Thoughts on Wheel Spacers?

[81cutlass]

read this and now you can say you have seen what problems occur

http://www.croberts.com/Automotive-wheel-detachment.htm

I guess I didn't relay what I meant very well in the last post.

I have never seen a hub with a tight enough fit to the wheel that it will support the load of the car with zero lug clamp load and not result in some type of failure.

If your lugs loosen on a non hub centric setup, all the load is supported by the studs (totally in agreement there) and you are going to break studs.

If your lugs loosen on a hub centric setup, the hub will support the load for the time being, and gain some level of driveability before the wheels fall off, but it's still a failure and the wheel is going to pound the ID out.

Basically the hub helps support some load if the lugs loosen, but a failure is inevitable once you loose clamp load and it's a temporary bandaid.

If your lugs loosen up with or without a hub sooner or later your boned. The hub might delay said boneage if you loose clamp load, but that's it.

I agree Mr. PHd engineer with a PE and a consulting firm and a website knows what he is talking about, and I totally would make every effort to put a hub centric spacer or wheel on my car, but lowly old me 75% towards my engineering M.S. disagrees with the implementation of the theory in this case. Us engineer types are messed up. Arguing over peanuts 🙂

 

[pontiacgp]

With the small diameter studs we use the wheel needs all the help it can to stay in place. The problem with the intenet is some people will think anything is ok as long as someone else on the internet has done it and there is some scary sh*t out there

 

[olds307 and 403]

Well, supposedly on their way from the US, Ohio to be exact. Here is the current pic, you can see how sunk in the A body wheels are on a G body.

 

[ssn696]

Well, supposedly on their way from the US, Ohio to be exact. Here is the current pic, you can see how sunk in the A body wheels are on a G body.
View attachment 159868

Are you keeping the same wheel/tire/cap combination, or swapping to something different?

 

[olds307 and 403]

Yes, the same wheel, tire and center cap combo, for the Winter anyways.

 

[Dayzedandkonfuzed]

I've had no issues either with 2" hub centric spacers, even push the car over 200kmh (125mph) and I'm more worried about my old w rated tires than the wheels coming off. I just made sure to loctite the spacers, then retorqued them after 100kms, then retorqued the wheels after another 100km. In hindsight the loctite is probably useless after a retorque. I'm also using moroso 2 7/8" studs.

 

[olds307 and 403]

These tires age is more of a worry to me also but it will only see 50 km/hr.

 

[565bbchevy]

The first set of adapters I bought for my Regal to space my 15" ARE rims out were 5 x 4.75 and were stamped with that size but when I went to my current 17" rims I realized the first set of adapters were really 5 x 120 because all of the nuts started getting snug before they were actually fully seated, the new ones hand tightened all
of the way, just something to watch for.

 

[ssn696]

Make sure the lugs are fully seated. Lately I have not had a problem but a set I bought five years ago turned out to be a do-it-yourself job as I kept torquing, and kept torquing them down. Another reason to drive a little and check them again.

 

[64nailhead]

read this and now you can say you have seen what problems occur

http://www.croberts.com/Automotive-wheel-detachment.htm

Dr. Roberts is 100% wrong in his description in this article. He's a nincumpoop (technical term). The clamping force of the lug nut is developing a load between the wheel and hub face, not the hub pilot unless the pilot is an interference fit.

A tapered lug nut is centering the wheel on the wheel studs. If it isn't then the wheel stud is being bent - bending a wheel stud is bad (another technical term). There are wheels designs that are piloted onto a hub and have an interference fit, personally, I've never seen one on a car but that doesn't mean they don't exist. In the truck world they are used. But the lug nuts are not conical.