Wheel spacer for my 1986 GMC K3500 3+3….

[BearKing]

I guess I’m going to need a spacer for my new tires. It looks like they will barely touch but do you guys think of just a 1/2” plate between the rims? If I need a full 1” spacer, what do you guys recommend? Thanks again fells for your input.

 

[fast 99]

No, never, especially on duals. Sounds like you need to buy a different set of tires.

 

[85K304SPD]

Show us some pictures of those monsters, and what you are trying to put them on.

 

[nvrenuf]

What size tire?

 

[bucket]

No, never, especially on duals. Sounds like you need to buy a different set of tires.

Stock sized tires are useless for many dually owners. A spacer between the rims is a necessity.

 

[BearKing]

What size tire?

They are 285/75/16. Stock rims but about 2” taller and a little wider. I needed bigger for trail riding in the Black Hills. I am putting a 1-2” body lift and possibly a 2-3” suspension lift. Not sure about the suspension lift yet.

 

[BearKing]

Stock sized tires are useless for many dually owners. A spacer between the rims is a necessity.

I went with 285/75/16. Stock Dually rims. @bucket

 

[bucket]

I went with 285/75/16. Stock Dually rims. @bucket

I think to be safe, you'll need a 1" spacer. Or at least thick enough where the wheel studs don't protrude past the bolt-on spacer. So maybe thicker... I don't remember how far the studs stick out.

 

[nvrenuf]

I have a friend that had a dually with 12.50 wide tires on stock wheels and 3” spacers between the tires. The spacer a little big because you could put your hand between the sidewalls, 2” spacers would have probably been perfect.

 

[fast 99]

Spacers? Your liability and life. Hopefully someone else won't get killed.

 

[bucket]

Spacers? Your liability and life. Hopefully someone else won't get killed.

The spacer only sees half the load, it is only for the outside wheel. The inside wheel places no load on the spacer.

The fear of spacers is kind of silly. For every person that has a story of a spacer failing, there's probably a thousand more with a story of a wheel falling off- without any spacer at all.

 

[Ricko1966]

The spacer only sees half the load, it is only for the outside wheel. The inside wheel places no load on the spacer.

The fear of spacers is kind of silly. For every person that has a story of a spacer failing, there's probably a thousand more with a story of a wheel falling off- without any spacer at all.

That's because there's 100s of thousands probably more like 100s of millions running around without a spacer. Like every car that ever rolled off the show room. So with numbers like that,yep there are going to be more that fell off cars without spacers. I think theres a disproportionate number of failure on cars with spacers. I don't think the risk is huge,but I don't think it's nonexistent,it is one more point that can fail.

 

[CalSgt]

The spacer only sees half the load, it is only for the outside wheel. The inside wheel places no load on the spacer.

The fear of spacers is kind of silly. For every person that has a story of a spacer failing, there's probably a thousand more with a story of a wheel falling off- without any spacer at all.

This…

Also, spacers like any safety equipment or suspension part shouldn’t be purchased from the lowest bidder (Amazon/4WP Etc.). There are several companies that produce quality US made spacers that are legitimate quality parts.

I’ve been running 1.6” spacers on my Jeep with 37’s for 40k miles and no issues

Synergy MFG
Spidertrax
Would be good companies to consider

 

[bucket]

That's because there's 100s of thousands probably more like 100s of millions running around without a spacer. Like every car that ever rolled off the show room. So with numbers like that,yep there are going to be more that fell off cars without spacers. I think theres a disproportionate number of failure on cars with spacers. I don't think the risk is huge,but I don't think it's nonexistent,it is one more point that can fail.

That's very true. But my point was that so many people blow it all out of proportion and make it seem like if you bolt spacers on your car, you are going to crash and die. Spacers don't just fail without help. They can fail with hard use like blasting a curb at 55 mph or not properly torquing them down, which is the exact same issue you have with wheels themselves. Many of the nicer wheel spacers are made of higher grade materials than the hubs and wheels they are used in conjunction with.

Before this gets too far along, I want to say that the 2-peice style wheel adapters and all those flimsy old adapters used on VW bugs DO suck and can be a big safety risk.

I'll also point out that GM, Ford and Dodge have used wheel spacers for decades. All those dually trucks out there with bolt-on wheel spacers up front.

 

[Ricko1966]

I agree wheel spacers are not a bolt on death sentence,but,I will never believe that a car with aftermarket wheel spacers is 100% as safe as it was when it rolled off the assembly line. It is adding one more failure point,2 mounting surfaces vs. 1.On the fronts of vehicles,the extra leverage affects the spring rate, fasteners,and load on the front end components,including the frame and steering box, just like using a longer pry bar. The difference in length from the ball joints changes the steering geometry and the scrub radius which reduces traction in turns. But most of these same problems happen with just the wrong wheel and tire combination. Factory spacers are part of the designed suspension,remove them and you will cause problems as well. Not trying to start an argument,just want everyone to think of the not so obvious,like even a hubcentric spacer is not the same as running a hub centric wheel designed for the application. With the wheel it would be to absorb shear loads in a straight up and down plane, with the offset of the spacer it's no longer a straight plane from the wheel to the hub,now there is leverage trying to pull the bottom of the spacer away from the hub. I have in the past,am now,and will in the future run spacers in some situations,but I know it comes with some risk.