Help! wheel spacer experts...

[1traildriver]

So I didn't do my research before shopping for new wheels for my '10 Trail(shame on me for sure) and I ran into a glitch with my new wheels not fitting on front. I bought a set of KMC Enduro (black), 17x9, 5inch backspace, 0 offset, from Tire Rack...before finding this forum. Well Tire Rack guarantees 100% fitment and the guy I spoke to on the phone said absolutely "Yes" they will fit or Tire Rack would not sell them for this vehicle. The fronts needed 1/4" spacers to clear the brake calipers. So my concern is:
1. Should I be running spacers on all 4 wheels? The shop said it was not necessary for the rear.
2. Does the Trail have a wider wheel base in the rear? The shop said that some vehicles have a slightly wider wheel base in the rear of about 1/4".
3. Will wheel spacers cause any additional wear and tear? handling problems with only running spacers on the front? or any issues with the 4wd system?

Thanks for any info you can provide....I will keep searching this site for any posts that address some of these issues.

I really need to be more patient when it comes to purchasing new parts!

 

[NTUR4]

hmmm... any chance you could stress your concern - to save yourself the headache - and have them swap them out for something that wont require spacers??

 

[06HAOLE]

1. Should I be running spacers on all 4 wheels? The shop said it was not necessary for the rear.
Its fine to run them on the front and not the back.
2. Does the Trail have a wider wheel base in the rear? The shop said that some vehicles have a slightly wider wheel base in the rear of about 1/4".
I dont know since I have an SR5 but 1/4" difference doesnt matter anyway.
3. Will wheel spacers cause any additional wear and tear? handling problems with only running spacers on the front? or any issues with the 4wd system?
Wheel spacers do cause a little more stress on your truck but its trivial. You wont have any issues with your 4wd system.

There is nothing wrong with running spacers that have wheel studs pressed into them. If you want to run a spacer that doesn't have the wheel studs on it then you need to change out the wheel studs on your truck for longer ones.

These are the wheel studs I run. They are ARP from Summit racing.

ARP 100-7715 - ARP Wheel Studs - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Key things:
You have to inspect the spacers every time you rotate your tires. You cant forget about them. The torque specs on your spacers have to be maintained. This is where the majority of incidents arise from. If your not comfortable with the maintenance then I wouldn't get them.

I have run spacers on this truck since it had 3000 miles on it with no issues. I had spacers on the front with stock wheels and then later spacers in the rear to clear my shocks.

 

[1traildriver]

Thanks

Hey thanks for the good info, it will ease some of my stress right now about the decision I made. I will def keep up with inspection of the spacers at tire rotation time and check the lugs from time to time. I will probably opt for some longer studs just as a piece of mind, even though the shop insisted there was plenty of stud length left.

Later.