Wheel spacer question!?

Gmi · Postby **Gmi** » Wed May 25, 2011 3:25 pm

What's the disadvantages of having wheel spacers?
And is it dangerous to run a 10mm free floating wheel spacer, not hubcentric?

Old Dude · Postby **Old Dude** » Wed May 25, 2011 4:52 pm

A guy I knew, had 10mm or maybe bigger wheel spacers on a panel van many years ago, basically they caused the studs to shear on one wheel and the wheel ended up under his rear guard with the brake disc sitting on the ground. After that incident I stay clear of them.

Cheers
Dale

Postby **NitroDann** » Wed May 25, 2011 4:55 pm

They are used plenty without issue. The problem tends to be when people use them without thinking. You need to have at least 6 threads of wheel nut holding them on.

Dann

ak_perth · Postby **ak_perth** » Wed May 25, 2011 5:23 pm

Gmi wrote:What's the disadvantages of having wheel spacers?

Hey Dann, i'm amazed you didn't explain the main disadvantage of wheel spacers, the added weight! :wink:

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Wed May 25, 2011 6:29 pm

Gmi wrote:What's the disadvantages of having wheel spacers?
And is it dangerous to run a 10mm free floating wheel spacer, not hubcentric?

The wheels are designed to be supported by the hub, with the wheel nuts there to keep the wheel tight against the hub, not to support the wheel.
When you add a floating spacer, you are moving the forces away from the hub and onto the wheel nuts, which they weren't designed to handle.
Though many people use them and seem to get away with it...

Bolt-on spacers with hub centric rings are a better way if you must use spacers.
I ran bolt-on 25mm spacers for 10 yrs on a track car with no issue.

fwiw, both sorts of spacers are illegal on the road.

Postby **NitroDann** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:46 pm

Lol, they are usually aluminium.
They are no more dangerous than running a wheel with a larger hub centre than stock. Ie if the wheel centre hole is larger than the hub centre thats no different than spacers, and extraordinarily common.

Dann

Apu · Postby **Apu** » Wed May 25, 2011 8:13 pm

I think there's also an issue of leverage - a lot more effort on the shocks, correct?

Postby **NitroDann** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:19 pm

Not really. The leverage on the stud goes from 0 to 10mm. The leverage on the suspension goes from about 60cm to 61cm.

Dann

criss · Postby **criss** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:26 pm

So Dann, Is that mean if the spacer is sit nicely on the hub( same center bore) and connected to the stud correctly , the it should be soils as a rock right ???

Postby **NitroDann** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:37 pm

Assuming that both the centre hub and studs are a tight fit on the spacers and you still have at least 6 threads holding it all on you will be ok. But use common sense.

Dann

pepejesus · Postby **pepejesus** » Wed May 25, 2011 10:36 pm

Where does the 6 threads thing come from? Is this something you've done your own testing on?

Wouldn't it depend on the weight of the wheel, the type of nut, the length of the stud, the materials used, etc etc?

Postby **NitroDann** » Wed May 25, 2011 10:54 pm

Its generally accepted that you need the width of the bolt worth of threads on a bolt and nut for the threads to be as strong as the shaft,ie any less and it the threads strip, any more and the bolt snaps first. This is why nuts for a particular bolt tend to be as deep as the bolt shaft is wide. On a wheel stud this is about 6 threads.

Dann