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Wheel Spacers for JL Rubicon

Thehammer9899

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I just bought a 2018 JL Rubicon that has 35 inch KO2’s with a Mopar 2.0 lift and stock Rubicon wheels. (I bought VR501’s for it, but I think I like the stock ones better). It drives amazing and looks great, but honestly, the 35’s seem to disappear on it. I’ve been contemplating 37’s but I really don’t want to add height because it’s my daily driver and I do have to go into parking garages. I’m wondering if I could add wheel spacers just to give it a fuller appearance.

I had them on a stock Sahara years ago sad I felt like it made the tires look bigger and actually made it feel more stable. My son had an accident in that Jeep once and should have rolled it, but didn’t. I don’t know that they are what made the difference, but it felt like it to me.

I have heard a lot of people warning that wheel spacers are not safe, and/or they cause other problems with the ride. What are your experiences? Any pictures?

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blessidsoul12

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I had 1.75" spacers until I got my new offset wheels and tires. Spacers did give me the look I wanted. As far as safety just get a good reputable brand. Dont go cheap and add threadlock like you are supposed to.
Horror stories abound of them coming lose, but I watched the guys at the tire store try to get mine off and that made me confident that they would NEVER have just fallen off on their own. It was a chore for them for sure.
 
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thrasher

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I have spacers on 35s since 37s weren’t in the budget and the 35s looked like tiny shoes with the 4in lift. Definitely got the look I was going for. I used locktite on them and tourqued them to ensure they wouldn’t come loose. Absolutely no issues so far even after off-roading. Like was said, go with a reputable brand and you will be golden.
 

jdubya421

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I put on 1.75" spacers until I get wheels with the backspacing I want. Looks good, feels stable, but I worry about my ball joints honestly. Having learned that even on the Rubicon they are plastic, those are definitely getting upgraded soon.

IMG_20200826_152230_442.jpg
 

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thrasher

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Looks concideration only, Interesting. Things no being considered, scrub radius change, added stress on wheel bearings and ball joints. Mud, sand, gravel and roadslush on the body also happens with tire poke. I guess I have turned into my parents haha.

:) maybe "'Jeeps' have two doors. SUV's, two many. "Badges, I don't need to show no stinking badges" from Treasure of the Sierra Madras"

My jeep has four doors but we do sit around a camp fire farting so I think I go 1 for 2 in your analogy.
 

jdubya421

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Good on you for thinking. Unit bearings by design are not as strong as the timkin bearings that use to be on spindles with manual hubs. HD aftermarket axles have manual hubs. My One Ton Ram 4x4 came with unit bearings and they typically don't last even with factory offset wheels. Same issues with ball joints.
Yeah I plan to get some Dynatrac balljoints. Seem nice and beefy as well as rebuildable. I also haven't upgraded steering yet either and I haven't done any super hardcore wheeling with the 37s yet.
 

Zandcwhite

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1.5" spacers on our jlur with 37's have been great so far. No more tire rub, steering is fine, ball joints are fine. They've been on for 6 months and about 10k miles. We've run holcomb creek and John Bull with them. I've had 2" spacers on my 2017 rebel on 35's for ~3 years and 60k miles. The truck has towed as heavy as 8k lbs, hauled a 2500lb pallet over 100 miles, been bombed across the mojave desert at 100 mph, and has ~93k total miles on it. Still running the factory ball joints and unit bearing. Good thing I didn't read that there's no way my set up would work and would be a maintenance nightmare on the internet before doing it I guess? A quality hub centric wheel spacer is no worse than running a wheel of the same backspacing. The factory rubicon wheels have a 6" backspacing, the same guys who tell you that the 1.5" wheels spacer will eat ball joints and unit bearings have no problem running wheels with 4.5" backspacing or even less sometimes. It's the same thing.

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Zandcwhite

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Some folks belong to the Flat Earth Society just because they haven't sailed off the edge. I believe scientific facts. I did fall off the turnip wagon but not yesterday.
I run AEV Pintler wheels 8.5x17 5.77 +25 because AEV has engineers that worked directly with Mopar. Those AEV engineers designed their wheels to meet Mopar engineers wheel spec's. And they properly fit a 12.5 tire to a Rubicon. Spacers aren't even needed.
For the record I never said, wheel spacers eat ball joints and bearings.
Search wheel spacers and the issues they are reported to cause.
https://www.google.com/search?sourc...uSAQM5LjaYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6&sclient=psy-ab
As mention earlier, my JLR is developing a slight steering wheel wiggle. I suspect the ball joints
My personal experience with my '12 Ram 3500/TigerRV has been nearly issue free for 64,000 and the Ram is carrying a 4,000 lb. chassis mounted Tiger Coach. I swapped out the unit bearings early for manual hubs.I recently got a very slight steering wheel wobble and replaced the factory Steering Stabilizer and have found its time for Ball Joints.
As far as Ram ball Joints and unit bears having issues it is easily searched on line just like wheel spacers.
ball joints
https://www.google.com/search?sourc...&ved=0ahUKEwiqx5qRiYruAhWEM30KHaMNCX4Q4dUDCAw
https://www.google.com/search?
unit bearings
source=hp&ei=ZyD3X77SCeXr9AOP5KAI&q=Ram+unit+bearing+issue&oq=Ram+unit+bearing+issue&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQDDIICCEQFhAdEB46AggAOgIILjoICAAQsQMQgwE6CwguELEDEMcBEKMCOggILhCxAxCDAToICC4QxwEQowI6BQgAELEDOggILhCxAxCTAjoFCC4QsQM6CAgAELEDEMkDOgUIABCSAzoICC4QxwEQrwE6BQgAEMkDOgYIABAWEB46CAgAEBYQChAeOgkIABDJAxAWEB5Q6hVY3Vlgt3loAHAAeACAAYABiAHaEpIBBDIuMjCYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwj-objRiYruAhXlNX0KHQ8yCAEQ4dUDCAw
For a picture validation(haha) of my two Mopar vehicle experiences(I do have a exhibitionistic disorder when it comes to my rigs) ...
My JLR
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/showcase/4x4-rv.1794/
My Ram/Tiger RV
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/showcase/4x4-rv.1794/
I like posting pics of my rigs too🤣. The aev wheels have .5" less back spacing than the factory wheels and are an inch wider, therefore the outer edge of your wheel is exactly as far from the ball joints as a stock rim with a 1.5" spacer. Because the mounting surface is not out at the outer lip, you could argue that only half of the 1" increased width creates additional leverage. That puts your fulcrum a full inch out from the factory design, or a mere .5" closer than those of us running 1.5" spacers on stock rims. Are spacers ideal? No. Are they dangerous when properly installed and retorqued every tire rotation? Absolutely not. My spacers cost less than 1 wheel and function just fine. Is there more leverage than stock on the factory ball joints and unit bearings? Yes, in both our cases. The 37's that weigh twice as much as the stock tire will probably increase wear on suspension components far more than the spacers. Sure I might only get 60k miles before needing to replace ball joints rather than 100k+, but I'll have way more fun than leaving it stock. If I prioritized long term reliability over off road performance I'd likely be in a Toyota.

IMG_20200213_091012_938.jpg
 

Zandcwhite

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We are all guitly of making excuses for a compromise.
Life is a compromise, a rock bouncer is terrible on road trips so I wheel this jlur. You know your ball joints would last longer on stock wheels and tires, why did you compromise?
 

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72Blazer

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No problems with my 1.5” or my current 1.75” wheel spacers. Loctite and correct torque specs. I’m planning to keep my stock wheels for a while. I haven’t really found a set I have to have and the stockers have been functional for all my uses so far.

with that said, why are ball joints in this topic? Talking about wheel spacers. Of course all our crap is going to wear faster with bigger tires and wheels/ wheel spacers. :headbang:
 

Zandcwhite

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No problems with my 1.5” or my current 1.75” wheel spacers. Loctite and correct torque specs. I’m planning to keep my stock wheels for a while. I haven’t really found a set I have to have and the stockers have been functional for all my uses so far.

with that said, why are ball joints in this topic? Talking about wheel spacers. Of course all our crap is going to wear faster with bigger tires and wheels/ wheel spacers. :headbang:
People need to justify their wheel purchase as it's hard to admit that the people who spent far less accomplished the same goal? Some guys hate wheel spacers because they know a guy who knows a guy that improperly installed them and they failed. Anybody with a 3rd grade level understanding of physics knows that a longer lever and heavier rotating mass increases stresses. Most don't seem to understand that it's the same stress if you move the leverage out via backspacing or a spacer.
 

sourdough

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Life is a compromise, a rock bouncer is terrible on road trips so I wheel this jlur. You know your ball joints would last longer on stock wheels and tires, why did you compromise?
I wanted a wheel width that fit a 12.5" tire. 12.5 tire on 7.5 wide wheel causes excelerated thread wear. Many tire shops will not mount and tire companies do not recommend it. No savings if a 50K tire wears out in 30K.
 
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Dfideth

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Do it. Put 1-1/4” spacers on my stock Rubicon wheels and 37” tires
Jeep Wrangler JL Wheel Spacers for JL Rubicon 12253323-C886-4E1B-BC51-78AC50F433A0
 

Whaler27

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I just bought a 2018 JL Rubicon that has 35 inch KO2’s with a Mopar 2.0 lift and stock Rubicon wheels. (I bought VR501’s for it, but I think I like the stock ones better). It drives amazing and looks great, but honestly, the 35’s seem to disappear on it. I’ve been contemplating 37’s but I really don’t want to add height because it’s my daily driver and I do have to go into parking garages. I’m wondering if I could add wheel spacers just to give it a fuller appearance.

I had them on a stock Sahara years ago sad I felt like it made the tires look bigger and actually made it feel more stable. My son had an accident in that Jeep once and should have rolled it, but didn’t. I don’t know that they are what made the difference, but it felt like it to me.

I have heard a lot of people warning that wheel spacers are not safe, and/or they cause other problems with the ride. What are your experiences? Any pictures?

Jeep Wrangler JL Wheel Spacers for JL Rubicon 12253323-C886-4E1B-BC51-78AC50F433A0
I guess I’m the outlier.

I say skip the spacers and buy quality wheels with the spacing/offset you want. If you live in an area with hard winters, save the OEM wheels for studded snow tires.

I think it’s a better/safer/cleaner way to go. (Some tire retailers refuse to mount wheels onto a vehicle with spacers. I don’t think the claimed risks are 100% imaginary.)

Let the flaming begin! :LOL: I’ll start it off: “Whaler you ignorant moron, it’s no account mall-crawlers like yourself that give Jeepers a bad name!“ :LOL:
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