Wheel Spacers

[Motor City Impala]

I have been curious about certain cars I have noticed lately that are running wheel spacers. The one car in question is a 86 or so Monte Carlo SS with 2000 Camaro SS wheels. The spacers he is using are 2-1/2" wide. I am not too sure about this. The wheel center section is so far out that my concern is strain, damage or even failure of the wheel studs. What is the rule of thumb as far as spacers go? I for one prefer that the actual wheel center section be mounted directly on the rotor face not on a spacer. Any thoughts or comments are welcome. I am new to the indepth portion of this stuff after years of being an armchair enthusiast its now time for me to get my tires wet so to speak. The reason I ask is want the right stance and look without sacrificing ride/handling and safety.

Todd K.

[Mkelcy]

I have been curious about certain cars I have noticed lately that are running wheel spacers. The one car in question is a 86 or so Monte Carlo SS with 2000 Camaro SS wheels. The spacers he is using are 2-1/2" wide. I am not too sure about this. The wheel center section is so far out that my concern is strain, damage or even failure of the wheel studs. What is the rule of thumb as far as spacers go? I for one prefer that the actual wheel center section be mounted directly on the rotor face not on a spacer. Any thoughts or comments are welcome. I am new to the indepth portion of this stuff after years of being an armchair enthusiast its now time for me to get my tires wet so to speak. The reason I ask is want the right stance and look without sacrificing ride/handling and safety.

Todd K.

The "spacers" you've seen are most likely bolt on wheel adapters - that is, the adapter bolts to the axle/hub like a wheel, and then the wheel bolts to the adapter.

As for creating more stress on the affected parts, the only significant difference between a wheel with proper backspacing and a wheel/adapter combo is that the spokes of the wheel with proper backspacing are likely more nearly aligned with the mounting face of the wheel, than the spokes of the wheel/adapter combo. I'm not nearly enough of an engineer to calculate the difference in loading, but I've been told by those who are that the difference is negligible.

[bochnak]

"Do the bolt-on wheel adapters increase the load on suspension parts?
The suspension loads are only affected by the centerline of the tire. Billet adapters usually correct offset issues when bolting newer style high offset wheels onto older cars that were designed with low offset wheels. A wheel with a 51mm offset and a 2" adapter is identical to the suspension as a 0mm factory wheel. This loads are the same on the wheel studs, bearings, bushings, because the wheel is in exactly the same location on the car. "

http://www.skulte.com/info_pages.php/pages_id/3

Been running 2/2.5" F/R on mine with no issues.

[Motor City Impala]

Thank you very much. That is what I thought. But thinking and knowing are two very different things. I guess I was more concerned about the loading of the inside Rim edge (closest to frame) more than anything. But if the newer vehicles are desinged that way I see no reason to doubt the OEM's with a 100,000 mile warranty.

[vintageracer]

Would the loading using a 2 inch wheel adapter to obtain 0 offset be the same for a trailer that may experience high side loading during sharp turns such a backing up?

In a nutshell.

Are adapters safe to achieve proper offset when changing wheels on a trailer?

[MonzaRacer]

If you have steel or a forged billet aluminum, it might be ok for a trailer, but for a trailer to keep load ratings I would not use a plain cast unit.
Now say an Investment cast or one of the higher quality ie stronger casting techniques, should be ok. IE dont be cheap. if its very large id get some made from steel that you can install proper studs in. bot them on then bot wheel to them.

[overZealous1]

make sure you get some that are hubcentric. other than that, the old 930t and 935 racing porsches used 3" spacers on already negative offset wheels. plenty strong. i used to autox with them on my vette too. no probs.

[Motor City Impala]

thanks guys. Im still not sure what I am going to run but now I dont need to worry about using spacers... i mean adapters. thanks again.
Todd

[TheJDMan]

Sorry to revive an old thread but who makes good hub-centric spacers?

[Mkelcy]

Sorry to revive an old thread but who makes good hub-centric spacers?

These folks can make anything you want: http://www.motorsport-tech.com/wheel_adapters.html

[nicks67camaro]

like mike said i have purchased from Motorsports-tech and they can easily get you set up. I used their online ordering process and they were perfect.