Wheel Spacers & Adapters - Good Or Bad?

Are wheel spacers safe? Are wheel spacers a good idea?

How will wheel adapters affect handling? What effects will wheel spacers have on suspension geometry? Wheel spacers can help with fitting big brake kits, altering wheel offset if aftermarket wheels are used, and can widen a car's track, thus reducing load transfer and ideally improving handling. That said, wheel spacers affect suspension geometry, and will change the scrub radius, affecting braking stability, and also reduce the effective spring rate at the wheels. Wheel spacers can also cause wheel bearing failure.

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[emertes]

I wish my university had a course called engineering explained with you as a professor and you could just talk about car stuff all day

[jasonlarkin]

Hey, that seems like a pretty good summary.

Did you forget the consideration section: It will make the car look cooler?

[Monklee]

Clearly explains the pros and cons! Well done, short and to the point! I appreciated your explanation about how wheel spacers change load characteristics at the wheel bearings and consequently shorten bearing life. Keep up the good work!

[jet]

I am a automotive service major and I also work in a small shop doing small jobs. It's really fun and rewarding. The worst thing about it is, now that I know a lot about cars, modifying my own car scares me. If I go with more power, I think of how the valve seats have more wear. If I lower my car, I think of how all the suspension components have more wear. And thinking of all of that

[RobWhittlestone]

Great videos! I just love these! As a physicist with a penchant for mechanical things, Jason tells it how it is, simply and correctly. A very refreshing and entertaining approach to vehicle engineering. Five minutes well spent! All the best, Rob

[bitbiy]

Years ago when I was about 8, I can remember helping ( more likely hindering) my father to jack the family car up and put wheel spacers on it. He did this every summer just before we hitched the caravan on it to go on our holidays. Only more recently did he explain, that he did this to add more stability to the rear of the car whilst towing the caravan. As soon as we returned home we would jack it up again and take the spacers back off. Even back then I recall the car looked skinnier once they were off again, but, for him, that was their purpose. I came here for information and I got plenty! Guess I will leave my car as the designers intended now, as there seems to be less advantages for and more against doing it.

[pholelamapeyi]

bro...you've just explained something i've had in my head for a while that's been buggin me and now that i've seen the effects of wheel spacers ...not gona consider them ...at all ...thank you ...

[JDMricist]

Holy crap that 4k looks good. I can see your gray hairs much better, thank you.

[bricksonm]

Still one of my favorite channels. I rewatch a lot of videos to refresh my knowledge of things. No, it’s not as entertaining as some other channels, but the information is plentiful, accurate, precise, and explained well. You don’t often find that here on YouTube.

[jordanandmelissasalinas]

You should have also mentioned that it has the same effect on the wheel bearing as if you just got bigger wider tires is the exact same stress on the wheel bearing rather it's done with the spacer or just plain out bigger tires and rims so take that into consideration when making a decision

[l.carroll]

I love coming back to these old EE videos. They have shaped a lot of my understanding of automotive engineering and continue to be a great resource.

[rbhartman]

What I found out over the past 60 years of my life is that Engineers can only make thing look right on PAPER not what happens in real life situations. I have been running 2" spacers on my 2008 GMC 2500 HD Duramax Truck for the past 7 years. With a V-Plow, salt spreader and 2, 450# of salt in the bed of the truck. Still have not had any problems with suspension or wheels.

[PifPafPav]

This is the best video on the internet explaining spacers. It's a must-watch for anyone considering adding spacers

[Blyatarina]

After adding 15mm spacers to the rear of my car, I've noticed a significant difference vs. them not being there. With the spacers, the rear suspension feels a lot softer, almost too soft, so confidence in the corners is reduced. The car looks better with them on, but I think I'll be removing them soon.

[russianpegs]

for the last point, even without wheel spacers, if the wheel has more offset it'll wear the bearings out faster.

but if the wheel is wider towards the center of the axle it could compensate the offset and thus have normal wear characteristics.

[phedoblue]

He is young with grey hair, you can tell how much knowledge that brain is packing. Sensei, please take my bow of respect, you just gained a new subscriber from petroleum engineering

[BravoNine]

I added .80" spacers to my 2018 impreza due to its softer suspension and the reduction in body roll while cornering was immediately noticeable.

[PeakTorque]

Another great video, as ever! How about a video explaining torque steer? Very little info on YT. I think it'd be popular.

[teemill]

Seen a 7 year vid.. Thank you for all the real knowledge and information. congrats to your channel. Many more years to come

[Yingsuza_official]

I was considering to put 1.25 spacers to my tacoma, luckily on my reasearch I came across your video. I love how my truck rides is perfect to me, and adding those might change it. I don't want to do that want to keep this baby bone stock as possible. So thanks for the info and will definitely consider your points. Will support you on you helpful videos.