SPACERS: how much can you Trust em when off Roading?

[CrazySte]

Hello Everybody,
we just bought a 5th Generation TRD-Pro used and it has 1,25" Spacers on.

The previous owner said he is pretty sure they are Spidertrax, and in fact the color is a really dark dark Blue, which matches what Spidertrax advertises as their "specialty color" due to the double anodization of the metal.

With that being said... unlike the previous owner that used mostly his 4 Runner as a Mall Crawler, me and my Fiancee plan to do some OffRoading with it. so we will definitely put more stress on those wheels.

Nothing extreme, let me be specific, we plan to do what i guess is called "Overlanding", but nevertheless, when you leave the pavement you never know what you will encounter.

How much can i trust Spacers in Off Roading?

I mean... i wouldn't want to find myself watching a tire rolling down the hill while i am stranded in the middle of nowhere!

Assuming they have been installed properly (i know the seller personally, he is very picky about torquing bold correctly and locktiting them) but still... it's an Alluminum Hub versus the original Steel... how trustable are these things?

As you can tell, i am a very beginner offroader, so sorry if my questions sound silly, just trying to learn
THANKS

 

[Jeffy]

Hello Everybody,
we just bought a 5th Generation TRD-Pro used and it has 1,25" Spacers on.

The previous owner said he is pretty sure they are Spidertrax, and in fact the color is a really dark dark Blue, which matches what Spidertrax advertises as their "specialty color" due to the double anodization of the metal.

With that being said... unlike the previous owner that used mostly his 4 Runner as a Mall Crawler, me and my Fiancee plan to do some OffRoading with it. so we will definitely put more stress on those wheels.

Nothing extreme, let me be specific, we plan to do what i guess is called "Overlanding", but nevertheless, when you leave the pavement you never know what you will encounter.

How much can i trust Spacers in Off Roading?

I mean... i wouldn't want to find myself watching a tire rolling down the hill while i am stranded in the middle of nowhere!

Assuming they have been installed properly (i know the seller personally, he is very picky about torquing bold correctly and locktiting them) but still... it's an Alluminum Hub versus the original Steel... how trustable are these things?

As you can tell, i am a very beginner offroader, so sorry if my questions sound silly, just trying to learn
THANKS

You'll be fine, especially with less extreme stuff, although a wheel with proper offset is still a better choice. Inspect the spacers and check the torque every time you rotate tires and I wouldn't think any more about it.

 

[Unner]

They're fine. I've been running them for 75k miles with no issues on and off road.

I wouldn't trust the previous owner installed them correctly though. I'd pull them and install correctly with red locktite and such following the directions from spidertrax just to be safe.

 

[CrazySte]

They're fine. I've been running them for 75k miles with no issues on and off road.

I wouldn't trust the previous owner installed them correctly though. I'd pull them and install correctly with red locktite and such following the directions from spidertrax just to be safe.

Thank you,
that gives me a good piece of mind... i didn't know what to expect long term and i wasn't sure if they were trustable.

Thanks again

 

[Volcom]

You'll be fine, especially with less extreme stuff,

I've been running spacers on my 84 4Runner on 40's for 11 years on some of the hardest, most extreme trails in CO, UT, SD, and Johnson Valley, CA with no issues.

 

[XPdriven]

1.5"

I've got lug-centric 1.5" spacers on mine and have taken it on some rough trails in Moab and didn't have any issues. I will probably be switching to hub-centric however as I trust those a bit more.

 

[easyeatlanta]

I've got lug-centric 1.5" spacers on mine and have taken it on some rough trails in Moab and didn't have any issues. I will probably be switching to hub-centric however as I trust those a bit more.

hub-centric and wheel-centric will always be a better choice where available.

I've run so pretty rough stuff with spacers and had no issues. If everything is torqued to spec you will be fine.

 

[4runner_kid]

I've only had 1 spacer fail me and my 38 fall off. Snapped all the stud's on the spacer.

 

[peakbaggerwolf]

I understand the general difference of hub-centric vs lug-centric, but is there a way to tell the two apart? Are the spidertrax ones hub-centric? Even for lug-centric spacers, I would think that using the star pattern to install them would be just as just as good at centering them because that's basically what you're doing with your wheels anyway. Or am I way off?

 

[Keros]

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modified-jk-tech-2/spidertrax-wheel-spacer-safety-130315/