I just bought a 2013 two door. 16K miles, all stock. Want to lift without spending a fortune. I like the looks of the stock Rubicon rims with 2.5" coil lift and 35's. Off Road Whse says I would have to use wheel spacers but being that I dont wheel it, they would pose no issues rolling down the road and dirt trails. Is this true? I've heard nothing but bad about using wheel spacers but figure many of you may run them and just curious if they're a bad idea?
Thanks for the info.

 

Do a search on this site and you will probably find about 98+ percent of people have no issues whatsoever with wheel spacers. The ones who do, well, after the whining it usually gets traced back to improper install or complete lack of maintenance or substandard bolts or something. Not the spacers themselves. (and we are talking about the thick spacers with two sets of bolts, not the thin ones that sandwich in between...)

So, if you can't follow the directions, or just can't be bothered to check them on occasion, you will probably be better off with new rims.

And yes, offroad warehouse is correct. It isn't about 'wheeling it'. It's about taller/wider tires contacting things. The links. The frame. The bumpers. The rails. The flares. The skid. The pinch seams. Whatever. Stock rims are in the 6" backspace range. For 35's, the general recommendation is a 4.5" backspace. Which means moving the tire/rim out of the wheel wells by 1.5" or so. (some people are ok with higher backspaces, 4.5" is just the normal rec.)

 

What he said. +1

 

Wheel spacers are not a good idea, they are shims that fit between the wheel and hub. Wheel adapters are a thick bolt on extension to the hub which the wheel bolts too and like said with proper install should not be an issue. Do yourself a favor and just get proper wheels that are sized for the tires you want to run. The factory wheels are not only high back spaced but are narrow and made for skinny tires.

 

I ran Sydertrax 1.5 spacers for over a year and a half on my jeep. Had them on the Highway, commutes to work everyday & 20+ off road trips.

They were Solid as a rock.

You have to check them every tire rotation with a torque wrench to make sure they aren't backing off.

I used red lock tight (as per supplied and per manual) & checked mine ever 3k with the rotation. After the first 3 k, a single bolt was about 10# less then the others on the driver front (all bolts tq to 90#) I took the entire spacer off and re did it. And it was good to go after that.

Maybe I didn't put enough red lock tight on that bolt? Who knows? But that's why you check them. I can picture people never checking them, and a bolt backs off like that, and might cause others to back off as well causing a failure.

Just buy a quality set, and install them correctly, and check them with a tq wrench every tire rotation.

 

117,000 miles on my spacers and counting. Local shop machined them for me back in 09. 6061-T6, red lock tite, and knowing a thing or two about mechanical equipment is all it takes to safely operate them.