Rear wheel spacers: useful or only for looks?
 

Hi all,

I'm now wondering if adding wheel spacers to my rear axle would be useful thing to do. My goal would be to have the rear tires have about the same width track as the front to improve the truck's stability when off-pavement. I'm not interested in aesthetics.

The vehicle to which I would add these is the one in described in my .sig file.

I've picked up from looking at other threads that adding spacers to the rear axle only does not have to be much of a problem. Also they should be the hub-centric type and thread locker is recommended for the installation of the wheel spacers.

So, are these a useful upgrade?

If yes, how thick would people recommend? I know that stock the rear axle is about 2" narrower than the front so at least 1" to each side?

Thanks,

Christine

I gave the 1.25's a try, I liked the look better, and I noticed more stability, and less rock and roll on the hiway ....My better half even noticed the difference........

I thought that maybe in the spring I might try the 1.5's.........I did not measure width with the 1.25's........but some say that 1.25 is a little less than full track??

I torqued both spacers and wheels to 100 fb when put on, and checked again after 40 or 50 miles.......they were still tight..........

I would recommend spacers only in the rear on these blazers.......just an old timer's opinion though.....:-)

don james,

Yes, this is the input I was hoping to hear.

I would only put spacers on the rear for the benefits you felt you gained.

As for track width, according to my 1999 Product and Order guide, the Front/Rear track width is 57.2"/55.1" so that the rear is about 2" narrower over all. I was thinking either 1" or 1.25" spacers would bring the rear track to about the width of the front.

If they are fine for the back and do help with stability, was thinking of erring on the side of going no wider than installing 1.25" thick spacers as I did not want to overly strain the rear axle bearings by increasing the length of the lateral lever-arm that would have to be supported by the bearing.

Where did you purchase your spacers? How much were they?

Thanks!

I wouldn't recommend anything less than 1.25" thick, unless you want to trim your studs. And make sure you use good quality billet spacers, as cast ones are prone to breakage. As you already said, they should be hub-centric. If they're also wheel-centric, that's a bonus.

I had some custom made a few years ago by wheeladapter.com (I needed adapters, not just spacers) and they were kind of expensive, but they were very well made (hub and wheel centric).

what Tom A said about being at least 1.25"...........

Here is where I got mine.......they were cheap......but hud centric and wheel centric ...........I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something that might have been scrap iron if i didn't like them.......I don't have any complaints, they fit tight and work well so far.......

https://www.ebay.com/sch/Other-/4261...er%20LS%204.3L

Ah, great info on the size of the spacer with respect to the original stud length. That hint will save a big head-ache later.

Also, machined (not cast), hub-centric, wheel-centric spacers. Check!

I've got a couple of thousand miles on the spacers......

I decided that I wanted to do a little slot play today and my wife did not want to go, so i went alone.........the trip is 60 miles [on the paved rout] or 24 miles up what we call the shelf road..........I decided on an easy ride and took the pavement......lots of sharp curves and lots of up.............and down.......

I drove a little faster and more aggressive around the curves and through the dips and cattle guards......then i would have with my co-pilot :icon_biggrin:

I have to say that with the spacers, that little blazer feels like a different vehicle........I put it through a good test today.......

I would recommend that fix to anyone who has not done it............as a safety fix more than anything.......

I was up a hundred $ and came home down 30 $..........sooo a real good day for me:)

Thanks for the report. What ever I do to my Blazer, it has to be functional and these spacers sound like a good investment.

My last truck I had 2 inch in the back and 1.5 in the front. Had no issues at all