wheel spacers

[emac]

anyone using wheel spacers/adapters??

i have an XJ ive had for going on 22 years and it has 15x8 alloys with 3.75 back spacing, lately ive been getting some comments as they stick out past the guards a bit, even though they have been like it for the last 15 years or more.

i also have a wk2 that i have fitted 20 inch wheels to, so have a nice set of 18 x 8 5 spoke wheels and good street tyres, but wrong bolt pattern, it would be handy to have then on the XJ as then i could have some MT tyres on one and street tyres on the other and swap as needed.

1 or 1.25 inch spacers would do the trick.

so what would you do.

[ARB87U]

sell your WK2 rims and invest in a new pair for the XJ. Wheel spacers are not road legal in Australia, end of story.

[emac]

thanks, and yes i am aware of the legalities, however the question still remains.

actually I'm happy with it the way it is.

however it would be convenient to have two vehicles with the same stud pattern.

[layback40]

I would not touch wheel spacers for any car. Especially the front. There was recently an article on a 4X$ page that had some photos of failures. They were alloy spacers. Best do as others have suggested & get rims with correct backspacing. If you have a slight protrusion issue, lawn edging is the go.

[Hayesio]

I put spaces on once. They lasted on there about one day. The car drove like crap at anything above 60km/h and generally I just really didn't feel safe with them on so I took them off. Might have just been because they were pretty cheap ones, dunno. Lot of people run them, don't seem to have much issue. They would put more stress on the wheel studs, bearings and axles flanges than the designed intended though,.

[awg]

Originally Posted by emac

i also have a wk2 that i have fitted 20 inch wheels to, so have a nice set of 18 x 8 5 spoke wheels and good street tyres, but wrong bolt pattern, it would be handy to have then on the XJ as then i could have some MT tyres on one and street tyres on the other and swap as needed.

1 or 1.25 inch spacers would do the trick.

so what would you do.

I just put on my 90's Ford Explorer 16" teardrop alloys, came with 255/70/16 AT, same circumference as my Jeep 30 X 9.5" MT

They have a better backspacing arrangement, look good, and 16" tyres are more common these days

[Hellcat]

I'm not sure how running wheel spaced will put more stress on bearings, wheel studs etc than running an equivalent backspacing. Both are increasing the lever applying force to them.

But in saying that it's been a long time since I did physics...

So many Americans run spacers, you don't see many reports of failure. The legal issue is a problem but most 4x4s driving around have modifications that are not legal, chances are with 3.75 bs you are legally too wide already.

I personally would just opt for the fares or extensions.