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"Washer" or "flat" style wheel spacers

7K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  Chritaka 
#1 ·
Anyone ever used one of these "washer" style spacers? I may want to play with my offset of the new wheels (30mm offset) slightly, fine tune them a bit. I found some hub-centric ones on eBay, which they have 5mm, 8mm, 10mm and 12mm. They're made of 6061-T6 Billet Aluminum...

5mm Spacer Link

The seller stated I could safely go up to a 12mm spacer without needing longer studs. I'll probably get a 5mm and 8mm or 10mm... Mainly I want to push the rear wheels out slightly so the tires poke the same amount as the fronts, since rears sit in nearly ~4-5mm. I may try the 5mm on front and 8/10mm on back though....
 
#3 ·
I understand what you're saying but I didnt see the big names making these small spacers, just 1.25-2" and I don't need those. Those have studs installed in them like your pic and that's not needed and won't work for this small a spacer. Plus these are hub centric..71.5 hub dia.

So what I've found is that with using these flat/washer style you should get at least 7 Threads of contact or 1.5x stud diameter. So for a 1/2" stud, 3/4" of thread contact. If they're truly made of billet T6061-T6 I shouldn't see these loosening like with cheaper aluminum. They still should be checked regularly like the big spacers.

I ordered the 5mm and will test them out on the rear. I'll update on my findings.


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#4 ·
The difference in quality here is the importance of creating two parallel surfaces, perfectly flat ones, and quality in that area along with materials is not commonplace on eBay, or many other places. The difference in replacing a thin shim with a purpose built spacer is ironically safety in this case. A generalish rule of thumb for thread engagement is "a thread depth equal to the bolts diameter" which will create an environment where the bolt itself will fail before the thread strips, the lugs are overstrong. This says nothing of clamping forces or more. If you use a 12mm shim you'll have less than that left in your nuts.

I do not like the use of spacers at all, but if you are going to you should go the "safest" route. I think you'll like the look if you go through some threads, the stock wheels, the whole Jeep look much better that extra inch and some out.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I'm just talking about 5mm, NOT 12mm, on 30mm offset wheel as mentioned in my OP. There will be plenty of thread left for engagement. These should be much safer than the1"+ spacers that you have to worry about 2 sets of studs to torque down. 5mm should add very little stress on the studs.

The 30mm offset with 285/55r20 will push it out ~1.4" and with the 5mm spacer at the rear it will simply even out the appearance with the front and roughly ~1.6". If you check, the rear wheels sit in about 4mm further from the fender edge than the front.

Attached are a couple pics of the 5mm spacers. I haven't measured with a caliper yet, but surfaces appear clean and flat. As long as this holds true, and the materials are as stated (billet), there shouldn't be an issue with these loosening up.

Flange Auto part Disc brake Wheel Rim
Cookware and bakeware Hand Finger
Metal



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#6 · (Edited)
You already answered you own question. 5mm or 50mm sandwiching a second set of mounting surfaces is a bad decision. How much thread do you think is in there?, 5mm less thread engagement out of 15-17mm total isn't a lot, you right, but you dun good math anyhow, what percent id dat and what margin of safety was built in.... It's about much more than just thread engagement. eBay sellers are always selling the highest quality Chinese machining and they are super knowledgeable. A cheap shim is different than a spacer, both are bad one is notably more dangerous.
Billet isn't a type of material and appearing flat is mildly different than what I'd like in my wheel mounting surface, you had your mind made up, enjoy.
 
#7 · (Edited)
You have good points and I share your concerns... Yes, I have done my research. :) This thread was intended for gathering info. from others on using this type of "flat" spacer and to share that info. It seems others here don't have much experience with these...

However, Nonstop, have you used these spacers from this vendor? I don't think we should assume this product is inferior, or comes from China, if we have not done our research. What I've found out so far is below...take it as you wish.

1) The material is 6061-T6 Billet Aluminum as mentioned in OP. I confirmed it is NOT cast 6061, and much lower tensile strength, with the vendor. Yes, they could be lying

2) These are made in the USA and the 6061-T6 is sourced from Canada, not China. Yes, they could be lying

3) These <.5" flat spacers are used frequently with tuner and high performance cars.

4) My 2014 WK2 has 1 5/8" of exposed (from the rotor) stud in the rear. There is 1 3/8" of exposed (from the rotor) stud in the front.

5) Stud type 14mm x 1.50 Jeep Bolt Pattern, BS, Lug Torque Specs

5) 1.5x the stud diameter should be used for determining proper thread engagement for safety. So 21mm, or .83" of thread engagement.

6) It is highly recommended NOT to use any spacer on the front wheels...flat or otherwise.

I see this as an informative experiment, which others could benefit from. For my scenario, I "should" be able to safely use an 8mm-10mm spacer and still have proper thread engagement, but I need to check the thickness of my new wheels. I may not even use them and definitely will not if I see my lugs loosening.
 
#8 ·
Honestly, what is the point of taking a chance on 5mm spacers? They will barely change the look of the Jeep when the tires are inset from the fenders at least an inch. This isn't a BMW or Audi where you want the wheels to stick out just a fraction of an inch more to look better.


I think the safety aspect of the wider spacers with studs is that lip on the inner diameter of the hub. The weight of the vehicle basically rests on that lip, which also centers the wheel perfectly on the hub. Without that lip, you're centering the wheel on the lugs and supporting the entire weight of the jeep on your 20 lugs.
 
#9 ·
Pretty sure the point was already covered... 30mm offset wheels = flush with fender, i.e. That 1" you mentioned. Also the spacer is hub centric, i.e. The lip you mentioned. The wheels I ordered are also hub centric. Some people notice these things, some don't...I do.

To each their own, but I think this is good info for others to be aware of.


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#10 · (Edited)
Sounds like you already have your mind made up about running these, so why start the thread and ask opinions?


I wouldn't risk it for 5mm, but it's your jeep. Not to mention at the bottom of the ebay ad it says "running flat spacers on your car could cause vibrations". Meaning if their product isn't perfect, it's not their fault.
 
#11 ·
This thread was looking for info. from others that have actually used these...and for fact gathering, not necessarily opinions....which is all I got. :) Much of this info. I had to dig a bit for and wanted to share it with others for reference.

I ended up not using them. The hub lip is only about 6mm thick and wouldn't have given enough "lip" for the wheel to sit on with the spacer. One of the main reasons I got the wheels I did is they were hub centric...I didn't want to deal with the inherent issues of lug centric wheels or hub rings.

:thumbsup:
 
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