Considering Wheel Spacers

[MONGOOSEMAN]

Hey guys I need your advice. I'm considering adding wheel spacers on my 82' CJ7 and am looking for the Pros and Cons of adding them. I've already built up both axles so going to a wider axle is not desired at this time.

Currently I have 33" tires and a 4" lift.

I flopped a couple of weekends ago on an obstacle and would like to find away to add better stability when in off camber situations.

I did add sway bar disconnects that helps a little but I'm thinking if I push the wheels out a bit it would give a bit more stability.

Thanks!

Brent

 

[thescot]

From what Ive seen spacers wont gain that much, 1" maybe per side?? Personally they scare me as Ive seen wheel studs shear off and by adding a leverage point made of aluminum to hold on a wheel...eeekkk. What about a rim with a different offset or a wider rim keeping the same as you have offset? The only other comment it appears as if you aren't getting much spring flex/articulation. Uber stiff lift kit ??

 

[Torxhead]

From your story it sounds like you just need some more experience driving off road. Joining a Jeep Club and being with more experienced drivers can also help. I have had a few experiences myself that have just scared the out of me and sometimes it takes awhile to get over it. Nice picture.

 

[tarry99]

Hey guys I need your advice. I'm considering adding wheel spacers on my 82' CJ7 and am looking for the Pros and Cons of adding them. I've already built up both axles so going to a wider axle is not desired at this time.

Currently I have 33" tires and a 4" lift.

I flopped a couple of weekends ago on an obstacle and would like to find away to add better stability when in off camber situations.

I did add sway bar disconnects that helps a little but I'm thinking if I push the wheels out a bit it would give a bit more stability.

Thanks!

Brent

There are a lot of people running spacers............It's not anything I like to do but it is a common practice..........just use a quality spacer " No Junk". 1" per side can make a big difference.............any more than that and it puts additional strain on hubs and wheel bearings. They should be checked for tightness on a regular basis.

 

[Old Dog]

Not a fan of spacers myself.
Going through swales kitty corner like that will tip you over no matter how wide you are.

 

[Deerejeep]

There are a lot of people running spacers............It's not anything I like to do but it is a common practice..........just use a quality spacer " No Junk". 1" per side can make a big difference.............any more than that and it puts additional strain on hubs and wheel bearings. They should be checked for tightness on a regular basis.

Agree with the comments here. I've run Spidertrax brand on my JK for about 40,000 miles without issue. I had to take them off to replace rotors a few weeks back and everyone was still tight. Do install them yourself and do check them. Everytime I get the tires rotated I have the shop check... just be sure they know what the torque setting is so they don't break the loc tight.

 

[Bear991]

I was running 33/12.50.15's on my jeep and had a issue on one particular trail we frequent. When it came time to replace my tires I went with a tire that was one inch wider than what I had before. Went back to troublesome trail and had 0 issues with the off camber turns and dips. Just my .02

 

[MONGOOSEMAN]

From what Ive seen spacers wont gain that much, 1" maybe per side?? Personally they scare me as Ive seen wheel studs shear off and by adding a leverage point made of aluminum to hold on a wheel...eeekkk. What about a rim with a different offset or a wider rim keeping the same as you have offset? The only other comment it appears as if you aren't getting much spring flex/articulation. Uber stiff lift kit ??

A wider wheel makes a lot more sense. Not a lot of great things being said about spacers.

 

[Jimbos76cj]

Ive run spacers on 2 different jeeps with 0 issues. I used high quality spider trax spacers, used the lock tite that was included, torqued them as recommended. Drove for 500 miles and pulled the tires and checked em again. all was tight and good.

For the people who think it puts more stress on suspension parts it does exactly the same thing that changing the back spacing does.