looking for a set of SAFE wheel spacers?

fiveoho

15 Year Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,958
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TN
i have heard horrer stories about wheel spacers breaking and im not sure if this is bc of installer error or product failure?

are they safe?
what brand is the best?
are they made from different materials?
how much?
easy install?


i think im looking for a 3/4" spacer. nothing more than that. any help in the right direction greatly appreciated.
 
H&R wheel spacers are what I run

hrspacers.jpg


they are the safest type to run as you will not be giving up any lug length or integrity. you will be paying roughly $75-100 more than other wheel spacers, but these are the best you can get

checkout stangsuspension.com
 
Therian said:
H&R wheel spacers are what I run

hrspacers.jpg


they are the safest type to run as you will not be giving up any lug length or integrity. you will be paying roughly $75-100 more than other wheel spacers, but these are the best you can get

checkout stangsuspension.com

is that where the safety issue comes into play: lug length?

also, why do some have preinstalled lugs or studs and some dont?
 
I can get you some pics tomorrow if you can wait...I run 275s in the rear with a 1 3/8 spacer (I believe that's the size...i'll measure when I take the pics)...regardless, it looks perfect. my buddy had them on his GT but he had larger tires than me so it looked a bit awkward...and I do believe the safety issue is with the lug length...most don't have lugs in them already because of the added cost...I didn't want a wheel falling off, so I paid the extra money
 
Therian said:
I can get you some pics tomorrow if you can wait...I run 275s in the rear with a 1 3/8 spacer (I believe that's the size...i'll measure when I take the pics)...regardless, it looks perfect. my buddy had them on his GT but he had larger tires than me so it looked a bit awkward...and I do believe the safety issue is with the lug length...most don't have lugs in them already because of the added cost...I didn't want a wheel falling off, so I paid the extra money


if you have time, i sure would appreciate some side shots, side angled and rear shots of your ride. ill be running a 275 as well.

greatly appreciated
 
fiveoho said:
if you have time, i sure would appreciate some side shots, side angled and rear shots of your ride. ill be running a 275 as well.

greatly appreciated

not a problem...you'll have to mind the fact that the car is being prepped for paint...but you'll get the idea of how far the wheels stick out and the stance
 
Buy a name brand, like H&R or Eibach. Or go to a quality retailer like MM. At one inch or more (maybe on the 3/4 too) you will find spacers have their own lugs. That's because you can only use a spacer so deep before you end up leaving too few threads for the lugnuts to hold.

Plenty of guys on this site have bought the no name spacers off eBay and have had good luck. But this is something I would happily spend the extra $50 to know I have a big company to sue should something happen (J/K, I'm thinking more of quality here). If you do go the cheapo route, make sure you get hub centric spacers. They're the one's with a raised rim around the inside (just like your hubs). Run a search on hubcentric versus lugcentric and you will get plenty on this.

After you install em, run for 50 miles, then retorque.

Oh, and measure before you buy. It's pretty easy to do. Just take a straightedge against the outside of the tire. Then measure from that surface to the inside of your quarter panel. Leave yourself 1/4 inch clearance, and you are good to go.

Oh ya, and if you go 1" or smaller spacer, your wheel will need to have openings where the primary lugs and nuts will nest into when you mount it all up.
 
GRGT1994 said:
Buy a name brand, like H&R or Eibach. Or go to a quality retailer like MM. At one inch or more (maybe on the 3/4 too) you will find spacers have their own lugs. That's because you can only use a spacer so deep before you end up leaving too few threads for the lugnuts to hold.

Plenty of guys on this site have bought the no name spacers off eBay and have had good luck. But this is something I would happily spend the extra $50 to know I have a big company to sue should something happen (J/K, I'm thinking more of quality here). If you do go the cheapo route, make sure you get hub centric spacers. They're the one's with a raised rim around the inside (just like your hubs). Run a search on hubcentric versus lugcentric and you will get plenty on this.

After you install em, run for 50 miles, then retorque.

Oh, and measure before you buy. It's pretty easy to do. Just take a straightedge against the outside of the tire. Then measure from that surface to the inside of your quarter panel. Leave yourself 1/4 inch clearance, and you are good to go.

Oh ya, and if you go 1" or smaller spacer, your wheel will need to have openings where the primary lugs and nuts will nest into when you mount it all up.


lot of good info there. hub centric....these may be 'cheapies', but are these like what i need?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...tem=150008046096&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

also, opinion here.....which would look best: 3/4 or 1 ? i want that suttle look to where the rear is out past the front just enough to look good
 
gcomfx.com said:
One inch spacers here....

album_pic.php


Bonus Ricer pic too. :D

I bought them used from a guy in my club.

album_pic.php


album_pic.php


Not bad for $50. :nice:
i have the same type spacers in a 1.5 in. and i have no problems with them besides scrubbing i had to install a spacer in my rear coil spring and lift rear approx 1/4 in. to prevent scrubbing but the most important step is the installation you need to ensure the area behind where spacer is installed is clean and free of any foriegn material,rust ect....the spacer has to be able to mount flush. then i used some thread locker on the hub to spacer bolts and torqued them to 120 ft.lbs. then i installed wheel and torqued wheel at 100 ft lbs.
wheelspacers001.jpg

wheelspacers002.jpg

wheelspacers003.jpg
 
If you have wheels with stock backspacing and 255 tires, you should be fine with 1 inch spacers (or 1 and 3/16 like I have). 3/4 might be too little. But just measure it to be sure (see my comment above).

And YES, some wheels will not work with spacers, expecially the 1 inch spacers. You might be fine with 1 1/4 spacers on wheels that have no openings. But I'm not sure.
 
pics as promised...

1 1/4 inch spacer on 275s. I wouldn't suggest going smaller than 1 in. on 275s and definitely go 1 1/4 + on 255s.


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