wheel spacers? good or bad lets hear it

[1991fordranger]

okay so i want to space out my rear tires on my 91 4x4 ranger. it has offset mickey thompson rims now but the back doesnt stick out as far as the front for some reason. i need like 1.5 inches on each side. ive hear horror stories from a few different people saying all kinds of stuff like they come loose, they ream out the lug holes on your wheels ect ect. my question is what do you guys think about them? the good the bad lets hear it.

these are the ones i was considering buying. http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep_wheel_spacers.html

let me hear it guys.

 

[Mac]

I've never heard much good about them if you're going to use the truck and stress it, especially wheeling. 1 1/2" per side is quite a bit. Bearing life comes to mind. Swap in an Explorer rear and be done.
Dave

 

[Snal]

^^^Yes swap in a wider axle or maybe rims with a little less backspace but never spacers. there's always a "more than you want to spend" right way and a "cheaper" wrong way. spacers are wrong. if someone tells you otherwise, they are wrong. It's always worth it in the long run to have things done right so they don't break or weaken the truck in any aspect

 

[Grunizzle]

Buy quality spacers, install them correctly and you won't have a problem. I wouldn't go over 1.5 inches either.

I have been running spacers/adapters on my rear and abuse the shit out of it. No problems. Just re torque them after the first 10 miles and you are golden.

 

[bigfatloser]

Agreed on frequent tourquing. Ran a 1-1/2" spacer on the front of my truck for over 2 years of racing. Checked tourqe often, never had a issue.

 

[brokemechanic3000]

An Explorer 8.8" axle is what you want plus it has disc brakes, just needs a little fabricating for shock mounts and spring pads need to be put on the top of the axle.

 

[Scrambler82]

Anything added to the width of the axle over stock is adding stress to the wheel bearings, the axles and the wheel lugs and then there is side stress on brakes.
Yes, you may not get a serious problem but you could.
An Ex Axle would work, there are kits that eliminate any welding, get one with disc as suggested above.

Also, the front axle is wider than the rear on stock trucks, something about tracking.

 

[JohnnyO]

A bud of mine owns a tire shop and has told me that at least in our state wheel spacers will not pass state inspection.

 

[2004xlmiller]

i run wheel spacers at all 4 corners and torque them regularly. my trucks been hucked with them and ive never had a problem. going to switch to a wheel with better backspacing for peace of mind tho.

 

[crazypj]

6061 alloy spacers with studs scare me, it's a lot of stress on a small area.
personally I think more than 1/4" spacer is looking for trouble

 

[pillen140]

I ran these exact ones from rough country. Very good quality. I used to check them regularly, but they were always tight... you can use a little bitof locktite for peace of mind. Very durable and well made. I have even had my truck airborne when i had them, and no problems. Most people that comment on them either had ebay no name ones or are just reposting from something they read on the internet.

 

[JeepRecoveryTeam]

Duallys all run spacer. 94-97 f350 powerstrokes came stock with 4 inch steal ones but most people switch to a 4 inch aluminum one. I have 4 inch on the front and a 3 inch between my two wheels in the back. Pretty standard on a lifted powerstroke. I also had 1.5 inch spacer and adapter on my ranger when I had my ranger on a dana 44. It made the rear the same width as the eb 44 and made the 8.8 a 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern. Never had any issues. Then swapped to the 9 inch. Id say run then. Just get a good quality space not some china junk.

 

[kris97ranger]

Yup. Buy quality spacers re-torque after the first few miles and every time after you beat the hell outta the truck and you will be fine