can yall please push me one way or another here

I have been going back and forth between wheel adapters (about 1.25") and new wheels for like a freakin year now. I like the way my wheels look, but I ABSOLUTELY HATE how much they are TUCKED UNDER THE TRUCK. IT JUST LOOKS RIDICULUS IMO... (Ihave 15x7 with factory flares)

to get a 'nice' set of wheels (ie not steelies) is a bit more than some adapters. If i was gonna get wheels, they would prob be outlaw II's.

So tell me, is there really a problem with adapters??? Do I need to get 15x8's?

INPUT HERE:

 

i just ordered a set of custom made adapters for my truck, so i can fit 5x5.5 20 inch rims on there. imo i think that spacers/ adapters are ok but dont go and get a 5 inch adapter, go with as small as you can get by with. that way it dont stress your front end as much. thats why i went with the 1.25 inch adapters.

 

adapters that are worth buying are 1"-1.5" thick. no reason to be any thicker than that.

 

That's what she said!

 

i'm using 1.25 on the front only of my truck. i had to trim my stock lugs down a little. if i hadn't, the wheel wouldn't have sat flat on the spacer. i haven't had any problems with them.

 

heres my take on the negatives.
based in offset choices, this can be negated. it doesnt sound like you are goin for that though. i doubt 1.25" spacers(on stock wheels) will load the bearings in any way more negative than the low offset 15x8's you would want to run to get the "look" you are after.

user error everytime, discounting poor quality spacers. spacers need torqued jus like wheels. if you can loose a spacer, you can loose a wheel. torque em, and double check the torque everytime you take off a wheel.

i have nuthin personal against spacers when used properly. they work, and they are as safe as the quality control of the company that builds them.

 

I can't really comment on the physics on how much more stress a 1"-1.5" spacer would add to the bearings, but I totally agree with Gumby on the "user error" issue.

just like any other part of your truck you should be responsible enough to regularly check that the spacers are torqued down tight.

 

That sounds like a pretty good rule of thumb; a product is only as good as the person who set it up.
D. - The people you saw go three wheeling... what kind of setup did they have?

cause I think in terms of wheel bearing stress, a lower BS set of 15x8's would be about as bad as 1.25" adapters. I was thinkin I might just put locktite to hold the spacers on and then be sure to check on the wheel lugs. ?? Does that sounds reasonable?

Any suggestions on TRUSTWORTHY adapter companies?

 

http://www.adaptitusa.com/

 

Illegal in pa for the above reasons....

 

Well, I don't mind spacers personally. I torqued them by hand and haven't had any problems with looseness and it's not an issue with stress on the wheel bearings because the only reason I have them is because my wheels are 0 offset. There is only one major issue with mine. Wheel balance sucks with spacers. Wheels are meant to sit tightly on the center bore and without a center bore on the spacer theoretically the wheels will never sit perfectly on the spacers. I've never been able to get rid of the vibration around 60 with them yet.

 

Interesting about the vibration. I don't have any with mine.

 

????? Try taking off your wheels, rotating, then retightening them.

 

i never had problems when i ran 1.5inch spacers front and back

 

thats why i had to have adapters custom made with a lip on them to fit the inside bore. but mine also cost 360 bucks.

 

You don't know how many times I've tried already. I've tried everything from indexing the spacer and wheel and road force balancing them as a set to rotating the tires, to sanding the hub faces. I still can't get rid of the vibration around 57-63. Since that's a fairly normal speed for a tire vibration and I drive out of it, I just stopped trying to bother. That and I'm lazy because the tire machine is at the other end of the shop.

 

huh. i thought D was referring to you here:
i also remember you sayin you hated them due to vibs. but i could be remembering incorrectly




bpolly is on the right track for curing vibration issues. as you can see it costs $$$ to do it right.

 

ok, let me try again


I had no problems with adapters on my truck, it didn't interfere with anything driving-wise. On my truck, there was a slight vibration in the steering wheel, and id assume it was from the adapters on the front, but i didnt care, it wasnt enough to kill me, just got annoying driving 10+ hr trips


And yes, i did have a problem with the rears coming loose, but due to being a complete n00b at the time, i never torqued the rear adapters or used locktite on them either.


Just make sure your wheels are setup for adapters, if the adapters are too shallow, you have to trim the factory wheel studs for the rim to sit flush. I know Leo had a problem with his because he never shortened them. I got lucky with my 1.5's cause the studs didnt stick out further, and my rims had offset holes that covered them up anyway

ScottG

 

I have 1" adapters on all 4 wheels. I haven't had any problems with them. I torqued them and checked them a couple times after driving 10 or so miles, and after the second time, they stay tight. I do have a vibration problem, but thats my tires fault. They vibrate, which shakes the steering wheel, but it goes away once they get warmed up. Now that its colder in the mornings, its worse...but it was doing this before I got the adapters.

 

It is interesting to hear the long version of all of your stories....

I was aware that you may have to trim the wheel studs a little. I wasn't sure about the center bore though... I think if I get spacers, I will get ones that are hub centric with the rim. Has anyone found these?
bpolly_2004 - who made your adapters?....cause if $350 is the only way to get hub centric adapters, I will reconsider getting some outlaw II's for cheaper...

that is assuming you can get wheels with the right size hole... can you?

 

look at how much you will spend for adapters. 200?

you can get a Eagle alloy 15x8 for 95 bucks each? keep saving. unless you really like your wheels you have and dont want to buy new ones, then get adapters. I just wanted to make sure you were looking into all your options.

 

 

Eagle Alloys = 450 shipped.

Wheel spacers = 210 shipped.


Whoo! You could find nice wheels on craigslist though.