Wheel Spacers

[Umar]

I've done a search of the forum and am aware that there is a stud difference issue on the front and rears which makes fitting of spacers on the fronts a bit difficult.

i have measured the studs on my truck and I have the longer ones on the rear and shorter on the fronts. I want to fit spacers but preferably ones that are plug and play rather than change the studs on the front, has anyone having the same issue managed to get round this without changing the studs?.

im wondering if there is perhaps 25mm spacers on the fronts that would fit correctly to resolve this or any other 30mm ones out there which don't have the same issue?.

one other question, my understanding of wheel hubs and nuts is that the weight of the wheel and vehicle is carried by the centre hubs and the nuts or bolts simply tighten the wheel against the hub. I've got hubcentric rings on my wheels and none of the spacers I have seen are hubcentric will the studs not be under more strain as the hub is not carrying any weight.

Thanks

 

[Beau]

Could you not fit larger spacers on the rear that will compensate for the longer studs?

The weight of the wheel isn't meant to rest on the hub. The hub acts as a guide to centre the wheel properly. However, having 6 studs, this also does a very good job at centring the wheel. On smaller cars, I've noticed not using hubcentric spacers can cause small vibrations through the steering, but on the cruiser I've never had this problem. However, if I had the choice I'd still pick hubcentric spacers over regular ones.

 

[Umar]

Beau, the rears having longer studs is not a problem with the 30mm spacers that Roughtrax supply but when fitting the fronts because the studs are shorter the adapter fits but with only a few turns on the nuts supplied. The only thing I can think of is to have the front adapters milled so that the nuts can thread further this depends on how much material there is and if there's not much there is a risk in compromising the strength.

 

[Beau]

Ohh, sorry my mistake. With that said, why not use smaller spacers on the front, say 20mm to allow you use the standard studs?

In my opinion if you're handy and have the tools, you can change the studs yourself, and you'll have the support of the forum too. I believe either milner or roughtrax sell the studs you need.

 

[IRLGW]

I wouldnt mill the spacers as to solve the problem you would have to take it all off one side. I assume they are alu spacers? I dont think changing the width of the spacer will sove the problem. I know someone who fitted 24mm spacer to a surf but still had the same problem. Fitting longer studs is the better option or use a wheel with greater offset.

 

[Umar]

Roughtrax supply the studs as part of the spacer kit but they come in a longer length so each one needs to be measured and cut to length, cut too short and you won't have much thread too long and the thread will protrude and foul the wheel. I think if I've got an exact measurement of the stud length then it shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[StarCruiser]

By 'mill the spacers' did you mean counter bore them to get more threads into the nuts? If so there is danger of weakening them but whether or not you would do so to a critical point would be up for debate (testing would be better but how is anybody's guess). Possibly better would be to open out the holes and use shouldered nuts like Toyota use for the later alloys on the 80s or countersink them and use cone nuts.

Ultimately IRLGW has the best solution with longer studs or the correct offset wheels.

 

[Sag]

If it was me I'd just change the wheel threads for longer ones and be safe,you would never forgive your self if you lost a wheel and ended up in a accident,and I bet it wouldn't be much difference in price.

 

[Beau]

You might not need to cut the longer studs, if your wheel has a recess in them. Some wheels I've had on my cruiser have had a recess in them allowing any spacer stud protrusion.

 

[Shayne]

I put R/T spacers on with steel wheels and the fronts gave me about 3 turns on the thread which obviously wasn't enough and so i searched for , without success , rear studs to swop out the front with . It was a while ago but nobody listed front and rear studs as separate items . If R/T supply studs cutting them to length should be very easy it's hardened steel and a hacksaw will make light work of it and do a better job than if you used a grinder . I did it with my first set of wheel spacers for my trailer which arrived without studs .

 

[Umar]

Thanks guys, Shayne how big of a job is it to replace the front studs does the entire hub need to come off for the studs to be pressed?

 

[Beau]

I don't believe you need to remove the hub. You can pull the stud in with a nut and impact gun. I used a Alloy nut when doing this on other cars so the nut would damage, not the thread. Ideally I would imagine pressing the studs in would be ideal, but drawing them in worked perfectly fine for me on other cars. I've not done any stud replacements with the cruiser though so can't confirm how easy they are.

 

[Gary Stockton]

Pulled a stud in with 2 nuts and a bunch of washers ...

 

[Trevor]

Option 2 would be a nice set of 80 series alloys and nuts which give the offset you want and fit straight on.

 

[IRLGW]

THESE SHOULD DO YOUR JOB AND ALSO AVAILABLE IN 62MM. I THINK STANDARD LENGTH IS 49MM SO THE 57 SHOULD DO THE JOB BUT CHECK YOUR OWN TRUCK TO BE SURE.

https://www.performancealloys.com/wheel-stud-results.aspx?thread=M12x1.25&KnurlSpline=12.4