Rear wheel spacers?

[90K5]

Now that I have my truck sitting level, It still looks a little goofy with the front axle wider...anyone used Performance Wheel Spacers? Any drawbacks to using these? My rear end was just rebult, so i would think the new bearings would be up to it...how bad will the added leverage be for the rear end? any comments or suggestions? Thanks

 

[90K5]

Oh yeah, I have a 10 bolt, which is why I'm concerned about the bearings.

 

[YtseJam]

I just ordered mine and they said they will ship out Thursday. I ordered 2" spacers and I'll post how they are once I put them on.

 

[txbartman]

I have been running these spacers for quite some time. I have had no ill effects so far from them. Probably have 4-5,000 miles on them. I also use my rig to tow my travel trailer. Still no ill effects. And they really help the appearance of the rig.

 

[shane74]

Do they help with handling? Since our rear axles are about 3" narrower, I know mine tends have some "tail wag" on the freeway when I hit a rut in the pavement. Does the spacer help cure this?

 

[90K5]

aRe the studs on the spacer the same size as the wheel studs?

 

[MilpitasK5]

I haven't had any problems with mine yet. Handles much better.
Bolts are a different size. I forgot what size though.

 

[txbartman]

They don't really help with tail wag. That usually comes from the tire getting in a rut or "grabbing" a crack in the pavement. The spacers will just make them more likely to only grab the same ruts as the fronts!

 

[txbartman]

My original studs were one size (7/16 I believe) and the spacers were one size larger (1/2). I had typical chrome lug nuts originally. I had to get open acorn nuts for the original nuts inside the spacers (will make sense when you get yours). Only "problem" I really had was that my 4-way wouldn't fit the new studs and clear my rims. I had to get a thin-walled socket for that. But, if you figure out what size yours are now and notify them of that size when ordering your spacers, they will put the same size studs in them. On mine, they said they would sip me some new studs to replace myself or I could ship the spacers back and they would do it. I decided to live with the thin-walled socket approach.

One other thing, many places won't work on tires/wheels mounted using spacers. Discount Tire woudln't work on my wheels because they were mounted with spacers. Their policy is that they could only mount a wheel as long as it made full contact with the drum. They could remove them and work on my tires, but when re-mounting them, they would have to do it without the spacers. I talked the manager into doing it anyway, but that is the ONLY issue I have run into so far in regard to using spacers.

 

[shane74]

Yep, many places won't touch your rig if you have spacers. I worked at Les Schwab for a few years, and if we came across a vehicle that was running wheel spacers, we would work on the tire or wheel, but they would have to mount it themselves.

 

[Grim-Reaper]

MAKE SURE YOU TORQUE THEM DOWN GOOD! Then come pack after 100 miles and retorque them. THis is spacer to drum. I torqued mine with a torque wrench to 85ftlb. THat's about right for a 7/16's. I went on one wheeling trip and on the way back I had a wheel come off one me. Somebody else said to Torque to about 110ftlb. I'm still trying to confirm correct Torque.

 

[shane74]

So do you still run them?

 

[Grim-Reaper]

Plan on it. Probably be back on this weekend when I redo the rear brakes. I liked it tracking the same. made a big difference in the stuff I run (big V-Ditches) I have had MANY times where the rear tracking less than the front caused me to fall into some holes.

 

[shane74]

That is what I had suspected was the problem with mine too. I run some areas here with some large v-ditches and ruts. I always had a hunch that was why I would fall in......right in the exact spot I didn't want to!

 

[JoseK5]

Wouldn't it be possible to use rims with bigger backspacing at the rear and smaller backspacing at the front to achieve an equal total width for front and rear?

 

[txbartman]

Sure. But then you couldn't rotate your tires and having a common spare would be an issue.

 

[Grim-Reaper]

Yeah you could. Problem is you can't rotate then. If rear rim ended up on the front major clearence issues would come up with the offset. Set of spacer means same rims all four corners.

 

[BurbinOR]

Shane, I have had them on for three months............had them on the TSF run, love them.

 

[shane74]

Thanks Frank. Any torque recommendations? I am thinking of buying a set very soon. Did you go with the 1 1/2" thick spacers? Who'd you buy from? I don't mean to be a pest w/ all the questions, but I'd rather buy a product that somebody I personally know uses and likes.

 

[79Beast]

I am running a D70 HD rearend out of a dually cab and chassis, so I run 2 1/2" spacers to get the track width evened out. Actaully, my rear is now 1/2" wider than the front. I have 9/16" studs on the spacers just like on my rearend. I check to torque on them every time I pull a tire off. I have had no problem so far......thats with a year of hard wheeling with 44's.