Wheel Spacer Bad or GOOD?

[longstand]

I was always curios about Wheel Spacer?

Well you lose Towing Capacity?

Lost of MPG?

Lost of anything?

Tire Wear?

 

[noJeepshere]

I would do wheel spacers on the rear axle only, ONLY if the rear axle is narrower than the front (ie, 73-87 1/2 tons or 88-98 4/3 tons)

The wheel bearings in each hub are designed for a certain offset, and spacers upset that balance and the bearings may wear on a surface that is not intended for a load. That can make them wear out faster. Also, if you do use spacers, get steel ones, as you don't want to mess with corrosion from dissimilar metals bonding them together.

As you can see, I'm not a fan of them.

 

[longstand]

Does anyone has any info on this?

I guest iam getting some cash preaty soon. and i will get some tires, wheel alignment. and Interior is almost done..

Now i was thinking of making the SUV stand out little more, i could see my SUV with Wide Wheels, it looks Great.

Plus i have a problem.. the 295/40/ 24 is Rubbing the wall, i think a spacer will fix this... but may cost other problem.

the guy above. mention something about bearings. how much is it to repair bearing and is it hard?

 

[bowtiefreak]

I have heard of serious problems with spacers, also heard people love them. What are you trying to do with them? Stick the tires out further?? I proper offset wheel will do that.

I personally will not run spacers.

 

[Brandon X]

I have some little 1/4" spacers on my rear tires. That's only because my fronts stick out a little further and that kind of stuff bothers me. I haven't noticed anything bad since ive had them on.

 

[noJeepshere]

Does anyone has any info on this?

I guest iam getting some cash preaty soon. and i will get some tires, wheel alignment. and Interior is almost done..

Now i was thinking of making the SUV stand out little more, i could see my SUV with Wide Wheels, it looks Great.

Plus i have a problem.. the 295/40/ 24 is Rubbing the wall, i think a spacer will fix this... but may cost other problem.

the guy above. mention something about bearings. how much is it to repair bearing and is it hard?

The rear axle isn't so much a deal because of the solid axle shaft that spreads the load, but the front I would never do because the bearings can be a PITA and cost $250 a pop. You'd need to remove the brake caliper, rotor, abs line, and remove three grade-8 bolts that will likely strip off and require the use of a torch to fully remove. Having a bearing fail would cause your wheel assembly to vault out of the wheel well, taking the abs line, brake line, etc. with it, with disastrous concequences.

Or have a shop replace them for around $700.

 

[triniguy26]

what you guys are not considering is that offset wheel put the same stress on the bearings and wheel assembly,there is nothing wrong with those spacer,ive used them on my previous truck and even jumped it with no problem........

 

[992dr]

The rear axle isn't so much a deal because of the solid axle shaft that spreads the load, but the front I would never do because the bearings can be a PITA and cost $250 a pop. You'd need to remove the brake caliper, rotor, abs line, and remove three grade-8 bolts that will likely strip off and require the use of a torch to fully remove. Having a bearing fail would cause your wheel assembly to vault out of the wheel well, taking the abs line, brake line, etc. with it, with disastrous concequences.

Or have a shop replace them for around $700.

$250 for bearings? I just replaced my bearings, inners and outers with races for a heck of a lot less than $250. It is a very simple job.


I agree with what triniguy said.

 

[longstand]

What about this..

For the Front and rear:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Wheel-Spacers-Adapters-6x5-5-GMC-Yukon-Denali-00-08-1-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3a6032f387QQitemZ250722055047QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories



or should i doe 1" Front and 1.5" Rear? what you guys think,

i get alot of mix review. pls need more replys from someone who know better than me.

 

[noJeepshere]

$250 for bearings? I just replaced my bearings, inners and outers with races for a heck of a lot less than $250. It is a very simple job.


I agree with what triniguy said.

I see you have a 2wd Tahoe. That makes a difference, as those are old style bearings, whereas the 4wd Tahoe/Yukons have a non-serviceable unit bearing, when it wears out, the whole thing gets replaced.

 

[longstand]

NO.. i have a 1999 Denali 4x4 V8 5.7L.

do you have a picture of the parts that will Be damage? or a link to it? i really want to search how much work it will take to replace it and how much.. if its not so expensive to replace and easy to replace i will just install it. but its hard and expensive .. i will not install spacer

 

[992dr]

Originally posted by noJeepshere
I see you have a 2wd Tahoe. That makes a difference, as those are old style bearings, whereas the 4wd Tahoe/Yukons have a non-serviceable unit bearing, when it wears out, the whole thing gets replaced.

I figured that out after I posted it, hah.


I believe this is the hub/bearing assembly.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WBI-515024/

 

[longstand]

Wheel bearing is only for the Front of the SUV

For the Rear. if i put a spacer i don't see any HUB at all, its Solid shaft. so if i install a 1" to 1.5" spacer in the rear it will not hurt anything?

but the front is a different story. and i kinda see why it will hurt it.. the prize for the Wheel Bearing is Cheap and the installation is so Easy. its like a BIG LEGO TOY.. i will install one..

 

[noJeepshere]

992dr: No worries. I guess I should also mention that I was in remote Healy, Ak at the time and I had to wait for them to come up from the lower 48. Because Chevy trucks don't fail all that often in Alaska...

longstand: not trying to scare you, I think you'll be fine, especially as you prolly won't put the kind of miles on yours as I have mine. I use mine for offroad use and have jumped it and hit many a potholed dirt road from southern Utah to northern Alaska, so the miles on mine have been pretty hard... That with offset wheels (same effect as spacers) and you get early wheel bearing failure. Given your sporting 24"s I think you'll be fine.

 

[longstand]

WEee..

Seens the Replacement for the HUB bearing is SUPER easy. to replace. i will just install Spacer.

I purchase 4 Wheel Spacer.
They are all 1". not the 1.5".

i just don't Want my Wheels to RUB. iam preaty Sure this will fix my problem.

 

[ezdaar]

I used wheel spacers on my S10.
Primary reason I used them was after installing a PST aftermarket swaybar, my wheels would knock my balance weights off the wheels.
Byproduct of using them was a wider front wheelbase which helped cornering Trmendously!
They did however wear out bearings faster.

 

[longstand]

The Car will not be use alot any way.. my wife will just use it to work everyday. which her work is only about 4 miles away.

 

[SunlitComet]

I would use it a little more than that or increase your fluid maintenance. Not a lot of time to really heat things up and burn off condensation problems.

 

[noJeepshere]

I would use it a little more than that or increase your fluid maintenance. Not a lot of time to really heat things up and burn off condensation problems.

Naw, just drive it more than 20 miles at a time every two weeks to warm things up.

 

[SunlitComet]

I would do that more often the once every two weeks. IMO