |
| Allows for Larger Wheels or Tires | Decreased Ride Quality |
| Allows for Larger Brake Calipers | More Suspension Wear |
| Gives Vehicles a Unique Look |
As a rule of thumb, 2-inch wheel spacers will reduce about 50mm offset. It is simple to calculate the final offset. Assuming your new wheel offset is +86mm, and you have 2-inch wheel spacers installed, then the final offset will be +36mm (86 – 50 = 36). This increases the track width of your vehicle.
In other words, spacers cause no more damage than offset wheels. As long as they fit properly and are correctly torqued, there will be no issues. In some cases, the mass of the spacer plus wheel is lighter than the equivalent solid wheel with the same backspacing, they won't kill your wheel bearings.
There are two main reasons why you'd need a set of wheel spacers - the first, obviously, is looking dope and dialing in your wheel fitment. The other is for performance reasons and clearing steering and chassis components, along with increasing your scrub radius.
No, wheel spacers don't reduce gas mileage at all. Pushing the wheels out a bit won't disrupt the airflow, hence there will be a negligible effect on mpg. In other words, if you just add spacers, there should be no difference before and after.
If you add those 2" wheel spacers to the stock FWD econobox, the biggest change you'd see is that your steering would be extremely messed up - super-heavy due to the increased scrub radius, and any tramlining effects would be greatly worsened.
Wheel spacers won't negatively affect acceleration. Actually, they are an easy way to improve the performance of your vehicle. By pushing the wheels further away from the suspension, creating a wider track.
Do wheel spacers lift your truck?
With a spacer kit, you typically can get 1" to 2.75" of additional lift. If your goals are to raise your vehicle for cosmetic purposes or to put on slightly bigger tires, this amount of lift may be enough.
It is important to choose wheel spacers with good quality.
It's necessary to re-torqued every 100 or 1000 miles after installing wheel spacers. I also installed BONOSS wheel spacers a few months ago, no issue so far. It's necessary to re-torqued every 100 or 1000 miles after installing wheel spacers.
Installing wheel spacers on your 4×4 is an inexpensive upgrade that can help keep larger than stock tires from rubbing on your 4×4 Jeep, truck or other SUV. They can also help increase vehicle stability through a wider stance. Wheel spacers are generally made from aluminum and feature press-in studs.
They are designed to push your wheels out, hence widening your vehicle track. If you put 1-inch wheel spacers on each wheel, that adds a total of around 50.8mm track width. This is effective in reducing body roll and improving handling.
Whether they are hub-centric or not, stacking wheel spacers is not a good idea. We recommend using one-piece hub-centric wheel spacers. The hub-centric rings fit perfectly the axle and the space inside the center bore of the wheel. This helps hold the wheel perfectly centered both during installation and road use.
