To add wheel spacers or not

[clb616]

Running a stock JLU Rubicon. Down the road am looking to lift it 2.5 or 3.5" and put on 35's. Should I wait to add 2" wheel spacers until I lift it or can I do it now? (had an 07' but never did any mods to it...so I am new to all this)

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[Carlton]

Running a stock JLU Rubicon. Down the road am looking to lift it 2.5 or 3.5" and put on 35's. Should I wait to add 2" wheel spacers until I lift it or can I do it now? (had an 07' but never did any mods to it...so I am new to all this)

I don't know of any reputable brand with 2 inch wheel spacers. Spidertrax has 1.75 and Synergy has 1 5/8. I would stick with one of those brands.

You can put them on at anytime.

 

[clb616]

I don't know of any reputable brand with 2 inch wheel spacers. Spidertrax has 1.75 and Synergy has 1 5/8. I would stick with one of those brands.

You can put them on at anytime.

Thanks. Rough Country has 2" ones... but have heard bad things about Rough Country. A few people have told me not to put on wheel spacers that they mess up the suspension. Thoughts?

 

[Carlton]

Thanks. Rough Country has 2" ones... but have heard bad things about Rough Country. A few people have told me not to put on wheel spacers that they mess up the suspension. Thoughts?

Personally for wheel spacers I would stick with Spidertrax or Synergy. They are top tier.

Whether you add wheel spacers or wheels with less backspacing it will have the same result. Parts will wear quicker than a stock setup. Larger tires will lead to this as well. It is the nature of modifying the jeep.

 

[AmesosaurusRex]

What are you going for with the spacers? Clearance or look?

 

[Bob502000]

109 a set at e-bay, one and a half inch. Factory studs stick threw about an eighth of an inch but this style of wheel has cutouts on the mounting surface, so its cool.

View attachment 125687

 

[melendez69]

@AmesosaurusRex .. and all of yous… I've been debating spacers for about a month now & I asked myself the same question. I have stock wheels/tires and no desire to change, so I was going for the look. Then I did some reading up on spacers & I was thisclose to starting a thread on this topic.

I understand the benefits of grip, handling, traction, etc., but then I had some concerns about affecting the suspension and possibly jacking with the warranty terms. I'm cautious about effing with things that make the wheels go 'round, and a lotta the research I did mentioned how the wheels are designed to be where they are (which makes sense). Of course, larger tires need proper clearance, but it seems far from worth it if the goal is purely aesthetic.

Then there's the maintenance. I torque my wheels to spec (since the dealer doesn't seem to) so I'd be anal enough to take the time to do the same periodically if I ever decided to add spacers. I still check the torque every so often. I'm curious as to how many owners who have spacers, only for the look, actually keep up with the maintenance after X-amount of miles and, do you have any concerns?

Sorry if I've hijacked, @clb616 …

 

[WalkingJL]

I was nervous about putting the spacer on, but so far so good. I installed synergy spacers because my 315/70/17 tires were rubbing on the lower control arms at full turn. ( I have a sport with shorter axles) I painted them black around the edge with high temp automotive paint so they match the rim and don't stand out before installation.

 

[blnewt]

@AmesosaurusRex .. and all of yous… I've been debating spacers for about a month now & I asked myself the same question. I have stock wheels/tires and no desire to change, so I was going for the look. Then I did some reading up on spacers & I was thisclose to starting a thread on this topic.

I understand the benefits of grip, handling, traction, etc., but then I had some concerns about affecting the suspension and possibly jacking with the warranty terms. I'm cautious about effing with things that make the wheels go 'round, and a lotta the research I did mentioned how the wheels are designed to be where they are (which makes sense). Of course, larger tires need proper clearance, but it seems far from worth it if the goal is purely aesthetic.

Then there's the maintenance. I torque my wheels to spec (since the dealer doesn't seem to) so I'd be anal enough to take the time to do the same periodically if I ever decided to add spacers. I still check the torque every so often. I'm curious as to how many owners who have spacers, only for the look, actually keep up with the maintenance after X-amount of miles and, do you have any concerns?

Sorry if I've hijacked, @clb616 …

It seems that many of the wide spacers for Jeep applications include Loctite w/ the spacers. We've run spacers on our cars (NOT 4x4s) w/ spacers that didn't include loctite, just torqued spacers to spec, check torque again after 100 miles, than every tire rotation @7k miles. Spacers in my applications always held torque after that initial re-torque @ 100 miles w/ NO Loctite. I assume since these Jeep applications would see 4x4 duty w/ more severe tire abuse that Loctite is something that needs to be added to keep torque secure but ???.

Would be interested to hear anyone that's had Jeep spacers that included Loctite, if they've ever lost torque on their lug nuts over time??

 

[Carlton]

I was nervous about putting the spacer on, but so far so good. I installed synergy spacers because my 315/70/17 tires were rubbing on the lower control arms at full turn. ( I have a sport with shorter axles) I painted them black around the edge with high temp automotive paint so they match the rim and don't stand out before installation.

It seems that many of the wide spacers for Jeep applications include Loctite w/ the spacers. We've run spacers on our cars (NOT 4x4s) w/ spacers that didn't include loctite, just torqued spacers to spec, check torque again after 100 miles, than every tire rotation @7k miles. Spacers in my applications always held torque after that initial re-torque @ 100 miles w/ NO Loctite. I assume since these Jeep applications would see 4x4 duty w/ more severe tire abuse that Loctite is something that needs to be added to keep torque secure but ???.

Would be interested to hear anyone that's had Jeep spacers that included Loctite, if they've ever lost torque on their lug nuts over time??

I have used Spidertrax and Synergy spacers on multiple jeeps with 38-40 inch tires. The loctite was used and lugs were torqued to spec.

I check them with a torque wrench after 100 or so miles have been put on. I set the torque wrench to 10-15 below what they were originally set at to avoid breaking the loctite seal. I've never had a loose lug nut during the follow up check.

I do not check them again after that. If they were installed properly, there is no reason to.

 

[WalkingJL]

That's reassuring. Thanks

 

[JIMBOX]

I've used spacers (diff. mfg) for over10 years--

Torque first time/check at 500 miles and every rotation--never came loose and I never use LOCKTITE--

I don't use LOCKTITE on my wheel lugs--EITHER

W.E.

JIMBO

 

[blnewt]

Good to know guys^^^
Never would use Locktite on wheel lug nuts, was curious why Locktite is included w/ these Jeep spacers, but most of those Jeep spacers are pretty wide vs. the ones we used in cars. And like I mentioned, the 4x4s do put wheels & tires through pretty rough treatment so possibly holding torque would be an issue in more extreme cases.

 

[Bob502000]

I can see where adding taller, wider tires adds stress to the suspension, drivetrain and steering but just wheel spacers with stock wheels and tires doesn't really seam like it would change anything other than giving the dealer an reason to void your warranty.

 

[AmesosaurusRex]

@AmesosaurusRex .. and all of yous… I've been debating spacers for about a month now & I asked myself the same question. I have stock wheels/tires and no desire to change, so I was going for the look. Then I did some reading up on spacers & I was thisclose to starting a thread on this topic.

I understand the benefits of grip, handling, traction, etc., but then I had some concerns about affecting the suspension and possibly jacking with the warranty terms. I'm cautious about effing with things that make the wheels go 'round, and a lotta the research I did mentioned how the wheels are designed to be where they are (which makes sense). Of course, larger tires need proper clearance, but it seems far from worth it if the goal is purely aesthetic.

Then there's the maintenance. I torque my wheels to spec (since the dealer doesn't seem to) so I'd be anal enough to take the time to do the same periodically if I ever decided to add spacers. I still check the torque every so often. I'm curious as to how many owners who have spacers, only for the look, actually keep up with the maintenance after X-amount of miles and, do you have any concerns?

Sorry if I've hijacked, @clb616 …

Part of the reason I asked the question about the need for the spacers in the first place is that they have a Rubicon, and as far as I have read, you should not need spacers to do a 35" tire on a Rubicon, the wider axles give plenty of clearance. In fact, even 37" tires seem to have plenty of clearance with a basic lift.

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