Wheels Spacers

[skee]

Just put on new tires, 285 75/R16, and did a 3" body lift. Thought about installing wheel spacers. Not only to improve the look of my 2004 Ranger Edge 4X4 but, most importantly, for the increased safety of a wider stance.

Any opinions, suggestions or recommendations?

Thanks....

 

[strvger]

guess the main thing is how far out past the fenders will the tires stick out? in some places they ticket you for tires outside the wheel wells. just a thought.

 

[BlackBII]

Your wheel bearings will swear at you.

 

[badmts]

spacers do not = safety

spacers are a band-aid solution . they can create ride disturbance issues and they use up wheel stud legnth so lugs have less to grip on -wheel might not seat on hub- try not to use them

 

[koda6966]

Don't do it. Throw a fullsize rear end on and SAS the front.

 

[BowTech99]

I know its old, but, my 86 yota with a 3" body and torsion bars tightend had 33x12.50 Bfg KM's with 15x10 rims and 3" wheel spacers.

It looked badass, and shot rooster tails a mile in the air! changed wheel bearings every 6 months or so. nothing bad to say about them except on older 2 lane roads it would walk all over the road due to the increased width and the road being wore thats it.

Had a buddy with an F-250 on 36's with two 2" spacers at each corner to equal 8" increase in width overall. The tires literally rode the lines that how wide it was. It had a built 12-valve cummins and roasted them all the time and never had any problems. So I say go for it man!

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

I don't like them at all....a buddy of mine just had all the studs shear off his while cruising at highway speeds...made for an interesting situation, but he manage to keep from rolling it.

 

[koda6966]

All wheels or just one?

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

id rather get wider rims, rims with a different offset or leave it as it is.

 

[nate09]

id rather get wider rims, rims with a different offset or leave it as it is.

this is what id do, certainly the least expensive solution to the problem IMO.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

yeah. i got new rims cuz of that, they are the same 7 inches wide as the stockers, but with different off set. im not sure the measure on that tho, ill check em out to compare to the stock ones

 

[Fx4wannabe01]

x2 on the above poster that mentioned "spacers do not = safety"

Just get new wheels with a better backspace than 7" wheels and 4.5" backspace. Jump down to 15" and wheels AND tires are alot cheaper than 16" tires....and even with 16's, you gotta pay attention to the ply count. You don't want a tire that's built for a 1ton on your 1/4ton ranger!! I suggest a 15x8 w/ 3.25-4" backspace. If no flares, the 4" would put the tires just past the edge of the fender. If flares, it'll fill the flares out.


And just another note: Your CG barely moved with the bodylift installation.


And for the record: whoever bragged about 10" wheels and 3" spacers.......that's just STUPID. Especially if you have any clue on Rangers, even just 10" on a BL and 33's isn't exactly good news.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

All wheels or just one?

His right rear 36" swamper and wheel with the spacer still attached to it broke off and passed him, the truck them proceeded to do 3 full 360 degree spins on the asphalt before finally coming to a stop on the edge of the road where the loose gravel finally stopped him.

 

[JohnnyO]

I'm not a fan. Lotta guys on the Sport Trac site run them on the rear though since 285's on the stock 16" rims will rub the inner fender.

The problem with aftermarket 16" rims is that most have a GM-type offset, i.e. way more backspace than what will work on a Ford. The least backspace I've seen on a 16x8 is 4" on the Pro Comp 1069 and 1089 wheels.

Not really a big money difference since you're going to spend $250-$300 for good spacers anyway and the Pro Comp wheels are a little over $100 apiece.

 

[koda6966]

That's crazy. My brothers came loose on his blazer once when he was doing about 75, it flew past the truck, uphill, and into the house of a friend of the family. It bounced up high enough that the guy didn't make him pay damages, he was remodeling and figured he would just put a window there. If I ever have the time when I'm driving through there I'll take a picture of the house from the road showing how far the wheel went. Keep in mind it still had enough force to go INTO the guys house through a sheet of plywood.

Crazy stuff. His wasn't wheel spacers though, he didn't tighten his lugs all the way.