Wheel spacers for 90

[CAT]

Hi all,
I continue on my path of KZJ90 modification righteousness
Ok so I am looking at wheel spacers as I like my current alloys (120 series type) so I am just wondering are they compatible with spacers?
Also 30,40 or 50mm? The standard I seem to come across is 30mm but I have a feeling that 50mm might look the part on mine as I installed (or am trying to install) modded fender flares.
I would imagine you are going to get varying levels of forces being applied with different size spacers. Can anyone shed any light on what my best bet might be? The hoffman spacers seem a lot of coin, are they worth it ultimately? Milners and roughtrax have aluminium spacers compared to the hoffman alloy ones.
Any help is very much appreciated
Cheers lads, Liam.

 

[Beau]

Firstly, get the correct kind of spacers. You want ones that are Hub-centric, not lug centric. Also consider how pushing the wheels further outside may induce touching on turning depending on what tyres you're running (Should be safe on standard size tyres) -

These are what I run - 1.5 inch.

 

[Shayne]

SWB will never see the forces a 4 door will (which is what the truck was designed to be) no matter how hard you push it .
But wheel spacers are counter mechanical common sense to my mind (and i ain't qualified at nowt) . A negative offset works well for a 90 but it all depends on tyre size ?

 

[CAT]

SWB will never see the forces a 4 door will (which is what the truck was designed to be) no matter how hard you push it .
But wheel spacers are counter mechanical common sense to my mind (and i ain't qualified at nowt) . A negative offset works well for a 90 but it all depends on tyre size ?

Cheers Shayne, can you describe what you think could go wrong with the spacers? I wouldn't mind keeping my current alloys and tyres so that's why I am thinking of spacers. Also offset rims seem quite hard to come by in Ireland. Saying that I haven't actually called in to a shop and talked to someone about it yet.

 

[CAT]

Firstly, get the correct kind of spacers. You want ones that are Hub-centric, not lug centric. Also consider how pushing the wheels further outside may induce touching on turning depending on what tyres you're running (Should be safe on standard size tyres) -

These are what I run - 1.5 inch.

View attachment 126089

Thanks beau, that is a lovely set up you have there

 

[Shayne]

It's personal choice i think CAT , Beau has obviously ran for many miles on spacers no problem at all but i think it was Chas that gave up on spacers the third time he had to change the same front wheel bearing .

I seen a nice set of new alloys on ebay a while back for about 400 quid 16x8 et -25 and i would guess that might be the ideal size for our trucks . I run 16x8 et -38 which finished outside the arches .

 

[Beau]

I ran non hub centric steel spacers for about 10 years without a problem. I then learned that hub centric spacers are more safe and swapped a year ago.

Whether you increase your offset with spacers or the actual rim, of course it'll put that slightly more stress on the bearing. But it's a misconception that spacers cause bearings to go. Also on 210,000 miles and bearings are original and good shape.

With my spacer I'm at a -60mm offset on a 10" wide rim. I'm a good 30mm outside the arches though...

 

[CAT]

So would a spacer of 30mm or an offset of 30mm exert similar forces on the bearings? I have to say it would be easier for me to get spacers rather than get new tyres and rims and try and sell the old ones, but I wouldn't rule anything out

 

[Beau]

hmm I'm not sure you're grasping the concept of what offset is. Maybe this diagram below can help.
I'm not sure what the 120 series rim offset is, but lets say its +30mm. If you stay with the same width rim, you'd want to purchase a 0mm offset rim to achieve the equivalent of pushing the wheel out 30mm.

Alternatively you can just use a spacer and make your original 30mm offset now zero. But yes, regardless if that offset comes from the use of spacers or wheels, whatever is exerted on the bearings remain the same.

 

[Shayne]

Your choice of tyre alters things a lot too . Beau runs a big rim with low profile and his negative 60mm offset on a 10" wide rim running my 285/75 mud tyres would likely make the tyre stick out about 4 inches wider than the truck .

 

[ratrace]

well on my discovery i run 60mm wheel spacers

 

[CAT]

Cheers for the advise guys, plenty of food for thought

 

[clivehorridge]

Whether you increase your offset with spacers or the actual rim, of course it'll put that slightly more stress on the bearing. But it's a misconception that spacers cause bearings to go. Also on 210,000 miles and bearings are original and good shape.
View attachment 126118

On a Cruiser, I agree with Beau's "misconception" and get annoyed by it being banded about so much, especially from those "experts" that should know better IMO (of course ).

Most cruiser parts are over-engineered, after all, that's one of the reasons we love 'em.

A smaller reasonably priced car may suffer from tighter tolerances on bearing design loadings, but I don't see the relevance on a Cruiser.

What is important is all that's been said, the hub protrusion is vital especially for alloys, and the recommended spacers replicate the hub protrusion, whereas others don't.

Safety is the important factor here, too many wheels are being lost on cruisers these days, for my liking, for whatever reason. Follow the advice and the instructions.

And don't grease your nuts

 

[Chas]

But it's a misconception that spacers cause bearings to go.

I can't agree with that. A few years ago I used to use, IIRC 32mm spacers, and three times I had a wheel drop off through bearings over heating, maintenance had been regularly carried out by Julian V and on his advice I finally removed the spacers and although I am still a bit paranoid about losing wheels I have no trouble with wheel losses.
So I am convinced spacers are trouble.

 

[Shayne]

Its difficult to explain my own feelings on the subject but i will try .

In its standard form your truck can jump say 3ft in the air at say 50mph without fear of damage to the hubs so yeah there's quite some tolerance for getting it wrong and getting away with it .

A larger offset than standard alters how the forces are applied quite considerably but obviously we can get away with it . I prefer an offset wheel over spacers because the increased forces still taper back to where Toyota intended the stress to be absorbed all be it with a little more leverage trying to pull the wheel off .

A spacer adds a lot more leverage but we can still get away with it which tells us something about how strong these trucks are .

I would put spacers on Helen's truck if i were so inclined because its unlikely to ever navigate anything more trying than a raised curb but my truck gets little sympathy off road so i won't be putting spacers on that .

 

[Chas]

I understand your thinking Shayne, but it must mean then that I over abused my truck and in becoming paranoid about the wheels I now have become more gentle with her?

 

[Shayne]

On the contrary Chas i have to doubt very much at all most of your truck is genuine 20 odd year old original unless it's been repaired replaced or refurbished , that's why it breaks my heart to hear you say it will go to its grave when you no longer have use for it .

It's never going to win best in class but for somebody its the true Bruiser that they can never afford .

 

[Beau]

Understandable Chas but the spacers may not have actually caused this. Maybe you used the wrong type of spacers because something like that occurring more than 3 times points to something fishy.

 

[Chas]

Understandable Chas but the spacers may not have actually caused this. Maybe you used the wrong type of spacers because something like that occurring more than 3 times points to something fishy.

Wrong type in what way? surely just moving the wheel mass outward will put extra leverage on the bearings?

 

[Beau]

Like I said above, were they Hub centric spacers? (Look at my picture - You will see the centre bore piece protruding, which is where your wheel hub will rest)

If not, then this can lead to the wheel not centering on the hub as it should and putting extra strain on both your lugs and bearings. Any chance you had vibrations coming through when using the spacers?

Just a bit puzzled really, because having known many people who run spacers, from track cars to 4x4's, I've never heard of them causing bearings to fail like yourself. I would understand maybe shortening the life of one, say 100,000 miles instead of 200,000, but to fail to quickly hmm