I've been running billet aluminum wheel adapters on my Maverick for over two years with no problems, and I flog it hard. If anybody was gonna break one or ruin some bearings, it would be me. As long as the resulting back spacing/offset ends up about right with the spacer on the wheel, you should be good. Think of the spacer as part of the wheel rather than part of the hub...
Click this button under each post you want to quote: Exactly. As long as your back spacing allows the wheel to sit reasonably in line with the hub, you're not really putting any undue stress on anything, spacer or not.
wheel adapters and wheel spacers are two different things.... wheel adapters...for mounting a different bolt pattern wheel spacers...for adding more backspace ......
I'm still confused as to whether it is safe or not. Are both adapters and spacers safe, one of the two safe, or neither safe? (not talking about running both at the same time, just individually speaking). I might have missed the boat on these wheels but this would be good to know for the future. Thought about starting a poll thread on whether adapters were safe and one for if spacers are safe, but I can't figure out how to do that either (overly dramatic smiley)
The older wheels you're referring to were the aftermarket wheels which WERE prone to abnormal bearing wear. The O.E. wheels nearly always had the correct offset to center the wheel over the bearings. Using wheel adapters is NEVER a good idea.
These are what I'm talking about: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TRD-3614/ ...Some of them change the bolt pattern, some don't, but same idea. The reason I always say "adapter" instead of "spacer" is I don't want to give people the impression that I'm running those "straight through" spacers where you just install longer studs on the hub and put a plain piece of round cast aluminum or steel over it. I don't want people to think I'm saying those are safe, because I don't think they are. As long as they're installed right, evenly torqued but not overtightened, flat against the mounting surfaces, and the resulting position of the wheel relative to the hub is sane, the type of spacer/adapter shown above should be perfectly safe. The material they're made of is at least as strong as the wheel. I have never heard of anyone breaking these, or having any problems resulting from them. Take a look at this thread: http://www.syty.net/forums/showthread.php?t=64748 People drag race on these, road race, launch under boost... Here's a good FAQ: http://www.skulte.com/info_pages.php/pages_id/3?osCsid=7f9b17cfb08b08f546e3228bb7575338 This page shows a Torque Thrust II wheel destroyed after a rollover accident. It also shows the wheel adapter still in perfect shape. Somebody, please, show me where somebody has broken one of these when it was properly installed, as a result of any kind of driving - towing, racing, rock crawling, anything.
Well something broke it anyway. That doesn't prove anything. If that happened as a result of using a spacer, it's because it was on crooked and shook it apart, or it changed the offset to something ridiculous. Same thing would have happened if he achieved that offset without a spacer.
I'd say that proves something about the strength of the spacer then. The failure was probably mostly due to improper wheel offset. Dodges in those years are known for having weak axles, especially with big tires.
don't look like the spindle broke more like a hub bearing came apart (common on those with off road abuse) they got better pics of the spindle?
We used to run that style on VW Bugs with the wide 5 pattern to change to a Ford or Chevy wheel. Never had any problems as long as they were tight. But then again, we're only talking 65 HP there . Edit: Those are much better than the old cast ones we used to run! And a lot higher in price, too. IIRC, the cast ones were $25 for two. The billet is probably 100X stronger.
From that thread: From the guy who posted the pics of the Dodge: That is the problem. You don't use these things, (or change wheels for that matter) to "get a wider wheelbase." Of course it would over-stress things. You use the spacers to correct an incorrect offset, not to change the offset. When used properly, you're putting the wheel in correct alignment with the hub, the way the it's intended to be, and it's completely safe.
