Are Wheel Spacers Good or Bad?

Jacob Taylor
3 min readMar 24, 2021

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Many people have been contemplating the use of wheel spacers for a long time. While wheel spacers aren’t a necessary part of a vehicle, some people prefer to use them.

The knowledge of wheel spacers is very uncommon among drivers. So, if you wish to know about wheel spacers, you have come to the right place. Below we have covered everything about them to find out whether they are good or bad.

What are the wheel spacers?

Wheel spacers are an additional part of cars and other vehicles. They are fitted onto the vehicle’s wheel assembly hub. As a result, you can see a gap between the wheel and the inner wheel.

Opel wheel spacers increase the width of your tracks from a few millimetres to some inches. There are different types of wheel spacers. These are:

  • Floating wheel spacers
  • Bolt-on wheel spacers
  • Lug-centric wheel spacers
  • Hub-centric wheel spacers

Many people believe wheel spacers to be the same as wheel adapters.

Why do people use wheel spacers?

There are several reasons why people use wheel spacers. Here are some of them:

  • Enhance the look of your vehicle: One of the most common reasons why people use wheel spacers is to enhance the look of their wheel. As they increase the track width, it makes your vehicle look rugged and aggressive. Thus, turning your ordinary car into a sports car. Wheel spacers are a quick, cheap way to make your vehicle look expensive which is why people prefer them.
  • Improved handling and stability: By increasing the track width, wheel spacers also improve the overall stability. Due to instability, most cars are prone to getting rolled over. Wheel spacers also help you avoid that. Moreover, you can feel a change in the handling of your vehicle with wheel spacers. Thus, you can get greater comfort while driving.
  • Better working of other components: Wheel spacers also affect the other components of your car or vehicle. Mostly, brakes and suspension are affected. These components work to their best when they are used alongside wheel spacers. So, by using wheel spacers, you also optimise the use of your brake and suspension.
  • Correct any upgrade issues: Often, when any part of your vehicle is upgraded, its fitting isn’t adequate. In such cases, you can go for wheel spacers. These car wheel spacers act as a quick fix for any upgrade issues. Moreover, they are cheaper than getting everything repaired again.

What are the disadvantages of using wheel spacers?

Everything has its disadvantages, so do wheel spacers. So, here are some of them:

  • If used inadequately or fitted improperly, wheel spacers can pose a threat to safety.
  • Many a time, wheel spacers lead to an increased scrub radius. Scrub radius refers to the gap between the vehicle’s central tyre contact patch and the upper ball joint.

Some things to keep in mind while buying wheel spacers

Below are something you can keep in mind to keep your safety intact even while using wheel spacers. These are:

  • Always get your wheel spacers professionally fitted. While you may argue that you can do it yourself, you shouldn’t. Wheel spacers can really put a threat to your safety if not fitted properly. Thus, you should avoid fitting them yourself.
  • Whenever buying wheel spacers, make sure you do your research. You should properly learn about wheel spacers along with all the disadvantages and advantages.
  • Visit a trusted vendor who is reputed in the business. Make sure you go through all the reviews they have and run a background check.
  • Take care of your wheels and wheel spacers after buying them. The more you take care of them, the more they will last.

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