Wheel Spacers

I have a question about wheel spacers. I know this is kinda newbish but what are they for besides moving the wheel out about a 1/4 inch? would it kill to romove them bolt the wheels up turn lock to lock and spin jsut to make sure they dont hit anything and run without them?
 
You're right about that, all they do is move the wheel out. This is needed when using modern, "flat" wheels on older cars to keep the inner lip from hitting things. As long as nothing hits when you remove them, you should be ok.