Wheel Spacers

[dodj]

Hi All
What do people think about wheel spacers? The Torque Thrust wheels I want to buy come with a 6" offset in a 9" wheel. An 8" wheel comes with a 5" offset, but then I can't fit the 255/40ZR17 tires I was hoping to fit. 72bluNblu and cudazappa are running 9" wide 17's with 5" offset. From talking with blu'n'blu, a 6" offset isn't going to work. So....3/4" to 1" wheel spacers?
 

[cudazappa]

Thicker spacers are safe.  When they bolt to the hub, and then the rims bolt to the spacers, that is generally accepted as a safe method of spacing them out.  They are generally ~ 1 inch thick.  Its what I run on my Challenger at the moment (1" in back, 15/16" in front).  It passes tech at the track and autox.

The thin spacers that use your wheel studs the issue becomes when they become to thick to provide hubcentricity in the rear, or inadequate threads for the lug nuts (longer studs req'd at this point).

I'm hoping to ditch my spacers soon... I found 17x8s with 4.5" backspace (0 offset) on Summit and am just saving up the bread to afford them now.

[dodj]

Ya, the backspace for the 8" wheels is about perfect but I don't think I can cram the 255/40 tires on them.
Your general feeling is you would feel better without the spacers?

[the_engineers]

I got mine from wheeladapters.com. They can be had as hub-centric option. Give him a call. He should have some good ideas on running thinner set-ups.

[brads70]

Hi All
What do people think about wheel spacers? The Torque Thrust wheels I want to buy come with a 6" offset in a 9" wheel. An 8" wheel comes with a 5" offset, but then I can't fit the 255/40ZR17 tires I was hoping to fit. 72bluNblu and cudazappa are running 9" wide 17's with 5" offset. From talking with blu'n'blu, a 6" offset isn't going to work. So....3/4" to 1" wheel spacers?
 

If by offset you mean backspace then the ones with a 6" backspace might look funny from the front? The ones with a 5" backspace would look " deeper" If you get what I'm trying to say?

[femtnmax]

Your general feeling is you would feel better without the spacers?

Any spacer that acts as a "shim" between the lug nut stud mounting surface and the wheel is loading the lug nut studs with a bending moment.  Lug nut studs were not designed for this type of loading.  They are meant to have the wheel as close as possible to the lug nut attach point so the stud is loaded primarily in shear.
The thick spacer sounds like it attaches a spacer to the lug nuts, then a second set of lug nuts to attach the wheel to the spacer.  This sounds better, but IMO I would not use any spacer....find correct wheels for the look or performance you are looking for.

[dodj]

If by offset you mean backspace

Ooops, ya, that's what I meant.

find correct wheels for the look or performance you are looking for.

I agree with you on that, but the hard part is finding wheels I like that come in 10.5 and/or 11 inch widths for the rear, with a matching front wheel with a backspace that will work on an e-body. But I guess I have all winter to look.

[cudazappa]

Ya, the backspace for the 8" wheels is about perfect but I don't think I can cram the 255/40 tires on them.
Your general feeling is you would feel better without the spacers?

255/40s could be a tight fit.  Really depends on the tire.  I got b|+ched at with 245/45s with stiff sidewalls on my 8" wheels.

Actually, for me the spacers is an aesthetic thing.  I really want a rim that matches my car's style more.

The thick spacer sounds like it attaches a spacer to the lug nuts, then a second set of lug nuts to attach the wheel to the spacer.

The thick "spacer" could also be considered an adapter.  It has its own set of wheel studs.  The wheel mounts to the spacer.  The spacer mounts to the hub.

Also remember the "shim" spacers only increase the bending moment, that moment is ALWAYS there.  How come aluminum rims are safe?  Their flange is thicker than a steel rim.  By your argument, an aluminum rim with its typical thick mounting face is less safe than the stock steel rims.

However I do realize that the "shims" are generally accepted as not safe (as do many racing bodies).

The thick spacers I am currently using pass tech at racing and will pass at track events.  However a rim with dual bolt patterns (not uni-lug) are not allowed at most road courses!