Experience Installing Wheel Spacers

i have a completely stock 2010 4Runner SR5. I'm considering installing 1.5" wheel spacers. Anyone have experience with these? What to get? What to stay away from? What to expect when it's done?

 

I would expect the sides of your 4 Runner to get really dirty and paint scratches from all the rocks your tires will throw up against the side of your truck.

 

Hi Oy Vay, I feel like I can help some.

First, stick with a reputable company and quality control will not be an issue. I bought my 1.25" spacers from Spidertrax and they even included Loctite Red to make sure the adapters' lugs were secured.

Installing them isn't hard if you have a safe way to get the vehicle up on jack stands. You will want a long bar to hold between a few studs (especially in the front) because the wheel will try to spin when you torque the lugs on the adapters. A second person really helps here, they can hit the brakes on the vehicle. For the rear, just set the e-brake and that's pretty easy.

Karmatp is right, moving the wheel outside of the factor location has the same effects as putting a wheel with more offset on, and as soon as you move about 1" or more out, your mud flaps do not line up (could be an OCD issue), and you'll throw A LOT more dirt on the side. It's crazy, but one time I hit a bit of mud while turning and somehow it threw mud from my front right tire on the windshield of the drivers side! I don't know how only 1.25" of spacing could do it, but I literally watched the glob of mud fly up and land, so I know it happened.

From a driving standpoint, it drove the same, and no need for alignment or anything if you install it right and the adapters are machined exactly right (quality control).

Regardless, I ended up removing them after 2 months. Just didn't like the stance. I think instead of 1.25" I should have done 0.75", which would have put the wheels exactly in line with the top of the fenders on my vehicle.

On the other hand, I have a set of Spidertrax 1.25" wheel adapters with lugs (set of 4) I'll sell you for $150 shipped if you're interested

 

I would buy name brand (spidertrax) and follow install instructions to a T. some people are wary of wheel spacers but if theyre installed correctly they won't cause any issues. Tons of people use them with no problems whatsoever

 

Well I have 3" spacers I bought online from wheeladaptersusa and had them professionally put on, no loctite and it's been almost 2 weeks with no issues yet. I'll have to keep an eye on them to make sure they Arent loosening. Driving at high speeds pushes you around more due to the surface area you take up on the road, but for the look I just can't bring myself to ever taking these off. Ball joints wear quicker, might be getting myself into something bad but it's a risk I'm taking. I don't recommend offroading in them either.

 

Such a shame to make that nice 4x4 with mud tires no longer off-road worthy.
I wonder how much stress does it really add to the axles/knuckles/ball joints etc?

 

4x2 buddy. And I've done plenty of offroading in my days. My rig has seen enough mud and trails. Not to mention damage and replacement parts.

And I'm not sure, but it would be worse if I were on a higher lift. The 4Runner isn't that heavy. Upgrading everything is the way to go, which I've done

 

Changing the suspension setup in a bad way, increase wear on suspension, make handling worse, increased tire wear, less off-road capability. Oh, and it looks terrible. I have no idea why people think installing spacers is a good idea, unless you correct the offset of different wheels.