Buying Wheel Spacers? Watch This Video First!

[@alphacamaro8124]

I've had different types of spacers and adapters both on cars and atvs. Most ATVs don't go very fast and don't weigh a ton so not as much of a concern. The reason we should use only hub-centric spacers (bolt on type) in performance applications is the simple fact that you are creating a new hub in a sense. Your hub is extended outward to the wheel. There it fits inside the lip of the wheel. I don't have any worries as long as I am using hub-centric spacers. Another issue... if you use a very thick spacer then this will change the turning radius on the front wheels, but most people won't use them at more than a couple inches thick. Ultimately I think they are safe on the front of a car as long as they are of reasonable quality and have better than grade 8 hardened steel studs. I don't prefer to use adapters (bolt on spacers) on the rear of a performance car. That's just me, a lot of torque coming from the rear axles. That's why I installed spacers and longer studs just to be safe. With 9 full turns of the lug nut, and some hub lip still exposed, there won't be any concerns for me.

[@Lethalgarage]

+Alpha Camaro yeah the 5mm spacers I am using are so small, I am.simply not worried. Now if I went 10mm or 20mm, yes I would worry.

[@alphacamaro8124]

Lethal - I don't think you have anything to be worried about on those small plates. Plenty of hub support. Even with my 10mm on back I still have lip to mesh with the rim. It just takes paying attention and having basic knowledge of how these things work.

[@momchils269]

Hi! I want to put 5mm spacers on the rear. What do you think, are the bolts long enough and is this safe, or it's better to put thinner spacers?

[@rubioalejo]

The Negatives The main issue with a wheel spacer is that it moves the wheel to a wider position whilst the rest of the suspension arms remain in the same place. In particular, the king pin inclination axis remains in the same place. Therefore, fitting a wheel spacer moves the wheel outboard and alters the scrub radius of the car. It is important to know whether your car currently has negative or positive scrub radius and ideally how much it has. Fitting a wheel spacer will increase the positive scrub radius at the front wheels which has some unfavorable consequences. If your car already has a bit of positive scrub radius then the wheel spacer will increase it. An increase in positive scrub radius increases the forces on the steering rack under braking conditions. Any bumps in the road will also be amplified through the steering wheel, making the steering jerky and more unpredictable. Twitching wheels when braking can cause the tire to lose grip and ultimately can cause the wheels to lock up and slide. An increase in positive scrub radius also causes the wheel to gain positive camber when the wheels are being turned, reducing grip in corners on the front wheels and producing understeer.If your car has the more favorable set up of negative scrub radius then installing a wheel spacer can cause bigger issues. The outward movement of the wheel can make a negative scrub radius become zero. This is the worst position for it to be in. A zero scrub radius can cause squirm. This is where a scrubbing action occurs on both front tyres in opposite directions which can create unpredictable handling in corners and can lead to understeer too. Secondly, installing wheel spacers on a car increases the leverage on the wheel bearing. The larger the spacer, the larger the leverage becomes. This reduces the life of the wheel bearing as they are not made to take leverage forces and can therefore wear faster, increasing rolling resistance and power loss of the car. Finally, the wheel spacer moves the wheel further away from the damper mounting point. This means that the wheel will have a larger effect upon the damper and will act upon it with more leverage. This effectively makes the spring and damper softer and less effective on the wheel. This means that the car can roll more on corner entry and exit and feel generally softer out on track or on the road.”

[@jose27505]

if you do things right and have hub centric spacers/adapter and have a quality product not cheap eBay crap than its basically like having a lower offset wheel main thing to do is if you have adaptors (bigger spacers with a second set of studs) is to after I'd say 100 miles go back and re torque them I'd say do it 2 times 1 time is enough but better be safe than sorry you should do that process regardless on mounting the wheels but now you have to do it to the adapter as well. key work is quality product .

[@Shinjihirako00]

hey..adding 2-3mm flat spacer is safe? I made a mistake on buying wheels and now one of my wheel having 2mm less OF than stock one. so the caliper rubs on the wheel. looking for advice

[@Lethalgarage]

2-3mm should be fine. Just make sure the wheel is still on the hub and that you get 6-7 full turns on the lugs

[@Shinjihirako00]

@@Lethalgarage thanks for your replay. much appreciate ❤️

[@MojaveKY]

Thanks Lethal for continuing to help our car community !

[@martinsnook9779]

Thanks for the great information I'm putting 5mm on my golf so I have nothing to worry about then yea ?

[@JoePro_9109]

I had 20mm hubcentric spacers on my 5th gen for about 6 months and never had an issue. I also didn't track it but there was some spirited driving. Wanted to put them on my 6th gen but now I'm thinking twice about that because they are the "scary ones". Thanks for the video!

[@Foreverjazzfan]

My 01 Camaro SS wheels especially in the rear are way under the wheel well. I’d love to move them out to flush with the fender bottom to the top of the tire. I’d love this if for nothing else but the way it looks. Any suggestions?

[@jasonnellis3566]

Hello I have stock wheels on Silverado. If do 1/2 spacer do I need longer studs. Thnx

[@Lethalgarage]

Depends how many turns you can get. Most people want 7-9 full turns

[@MarspeedCars]

Hey man not sure if you can help me out but I just got a 3 mm slip on spacer for my rear wheels so that I could fit 315s on my charger. I get 11-12 full turns on the lug nuts but not sure if this spacer is hub centric. Would you say that’s safe? Just use it for daily highway driving and wanted the look

[@Lethalgarage]

You really only need 9 turns

[@Lethalgarage]

Also at 3mm you’re beyond fine

[@julianpillay2891]

Good advice, thank you.

[@samlewis3869]

I need about 1-2 in. Spacers for my 97 f-250 because the wheels rub on either my tire rods or torsion bars so I need the tires out a little further. Would you have any suggestions for the brand or style.

[@1234zcrom]

Hub centric spacers I believe are more common these days for larger spacers because they are safer. They basically slide over and around the existing wheel hub instead just in front of it, so u lose little thread space, and in addition are secured to the hub threads via lug nuts they come with. They have their own lug nut threads for the wheel to go back. Anyways I'm surprised spacers that are not hub centric design are still being sold so I can see why the need to warn folks.

[@smh9417]

I’m planning on getting 20 by 11s in rear of my 2011 1 SS camaro what size tire can I get away with or any recommendations of what do do I just want some wide monster looking tires in the rear

[@johnnyjp5780]

HI just caught your channel.......... can you give me any hints to what i may be needing when it comes to spacers?...... i gotta 67 Firebird convertible....my prob is i have American racing wheels on all 4..... BUT my fronts are rubbing the inside of the wheel wells just slightly when turning..... i can see the undercoating on the inner sides of the wells are coming off....i'm gonna shoot the inner wells with undercoating again but would spacers solve this prob?.... ALSO what size would you suggest? it's got the orig 6 cylinder engine...... so no racing.... BUT would like to take it on the highway SAFELY...... thanx for your time..... all the best :)

[@AustinMathias]

Mey Matt I have a 2018 1le. Do you think I will be able to put on 10mm spacers on the rear wheels? They are just like the 5mm ones from ZL1addons but 10mm instead. I currently have the 5mm ones on the rear wheels. Thank you in advance!

[@Lethalgarage]

Anything over 5mm will force the wheel too far off the hub. Weight will ride on the lugs instead of the hub bearing /hub and will be an issue.

[@AustinMathias]

LethalGarage Understandable. I really appreciate it

[@OnlinecarshowNet1]

At least you mention stud length. People dont realize the studs needs to be longer.

[@preston3698]

Ii have a 2014 c7 and was think of going with a 6mm all the way around should i have anything to worry about i do not race but sometimes i like to show some cars whos boss if you know what i mean lol

[@user-nn8xo8yd4c]

I bought my 2016 camaro 2ss with 315/35/20 and it did rub the wire, also my rpm idle is jumping all the time, do u think that it’s jumping because of the wire? If so, what do you recommend?

[@user-nn8xo8yd4c]

Also how can i fine the harness part number

[@brandonspencer84]

I got 20x10 23mm for the front size spacers I can get?

[@jacob7291]

I have a 2017 Camaro ss do you think 5mm spacer would be bad for daily or should I go with 3mm

[@Lethalgarage]

Either or are fine. 5mm isn’t big enough to cause any issues

[@bobbyb5215]

I have the 5th gen and have a 265 square set up I maybe thinking of a 10mm. What do think? would that work ok and what brand spacers would you recommend.

[@Lethalgarage]

+Bobby B I don't have a brand I can recommend. But measure your hub and see how much space you have to work with.

[@markoon139]

you lookin for bigger tires, rims or both?

[@harveersingh9720]

If I run 10mm on a nb miata will it harm anything and can I drive it hard without anything going wrong?

[@bluedog600]

Hey brother what size spacers u running currently front and back?

[@Lethalgarage]

3mm spacers in the rear with no rubbing.

[@bluedog600]

Awesome thank u sir

[@CamaroTime]

Another cool informative video Matt. Never used them but I can see where people can easily get in trouble

[@bluedog600]

Hey Matt do you have spacers on all four wheels. Or just the rear? And fix again for everything I appreciate all the input

[@Lethalgarage]

+BlueDog 600 Just 5mm on the rear. Going to try and drop to 3mm

[@gillio4]

LethalGarage can you use factory lug nuts with only a 5 mill spacer. all(4) 5 mil.

[@Lethalgarage]

+iceberg slim I am not sure about factory as I don't know their offsets

[@lousarmiento4437]

I have 2017 Elantra +45 stock offset. I just ordered 18x9.5 +35 5x114.3 73.1 and manufacturer said I'll be having rubbing issues. Will wheel spacers fix the problem? If yes how thick should I get? noob here

[@Lethalgarage]

Not sure all the dimensions so I would have no clue.

[@lousarmiento4437]

LethalGarage but in general is wheel spacers the quick solution?

[@Lethalgarage]

Yes, the ones in this video allow you to keep the wheel on the hub, anything bigger can be dangerous

[@sergioguevara192]

I want to get spacers for my challenger, I'm just not sure how big I should go. I don't think 5mm will be enough

[@guslucatero5222]

sergioguevara192 from another challenger owner, ID get 5mm. make sure they are hub centric spacers

[@markoon139]

depends on how big of tires and wheels you want

[@R_Kinte]

Thoughts on 12mm spacers that are hub centric?

[@Lethalgarage]

If hub centric, nothing to worry about

[@davemillan5082]

@@Lethalgarage Accept the length of the studs! 12mm is almost 1/2 an inch...

[@hazard1371]

So practically have more than 8 turns on the nuts..

[@TheBangbang187]

What bout interstate driving doing around 80-100

[@Lethalgarage]

I mean I drive at 150mph....

[@NewtonWashinton]

Hi Matt, I would really like to see a pic of your tires and wheels from ground level from the back of the car without the distortion of the wide angle lens. If that's possible? Thanks for all the good info.

[@Lethalgarage]

+Newton Washinton I can try ;)

[@NewtonWashinton]

Lethal ok Thanks Matt

[@1Mrstephen]

Thank you!

[@asadkhan-bb3cu]

Good Info love from Pakistan

[@jamieshelker2178]

Thxz man

[@BudgetSlides]

Countless formula D Very high horsepower cars run bolt on spacers

[@sc_garage4735]

i like it. thanks for the info

[@dominickirkwood]

I love it

[@2averagenoobs108]

Most people use spacers with their own studs on it.

[@cesardiaz2631]

I took my vehicle to get some mods for my car, when I mentioned the " spacer issue" , they told that if i want to drag race, go in high speeds. and manuever the car to its full potential, the spacers limit you from pretty much everything related for racing....I was told not to get them , especially if Im putting a turbocharger on my SS..Now if you want the looks , yes is a good idea...

[@markoon139]

which doesnt make sense because you need bigger tires for better racing haha

[@FIRST465]

Thank you for tips. I will buy extended nuts asap :D

[@Lethalgarage]

never hurts

[@MC2RD]

Oh and running stock wheels with spacers puts undo pressure on bearings and struts

[@East17A]

the info you provide is awesome . so thank you for that . but it would of been better if you provide and actual spacers with recommended sizes . the reason why i'm here . because i just received 1.5 inch wide spacer . for a 2007 toyota Camry XLE V6 . and from the width actually looked scary to me but again what would i know !!! so far i'm still looking for concrete solid guidance

[@Lethalgarage]

Best bet is to measure the gap you want to fill. Simple tape measure is all you need

[@Jedi_Esco]

When will the zl1 add ons be released Matt?

[@Lethalgarage]

+Sean Esco hopefully soon

[@BEYONDGARAGE]

NEXT REAL TALK ----- what's is a wheel? The rim?? Or the rim and tire? Or the tire itself????

[@markoon139]

a wheel is the rim lol. tire is just tire

[@philtitus7860]

Rim is the metal part, tire is the rubber part and a wheel is the assembly (mounted tire on rim)

[@OnlinecarshowNet1]

Great video for the idiots to pay attention to. Spacers should only be used to fit bigger rims and tires and they should be as little as possible with longer studs. Great video bro

[@OnlinecarshowNet1]

You are about only channel that does it right.

[@NMEKINGS559]

first haha. stay up bro.