Wheel spacers?

[jch53]

New to the forum -- so let this be my formal hello!!

Anyways, I have a '69 Chevy K10 and I would like to put wheel spacers on the back axle so the front wheels and back wheels align. I need to know some good brands of spacers, because often they are hit and miss. If you know of any that would be great!

[406 Q-ship]

Be very careful using wheel spacers. Depending on how much you need to space the rear wheels out, you need to change the wheel studs to get the correct clamping of the rims. On a 4x4 (especially if you offroad it) I would not use wheel spacers thicker than 3/8" due to the stress it will put on the axles and wheel studs. The best choice is to get the rims built with the correct offset, of course then you have front and rear rims and the tires can't be rotated.

[airbrusher]

i agree be careful when using adapters or spacers. i curently am running billet adapters on my 72 from 5 lug to 6 because i like the new 5 spoke tahoe 20s and didnt want to change from 5 so i can keep my options open. anyway there is a company in cali that i have used and i cant recall the name, there number is 800 505 8758 i have had good luck with them! best of luck .

[jch53]

Originally Posted by 406 Q-ship

Be very careful using wheel spacers. Depending on how much you need to space the rear wheels out, you need to change the wheel studs to get the correct clamping of the rims. On a 4x4 (especially if you offroad it) I would not use wheel spacers thicker than 3/8" due to the stress it will put on the axles and wheel studs. The best choice is to get the rims built with the correct offset, of course then you have front and rear rims and the tires can't be rotated.

We do not use it for off-road driving at all. It is just a nice truck to take out and about on nice day. Any company names?

[Joe Blaze]

when you google that number you find http://www.ezaccessory.com/Default.asp?Redirected=Y

[Low69_C10]

www.adaptitusa.com

they make spacers too.
good company a lot of my vw friends use them.

[Joe Blaze]

Originally Posted by jch53

New to the forum -- so let this be my formal hello!!

Anyways, I have a '69 Chevy K10 and I would like to put wheel spacers on the back axle so the front wheels and back wheels align. I need to know some good brands of spacers, because often they are hit and miss. If you know of any that would be great!

i am just curious, what is the benefit to bring the wheels out to line up?

[jch53]

Originally Posted by Joe Blaze

i am just curious, what is the benefit to bring the wheels out to line up?

I don't know if there is any performance benefit but it just bothers me that the front wheels stick out and the back ones don't.

[cdowns]

easyer and safer to get different backspaced wheels

[Joe Blaze]

Originally Posted by cdowns

easyer and safer to get different backspaced wheels

Can anyone advise what is the maximum backspace wheel i can use with the stock drum, no spacer, on a 6 bolt 4WD '71 Blazer?

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by cdowns

easyer and safer to get different backspaced wheels

Beat me to it, Cliff.... I am not a fan of wheel spacers.


jch53, welcome to the best board on the 'net!!

[magwakeenercew2jh]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Beat me to it, Cliff.... I am not a fan of wheel spacers.

I'm trying to figure this one out. While it seems logical that a solid wheel with the correct backspacing would be the baseline for being solid, if you have
(use the rear for an example) the drum, then a spacer with the proper bolts, proper pattern all tightened to the proper torque, it would seem that, barring
them loosening (doh!), the spacer becomes a stressed, and almost "native" part of the drum.

Then, you take the wheel, bolt it to the spacer, again using the proper hardware (lug nuts) and torque...what's the issue?

Spacers are usually aluminum. Seems with all the other stuff we do, that this wouldn't add stress or weight or anything else to the rear "connection".
The down-pressure angle on axles (or spindles for the front)? What would be the difference between the spacer set up and any solid wheel of comparable
backspace?

I'm no engineer, but I've never heard any solid (or otherwise) data of spacers coming loose and a wheel blowing into another lane of traffic, or anything.
But I'm willing to learn some geometry, here.

[Low69_C10]

i have them. no problems, even after lighting the tires up. lol

[6772owner]

I have been running spacers (now they are 1" and 1-1/4" so they have their own studs) for probably 5 years now on my 72' C10 and never had a problem. The truck gets driven quite regularly, hauls stuff all the time, has pulled trailers, etc. I have never had one loosen up or cause any ill effects that I am aware of. I do agree they can/are mis-used and I would definelty be more careful on a 4wd with larger/heavier wheels/tires... I do believe that the front/rear track width difference is designed to allow the vehicle to track properly when in 4wd. The tires then have their own seperate "paths" to follow, I agree that it isnt the most appealling to the eye, but I am also a little worried of any ill handling characteristics it may cause. I may be just too paranoid though...

[jch53]

Originally Posted by 6772owner

I have been running spacers (now they are 1" and 1-1/4" so they have their own studs) for probably 5 years now on my 72' C10 and never had a problem. The truck gets driven quite regularly, hauls stuff all the time, has pulled trailers, etc. I have never had one loosen up or cause any ill effects that I am aware of. I do agree they can/are mis-used and I would definelty be more careful on a 4wd with larger/heavier wheels/tires... I do believe that the front/rear track width difference is designed to allow the vehicle to track properly when in 4wd. The tires then have their own seperate "paths" to follow, I agree that it isnt the most appealling to the eye, but I am also a little worried of any ill handling characteristics it may cause. I may be just too paranoid though...

I understand the whole "paths" notion but I have two reasons why I don't think it really matters. First, as stated above, we really don't use this vehicle for 4 wheeling or any off-road driving so we don't need to worry about the paths in that sense. Second, my other vehicle is a Jeep Wrangler, which has both wheels in the same alignment, and runs in 4wd perfectly. Also, I can say that our 4wd Ford Explorer has both tires in the same alignment. I'm in the military and am licensed on a Humvee; all four wheels are in alignment.

[magwakeenercew2jh]

The rear.

95 ftlbs all around.

[Stocker]

There may well be no problem with using quality spacers. I'm no engineer either, it's just more of a gut feeling that something isn't quite right about them. Not necessarily a weakness in the spacers or a chance they might fail, but the possibility of bearing problems due to altered geometry.

Kinda like using negative offset wheels ("deep dish" wheels to us geezers ), the wheel bearings are subjected to additional strain.

[6772owner]

I agree on both, the path theory was just a consideration, I know that all vehicles dont follow this trait.

I also agree that the leverage could be an issue on the bearings, etc. I also agree that it is potentially no different than certain wheel combination...

[Joe Blaze]

would there be an issue where the wheel stud splines in the aluminum might slip if torqued too tight, whereas there is less of a chance of that happening in a steel hub? If the bolt is on, and spinning in the spacer, how would you get the tire off to get to the stud?

[6772owner]

Im not sure, I never really thought about... it would probably be a bear to get at if that happened. I guess a good torque wrench and follow the torque specs and hope it doesnt happen?

[3drburb]

Originally Posted by airbrusher

i agree be careful when using adapters or spacers. i curently am running billet adapters on my 72 from 5 lug to 6 because i like the new 5 spoke tahoe 20s and didnt want to change from 5 so i can keep my options open. anyway there is a company in cali that i have used and i cant recall the name, there number is 800 505 8758 i have had good luck with them! best of luck .

Thats cool, I was looking to do this on my 72 suburban for a year now but didn't know how it would fit or stick out with the 2" adaptors. I would love to see pictures of the 6 lug wheels on your 72.

[Joe Blaze]

Originally Posted by 6772owner

Im not sure, I never really thought about... it would probably be a bear to get at if that happened. I guess a good torque wrench and follow the torque specs and hope it doesnt happen?

yeah, i worry about the fool-ass kid in the tireshop when i get brakes or whatever done.

[magwakeenercew2jh]

Originally Posted by Joe Blaze

yeah, i worry about the fool-ass kid in the tireshop when i get brakes or whatever done.

I hear ya. But I don't worry about that stuff too much. I take my wheels off myself and take them to the tire shop.

In fact, I don't worry about too much that *could* happen.

That is, I don't worry too much about stuff I can't control by buying well made parts, knowing how to do a proper install, and understanding that I need pro help if I don't ABSOLUTELY know what I'm doing. Especially on stuff that has safety implications.

That's why I was looking for some reason or experience of failure on the spacers. Over the years, I've heard lots of folks say, "don't use 'em". But never really heard why.

If it's based on "ifs", then I'm keeping 'em.

But, like I said, my ears and mind are both open. Can someone site personal knowledge of failure on spacers like the ones I posted earlier?

Thanks.
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[cleanfreak]

have spacers on my 68 for a year now , was a little unsure putting the on , the truck is 5 x 4 3/4 pattern (weeker?) , still carrys arround a little two much sometimes , no problems yet.

[airbrusher]

Originally Posted by 3drburb

Thats cool, I was looking to do this on my 72 suburban for a year now but didn't know how it would fit or stick out with the 2" adaptors. I would love to see pictures of the 6 lug wheels on your 72.

my 72 is currently blown apart for a redo trust me the polished 5 spokes in my opinion are some of the best looking factory wheels to come along in quite awhile! the massive backspacing on them lends itself well to the tw0 inch width of the adapters, placing the wheels slightly further out than the factory or a common 5 lug would set. whats nice is i can switch wheels fairly easy if the mood hits! best regards