Are Wheel Spacers Bad or Good? (Explained Simply)
Since you landed on this page, I assume you know the difference between a wheel spacer and a wheel adapter. You’re probably looking for more information to decide whether to buy and install wheel spacers.
That’s exactly what you’ll find here!
I’ve used spacers to help me with the flush wheel fit on many cars over the years. More recently, on my BMWs and my wife’s Tesla Model 3, our daily driver.
That said, I’ll share a few common misconceptions, the benefits and drawbacks, and what are the alternatives so you can figure out:
Are Wheel Spacers Bad or Good for Your Ride?
I’m no engineer, so you won’t see me talking about things like negative or positive scrub radius. I’m a car nut aiming to answer your questions as simply as possible.
So, let’s start by dispelling some myths.
Common Misconceptions About Wheel Spacers
Spacers Cause Excessive Wear on Bearings
While wheel spacers can indeed increase the load on wheel bearings, high-quality products should not lead to excessive wear when properly fitted and torqued. I’ve always used spacers from good brands and never noticed such a thing on my vehicles.
In fact, many other factors contribute more to bearing wear. A few examples are:
faulty wheel bearings
insufficient lubrication
improper adjustment
Installation of Wheel Spacers is Illegal
While many car mods and accessories are illegal in the U.S., there is no specific wheel spacer regulation on the Department of Transportation website. Thus, as long as you don’t go crazy wide, no cop should pull you over.
All Wheel Spacers are Created Equal
Nope, that’s not the case. Just look at the cheap options on Amazon and the materials they’re made of, and you’ll see what I mean.
High-quality spacers are constructed from durable aluminum (7075-T6 or 6061-T6) for better corrosion resistance, strength, and hardness.
What Are Wheel Spacers Good For?
I’m sure you’re aware of most, but I’ll briefly go through the main benefits so everyone can decide whether to install wheel spacers or not. Here are the reasons behind the popularity of spacers among car enthusiasts.
Customized Look
I usually bought spacers to enhance my exterior by getting a flush wheel look, but only after I figured out how wide I could go. There are many wheel offset calculators online for that task.
If the spacer is too thick, it can lead to an unbalanced look where the wheels stick out too much. That’s where the art of car customization comes into play. Balancing aesthetics with practicality is key.
Fitting Larger Tires
By increasing the space between the wheel and the vehicle’s body, spacers allow larger rubber installation. That means wider tires for those looking to improve grip on the race track or taller tires for the off-roaders with no rubbing in the fenders.
Improved Handling
Yes, adding wheel spacers can improve handling. The increase in track width that spacers provide contributes to improved cornering capabilities.
I don’t own a race car, but my stick shift BMW E46 weekend warrior handles way better on the road with 15mm spacers on the rear wheels.
Using Bigger Brakes
A couple of new members in our Tesla owners group rushed to buy big brake kits but couldn’t install those. It turned out that the Model 3 needed wheel spacers for extra clearance between the wheels and the hub.
Are Wheel Spacers Bad for Your Car?
While wheel spacers can provide numerous benefits and are a relatively safe modification, they can also affect your vehicle in a negative way. But that’s the case with most upgrades, isn’t it?
Based on my experience, spacers can be bad for your car only if you:
- Don’t have them installed properly
- Buy a cheap, poor-quality product
- Go crazy with the negative offset
Let’s look at the potential drawbacks.
Altered Steering
When you increase the gap between the wheels too much, you’ll need to turn the steering wheel more to make the same turn. You may notice a difference in how your vehicle handles road bumps, or the front tires could wear out faster.
It can happen if you go wild with the negative offset or have spacers only on your front wheels. To avoid such negative effects, I normally use 10-15mm bolt-on spacers, and only on the back wheels.
Impact on Suspension
Changing the offset too much puts more strain on suspension parts, like bearings, axles, and hubs. Naturally, this will make them wear out faster and potentially fail.
Installing spacers not made from lightweight materials will lead to similar results. Any additional components will add more weight to your car.
Alternatives to Wheel Spacers
If the potential drawbacks of wheel spacers are giving you pause, don’t worry; there are alternatives. I can’t tell you what’s the best option, though. Your choice will depend on your specific circumstances.
Different Offset Wheels
If you’re unhappy with your current rims, that’s a good solution. Just don’t make the mistake of buying new ones with the same wheel offset.
If you were considering adding 10mm spacers to wheels with offset +30, you must buy rims with lower offset, in this example, +20.
Larger Wheel Size
Another alternative to adding wheel spacers is using larger-sized wheels. These can provide a broader stance and enhance stability and traction. For example, you can go from 18×8 to 19×9.5 wheels with the same offset, but your car will look and feel different.
Conclusion
As you figured, like any other car modification, installing wheel spacers has pros and cons. You’ll find many so-called experts saying that wheel spacers are unsafe and bad for your car. I want you to take a moment and think about this;
Wheel spacers have been sold on the aftermarket for decades. People use them on daily drivers, show vehicles, and race cars; no law exists against them. Are they unsafe?
For me, wheel spacers have been a good and cost-effective customization tool for road cars for many years. They can be bad for your vehicle only if you don’t take the time to research, buy, and adequately install the right product.