Spacers?

[atalarico]

Hey all,

The guy who sold me my '04 Sport Ed. threw in 2 boxes of 1.25" Spidertrax Spacers. He put a 3" OME lift on, and I'm hoping to put some 285/70's on at some point. Will the spacers reduce the odds that I need to do any cutting/fitting for the 285 Duratracs?

Never used spacers on my 3rd gen, so pardon the ignorance. Read through pages and pages of the lift/suspension FAQ, but just was curious if anyone had direct experience with a 3" OME, 17" sport wheels, and 285 Duratracs.

 

[mizak82]

Def some trimming of the front bumper. And possibly the body mount it seems.


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[atalarico]

Def some trimming of the front bumper. And possibly the body mount it seems.


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Aw crud. I got the V8 because running 33's seems like it would be so much easier with that extra power compared to my old 3rd Gen's V6.

I'm having a hard time figuring out if people have found that spacers make the rubbing worse or better though.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Yes it will increase the rubbing and you will need to trim the bumper corner and potentially do a body mount chop (I didn't do a BMC with my same size duratracs on SCS wheels but was very very close.)

 

[atalarico]

Yes it will increase the rubbing and you will need to trim the bumper corner and potentially do a body mount chop (I didn't do a BMC with my same size duratracs on SCS wheels but was very very close.)

So what if I don't care about spacers then? Less rubbing and less chopping likely needed? Is it really just an aesthetic mod? I thought spacers somehow helped prevent rubbing, not increase it. I've clearly misunderstood this whole time.

If so, then I'm going to ditch them and keep saving my pennies for 285s!

 

[Inv4drZm]

So what if I don't care about spacers then? Less rubbing and less chopping likely needed? Is it really just an aesthetic mod? I thought spacers somehow helped prevent rubbing, not increase it so I've clearly misunderstood this whole time.

If so, then I'm going to ditch them and keep saving my pennies for 285s!

They increase the swing radius of the tire. You'll actually need them (or aftermarket wheels with correct backspacing) to keep the 285 Duratrac from rubbing your spindle with your stock sport wheels. I forgot I ran into that issue at the tire installer, so I ordered my wheels and had them install the tires when I received my wheels. Really you could probably get away with using a 1/2" wheel spacer because they barely rubbed my spindle as it was.

My sport wheels had that problem with 285 70 17 Duratracs but my brothers stock FJ wheels did not so there must have been a small difference between the two.

 

[k3v11n]

I'll take your spacers if you're not going to use them lol.

 

[Jeffy]

If you want to put a 285 tire on there, you'll either need spacers or a wheel with a different offset so you can clear the UCA and spindle. Even my 265 tire was close to rubbing the UCA with stock rims.

You'll probably have to trim no matter what you do if you want a tire that wide/ tall. You shouldn't need a body mount chop for a 33 though, just the front fender and mudflaps

 

[bombventure]

If you want to put a 285 tire on there, you'll either need spacers or a wheel with a different offset so you can clear the UCA and spindle. Even my 265 tire was close to rubbing the UCA with stock rims.



You'll probably have to trim no matter what you do if you want a tire that wide/ tall. You shouldn't need a body mount chop for a 33 though, just the front fender and mudflaps

Yeah you shouldn’t need a BMC, but you will need trimming done. To give you an idea, I have 285/65r18’s which are 32.6 x 11.2 and I had to do trimming on both the front and back after my lift (3” front/2” back).


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[atalarico]

Thanks for the help understanding this, all! Sounds like BMC won't be necessary, but a shorter spacer like .25" should be sufficient. I'll probably sell these then and get something more appropriate when the time comes that I can afford 33's! Hoping before summer wheeling/camping season is underway.

 

[JupiterGuy34]

How much would you be willing to let those SpiderTrax Spacers go for? I'm located in Florida.

 

[atalarico]

How much would you be willing to let those SpiderTrax Spacers go for? I'm located in Florida.

I'll post them up in the classified section when I'm ready to sell, but probably however much it takes to replace them with a more appropriate sized spacer. Just looking for an even trade since they're unopened and what not.

I won't be upgrading my tires for a few months though, so it'll be a hot minute.

 

[atalarico]

Or I honestly might not get 285s. I never had a problem wheeling with my 265s on my 3rd gen, so maybe I should just stick with that since there will be fewer issues? I'm a function over form person anyway, and I never really cared that 265s looked small under that 3" lift on my 3rd gen. They wheeled well and saved strain on the under powered engine. I just figured since I have a V8 now I should go bigger, but the engine isn't the only consideration I guess.

Or 275s? Or 255's!? The tire options for 255/70 are limited, but 255/75s look good. Any reason 255/75 wouldn't be recommended?

Gah, I don't know. Open to input though!

 

[Zeke588]

Body mount chop, spacers, and trimming are all dependent on what wheel and tire combo you run. Depending on the offset, and backspacing you have it could be different for you than me. I’m currently running 2.5 In of lift up front and 1.5 in the rear running 286/75/16 Nitto Terra Grapplers on Tacoma wheels with a spidertrax 1.25 inch spacer. I clear the body mount and upper control arm/spindle. But have to move my fender liner forward. There’s so many variations between everyone’s trucks it’s hard to tell you that you will need to BMC or not. Don’t be afraid to trim the front bumper either there’s tons of write ups here that give good detail about it. Even if you don’t think you need it, it may prove helpful when you take the truck off-road and start articulating the front end suspension.

 

[Powder_Hound]

Or I honestly might not get 285s. I never had a problem wheeling with my 265s on my 3rd gen, so maybe I should just stick with that since there will be fewer issues? I'm a function over form person anyway, and I never really cared that 265s looked small under that 3" lift on my 3rd gen. They wheeled well and saved strain on the under powered engine. I just figured since I have a V8 now I should go bigger, but the engine isn't the only consideration I guess.

Or 275s? Or 255's!? The tire options for 255/70 are limited, but 255/75s look good. Any reason 255/75 wouldn't be recommended?

Gah, I don't know. Open to input though!

Another thing to think about is the spare. If you have the V8 with the tow package the beefier receiver won’t allow for a 285 to be stored in the spare tire location. You will have conflict with the receiver and the panhard bar. Unless, of course you have roof top carrier or a rear spare tire carrier.

I ended up sticking with 265 for this reason.

 

[atalarico]

Another thing to think about is the spare. If you have the V8 with the tow package the beefier receiver won’t allow for a 285 to be stored in the spare tire location. You will have conflict with the receiver and the panhard bar. Unless, of course you have roof top carrier or a rear spare tire carrier.

I ended up sticking with 265 for this reason.

Good to know! I do have a rack, but I'm not super into storing spares on the rack.

I think I'm sticking with 265's.