Spacer pics

[tomaco1]

Someone asked about 30mm spacer pics.
Before and After

[MonLand]

Someone asked about 30mm spacer pics.
Before and After
What tire size do you have on there?

[LRNAD90]

Which is the 'before' and which is the 'after'? I'm not trying to be a jerk, but it seems difficult to really get a feel for the difference in offset created by the spacers, since the front wheel is turned in the one photo, and the photo is a bit dark, and the parking lot shot looks like a wider stance than stock.

I run 1.25" wheel spacers, with the stock freestyle wheels and 285/75's. It really seems like an ideal configuration, bringing the tire right out to the edge of the stock flares, and just looks right, IMHO. Couple of photos to illustrate..

[D90Overkill]

Are there any real dangers to the 1.25 spacers, or any spacers for that matter? I run the same tires and I rub like hell, even with the heavy duty EMU front. I guess they can't be any more dangerous than have 4 out of 5 lugs loosen to within 1 revolution of falling off the rear freestyle alloy rim. I guess they under torqued the lugs when I got the new det of tires mounted.

[tomaco1]

mine are 265 75 16's, the shots do suck. I emailed him better pics, I can take the after shots from the front and rear if there is anyone who wants them.
Beach shot was after

[LRNAD90]

Are there any real dangers to the 1.25 spacers, or any spacers for that matter? I run the same tires and I rub like hell, even with the heavy duty EMU front. I guess they can't be any more dangerous than have 4 out of 5 lugs loosen to within 1 revolution of falling off the rear freestyle alloy rim. I guess they under torqued the lugs when I got the new det of tires mounted.

Well, there has always been a long standing debate regarding this. Whenever you move the wheel outward from the stock location (either by using wheels with a greater backspacing/ more negative offset or spacers) you increase the leverage that is applied to the axles ends/wheel bearings. It is pretty agreed upon that this will increase the load and wear on the wheel bearings, but the debatable points seem to be around how much is a problem, and to what extent that wear is accelerated.

So here is my theory, everyone correct me if I’m wrong…

If I remember correctly, the stock alloys on the Defender are 4.75” backspacing, which translates roughly to a 1.25” positive offset (offset and backspacing are often confused and interchanged, try this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offset_(wheel)) for better definition of what each is, and how to calculate one from the other). Positive offset lowers stress on the bearings, where as negative offset increases it, because it pushes the whole wheel/tire assembly further from the load plane. Zero offset simply means that the wheel’s mounting plane is at the wheel’s center line, and not offset to the inside (negative) or outside (positive) of that center line.

All that said, if my numbers are right, adding a 1.25” spacer to a 4.75” backspacing wheel will be the equivalent of fitting a zero offset wheel, since the stock offset is +1.25” and the wheel spacer essentially removes 1.25” (- 1.25” as it moves the mounting plane inward by the amount of its thickness) of offset from the dimension. I think as long as you remain at zero or positive that the stresses and risks would be negligible. I ran a set of 1.25” spacers on a Series I Disco for about 65K miles with no associated issues, but have only logged about 10K with them on the Defender.

Of course, next up is the debate about hub-centric spacers verses lug-centric spacers…

[Arnzo]

Which brand spacer are you using?

[LRNAD90]

Which brand spacer are you using?

Oh Boy,

It has been something like eight years since I bought them. I believe I bought them from Rover Accessories, but don't hold me to it. I believe that they (or whomever it was I bought them from) were the only ones making spacers for the Rover at the time, and they were pricey!

[TwisteD90]

I thought the stock backspacing is like 5.3 something not 4.75?!?!

I need to get some for my D90, my friend had a set build for him and they have been great so far.. I'll ask him when he get's back from the rally.

[tomaco1]

I got mine from Doug C, not sure of the brand

[MonLand]

they were pricey!
Never really understood why they sell at that price neither. Aluminium is not expensive by itself, so I am probably not aware of what makes the final product so expensive. Liability maybe? Supply-demand?

[LRNAD90]

I thought the stock backspacing is like 5.3 something not 4.75?!?!

I need to get some for my D90, my friend had a set build for him and they have been great so far.. I'll ask him when he get's back from the rally.

You could very well be right. Like I said, for some reason that stuck in my mind. But as long as the backspacing is at least 4.75", the theory should be good, no? Seems to me that the least stress would come from a zero offset, where the leverage applied by the wheel should be the least (same amount of wheel inside the center line as outside the center line). If this is correct, then using a 1.25" spacer will only decrease load on the bearings, given a backspacing of 4.75" or greater, since it is moving the load plane closer to the center line and magic 'zero offset', right?

I can't believe someone hasn't chimed in with the specs on Land Rover Alloys by now..

Never really understood why they sell at that price neither. Aluminium is not expensive by itself, so I am probably not aware of what makes the final product so expensive. Liability maybe? Supply-demand?

I'm pretty sure it is that demand is low, so tooling/set-up costs are relatively high, and the vendors are trying to make it back. You can get spacers for Toyotas of the same design for far less, but there is much more market to absorb the initial start-up costs, so...

[Buckon37s]

I'm pretty sure it is that demand is low, so tooling/set-up costs are relatively high, and the vendors are trying to make it back. You can get spacers for Toyotas of the same design for far less, but there is much more market to absorb the initial start-up costs, so...

I could make them dirt cheap, if people are willing to use aftermarket lug nuts. The bolts and inner nuts are one big reason these are pricey. Like everything else, rover used bazaar bolts and nuts for their wheels. But, I still feel the best way to do this is the pull the hub off and press in longer bolts, then I could supply any sized spacer from .125 to 2in.

[cabell]

Buck:
So are longer studs of the same thread / pitch not available? I'm not opposed to pressing in new studs, but I really prefer not going to an aftermarket nut.