what spacer size should I use?

[sweetpeet]

I have a 1974 jeep cj5 with stock axles. I was told the longer axles would be better and that the most cost effective way to achieve this is to put wheel spacers on. now i'm not sure how much to put on. should I go 2" or should I go smaller? idk if bigger is really better in this case? what do ya'll think, what's your opinion?

 

[abe]

i have always had a problem with spacers i'm not a big fan. I wsed to have a low rider that i built it was a 94 ranger splash. i had spacers on it to push the rims out a littl. long story short and 3000$ later the lug studs broke due to the added stress. so like i said not a big fan. I would look into longer axles. But if u deside to go with spacers; take the wheels off on one side of ur Jeep then add washers on two of the lug studs keep adding till u like the way it looks then measure the thickness of the washers u put on and go from there. Just a thought DONT DRIVE IT LIKE THAT. just to c what it looks like.

 

[Dastongg]

I have a 1974 jeep cj5 with stock axles. I was told the longer axles would be better and that the most cost effective way to achieve this is to put wheel spacers on. now i'm not sure how much to put on. should I go 2" or should I go smaller? idk if bigger is really better in this case? what do ya'll think, what's your opinion?

I am also looking to put spacers on my 00 tj. I heard it is un healthy and can put stress on your shocks. Can someone shed some light on our situation? Thanks
-casey

 

[abe]

I am also looking to put spacers on my 00 tj. I heard it is un healthy and can put stress on your shocks. Can someone shed some light on our situation? Thanks
-casey

Not Necessarily the shocks but more the wheel bearings.

 

[Dastongg]

Not Necessarily the shocks but more the wheel bearings.

Wheel bearings sounds like not that big of a deal. Is there a reason why I shouldn't get them?

 

[abe]

Nah not really there r lots of people that use them I was just saying I wasn't a big fan.

 

[Dastongg]

Nah not really there r lots of people that use them I was just saying I wasn't a big fan.

Cool, thanks allot man

 

[abe]

No prob that's what we r all here for. Well that and we have this obsession with jeeps

 

[JPNinPA]

For the price of spacers you could get wheels with the correct backspacing.

What were you told about a longer axle? I'd like to know what they fix or improve.

 

[Jason4x4]

For the price of spacers you could get wheels with the correct backspacing.

This. Pretty much the only good reason for running spacers is if you like the look of the stock wheels. Probably the cheapest deal you can find on spacers (short of making them yourself) is Rough Country which are about $60 + shipping a pair - that's $120 + shipping for all four. You can get nice looking (IMO) "soft 8" type steel wheels with the correct backspacing for $40-50 a wheel - that's $160-200 for a set of four. In other words, it'll only potentially run you an extra $40-80 for the correct wheels and then you don't have to worry about the safety and maintenance involved with spacers.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Wheel spacers that bolt to the stock lug nuts and have their own lugs are the type you should be using, and they're no harder on components that using wheels with a similar difference in backspacing. Spidetrax makes some of the best 1.25" spacers on the market, about $100 a pair.

 

[SteelHeadz]

I'd suggest that you determine the width of the tire and how much offset the wheel has and see what size spacer would best suit you. You can achieve the same by replacing the wheels with the offset that would give you the same results as the spacer. Im using a 2 inch spacer on my CJ all the way around only because my wheels don't have enough offset to clear the tires from the leaf springs. I could have just replaced the wheels but I was told that the offset I needed didn't exist. The downfall on having this is having more stress on the wheel bearings and ball joints.

 

[abe]

holy crap!!!! i just noticed the tires u r running no wonder they dont make that backspacing. that would b like nutts. :shock:

 

[xjmarc]

If you do run spacers get some quality units not the ebay crap. Also I'd use locktight on the lugs that hold the spacer or check them every so often which requires taking the wheel off.

 

[sweetpeet]

If you do run spacers get some quality units not the ebay crap. Also I'd use locktight on the lugs that hold the spacer or check them every so often which requires taking the wheel off.

What's the difference between the eBay ones and the retail? They are both made of aluminum.

 

[xjmarc]

Different grades and quality of mfg. A buddy of mine cracked his set of ebay ones and the spidertrax ones I ran for 4 years were flawless.