[Dave]

Dave

March 3, 2015 at 10:05 am #32203

quote joe.zeinoun:

spacers might be a cheaper option provided that they are of a reputable brand to insure safety.
they also need to be hub-centric/wheel-centric to minimize any vibrations at the wheels.
this type of fitting also reduces stress on the hub bolts, preventing the bolts from breaking under heavy loads in extreme driving conditions, as all the load will be directly transfered to the center of the hub instead.

on the other hand, wheels might be a more expensive option, but they do give you peace of mind with less hassle in fitting and balancing, and a stronger more reliable OEM approach. wheels are also slightly more complicated in terms of achieving the desired wheel base width, as some calculations need to be done for wheel centre offsetting and overall wheel width. moreover the centre hub of most after-market wheels will be wider in diameter than the hub centre of your vehicle, to facilitate multi vehicle application. in this case an adequate shim/spacer of the exact reducing measurements must be fabricated or sometimes readily available at the tyre shop.

either way you go, your steering and road feel will not be the same anymore and will be affected somehow negatively, as you will get more side to side movement at the steering wheel due to increased opposing road forces at both front wheels. but it wont be too drastic as long as you dont utilize too much spacing…

hope this helps..
cheers

could not agree more. Hub centric is the way to go (wheels or spacers) if you can. People have used spacers for years with no issues, just make sure to check the torque every time you rotate your tires. Lug centric wheels arent bad per se, but hub centric are better. As far as the market goes: hub centric are harder to find since they would be manufactured for a specific vehicle (or range of vehicle that use the same hub)…whereas lug centric is a more generic wheel that can fit on pretty much any vehicle that uses the same bolt pattern (5×5, 8 x 6.5, etc etc etc). lug centric wheels/spacers put the strain on the lugs themselves. With that being said, after seeing extremely hard offroad, rock crawling, and numerous competitions…breaking a lug clean off is not very common, let alone 5.
Also, are you having any rubbing issues on the frame or control arms? That’s one of the main reasons to get the spaces/backspace. Dont forget, if you lift, you need to correct your castor to eliminate the flighty steering.

hope this all makes sense and my mind hasnt wandered all over…its early and the coffee hasnt kicked in yet.
–Dave

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