Any Reason NOT to get 1.25'' Wheel Spacers?

[Aludew5]

Bone stock 97. I'm a car guy, not a truck guy. Just want some slight cosmetic enhancements for my 4Runner w. the wider stance.

From the research I've done searching on here it seems that at 1.25" there will be no rubbing issues with stock setup. Any reason I shouldn't do this?

Further, what spacers do you suggest? Any horror stories from knock-off ebay ones? :TOYOTA 6 Lug FJ 4 RUNNER Wheel Adapter Spacers 1.25 4pc | eBay

Thanks for schoolin' me guys! Please do.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Search a little bit, this has come up before...

Spacers are thought to give you increased stress on the bearing, so life of the bearings might suffer.

Also, you need to look for hub centric ones. Those you linked to don't appear hub centric and are more expensive than spidertrax (most popular, hub centric).

NVM, I see it is for 4, not 2. I still wouldn't get them.

 

[econhonda]

Some say it's rougher on lower ball joints, but I'm not too worried about (especially now that I've just put on brand new LBJ's...) Depending on your tire size, it might cause slight rubbing on the front bumper. It's easily solved by shaving off about 1/2" of inside bumper trim. Also, be sure to get hub-centric spacers. Regular spacers won't allow the wheel to seat properly, and it will always feel like your tires are out of balance.

 

[BrianSD_42]

A lot of aftermarket 16" wheels have spacing that is equivalent to the stock Toyota + the 1.25" spacer, at least that is what i have been told.

A few years ago I swapped my Toyota Limited (lame) wheels with Eagle Alloy wheels. I could visually tell right away that the spacing was at least 1" difference. The Eagle Alloys were also a 16x8 vs. the Toyota wheels 16x7.

Just last week I put on a set of powder-coated Toyota 5-star wheels and I can tell that I am going to need spacers just to make it look like it did with the Eagle Alloy wheels.

My conclusion is that I have been running the equivalent level of "stress" since I installed the after-market wheels in 2006 ~ 70,000 miles ago.

I drove several years and have not suffered a wheel bearing failure yet (knock on wood). I replaced my LBJs though and you should if you haven't already done so.

:frog:

 

[Aludew5]

So in sum:

Buy spidertrax, install with proper torque spec and locktite, check for clearance to determine if any trimming in necessary, monitor LBJ's.

What should they be torqued to? The same as the wheels or higher?

 

[Nelsonmd]

A lot of aftermarket 16" wheels have spacing that is equivalent to the stock Toyota + the 1.25" spacer, at least that is what i have been told.

A few years ago I swapped my Toyota Limited (lame) wheels with Eagle Alloy wheels. I could visually tell right away that the spacing was at least 1" difference. The Eagle Alloys were also a 16x8 vs. the Toyota wheels 16x7.

Just last week I put on a set of powder-coated Toyota 5-star wheels and I can tell that I am going to need spacers just to make it look like it did with the Eagle Alloy wheels.

My conclusion is that I have been running the equivalent level of "stress" since I installed the after-market wheels in 2006 ~ 70,000 miles ago.

I drove several years and have not suffered a wheel bearing failure yet (knock on wood). I replaced my LBJs though and you should if you haven't already done so.

:frog:

Yeah, it sounds like you ran the equivalent of spacers, but the argument that your's haven't failed isn't an argument for it not doing damage (not saying you were arguing that, it's just worth pointing out every time it comes up).

So in sum:

Buy spidertrax, install with proper torque spec and locktite, check for clearance to determine if any trimming in necessary, monitor LBJ's.

What should they be torqued to? The same as the wheels or higher?

I think Spidertrax will tell you what to torque them to, but if not, you should use the toyota spec torque with permanent loctite. If your mileage is more than 50k, it would be a really good idea to just replace you LBJ's at the same time like brianemc did. Failed LBJ could total your truck, so $250 or so in parts is excellent value PM.

 

[TN_Soljah808]

So in sum:

Buy spidertrax, install with proper torque spec and locktite, check for clearance to determine if any trimming in necessary, monitor LBJ's.

What should they be torqued to? The same as the wheels or higher?

I just installed Spidertrax with my new wheels. I believe it stated around 70-85 FT LBS for torque. I comes with instructions on how to install so your straight there.

I also replaced LBJs when doing it also. It's a good idea especially if you have read some current post.