wheel spacer question

[cherokeechief79]

i found a really nice set of wheels and tires i would like to put on my 68 barracuda.
the wheels are 5.5 bolt pattern though.what are your thoughts on running adapters to fit these?
i know they will stick out at least an inch more.
the price for all 4 of them is cheaper than what i would be paying for just one of the rear tires.
or should i just pass?

 

[like_A_pike]

Make absolutely sure that your tires won’t/can not contact the quarters!

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Pass on the adapters.

 

[toolmanmike]

i found a really nice set of wheels and tires i would like to put on my 68 barracuda.
the wheels are 5.5 bolt pattern though.what are your thoughts on running adapters to fit these?
i know they will stick out at least an inch more.
the price for all 4 of them is cheaper than what i would be paying for just one of the rear tires.
or should i just pass?

Nope. 5x5.5 are pick up wheels.

 

[33IMP]

Thread title said spacers, you're talking adapters.
First, I know of NO adapter from 5 on 4, to 5 on 5.5, or 5 on 5, for that matter. So I think the question is mute.
However! If you do find such hens teeth, make sure they are BILLET, and not cast garbage.
And yes, even if you DO find correct billet adapters, the chances of pickup truck wheels and tires fitting are slim, and none. And Slim has left town.
Sorry.
Edit: I have no problem at all with billet SPACERS, correctly designed and made. I use spacers on several cars, including fast ones.
2nd edit: proper adapters, IF you could find them, should probably be about $75/wheel.
Bottom line..... pass.

 

[Super-Cuda]

i found a really nice set of wheels and tires i would like to put on my 68 barracuda.
the wheels are 5.5 bolt pattern though.what are your thoughts on running adapters to fit these?
i know they will stick out at least an inch more.
the price for all 4 of them is cheaper than what i would be paying for just one of the rear tires.
or should i just pass?

No to the adapters.

Most of them are junk.

I have personally seen the damage these things do when they fail.

 

[French demon]

Two years ago, I installed a set of four 1" billet alloy adapters/spacers on my Demon and so far no problem.
Converting my hubs from SBP to BBP, this set allowed me to install magnum wheels.
But my Demon is a slanty, so not very powerful
My 2 cents...

 

[harrisonm]

If you must have adapters for some wheels you like, make sure they are billet. Some people might disagree with me, but I would take my wheels off periodically and check the torque on the adapters. Personally, if I wanted some wheels that were not 5×4, I would just change over from a 4 inch bolt pattern. Safer in the long run. Billet adapters might be perfectly safe, but they are still another link that can break.

 

[abodyjoe]

i'm not a fan of spacers/adapters.

 

[85glht]

If you must have adapters for some wheels you like, make sure they are billet. Some people might disagree with me, but I would take my wheels off periodically and check the torque on the adapters. Personally, if I wanted some wheels that were not 5×4, I would just change over from a 4 inch bolt pattern. Safer in the long run. Billet adapters might be perfectly safe, but they are still another link that can break.

This!!! I've been in a vehicle where the adapter bolts loosened, and the wheel fell off!! (wasn't my truck) The material that the adapters were made of was cheap and the bolts weren't hardened!! I never let my friend forget his lack of judgement for this. We were lucky we didn't get killed. My $0.02

 

[CRUZE 418]

^^^^^^^^^ Never again.

 

[72bluNblu]

Adapters are perfectly safe as long as the material they're made out of is strong and thick enough to support the studs they carry.

They have to be torqued at regular intervals, just like aluminum wheels. If they are not the can loosen (just like aluminum wheels), and that failure is 100% the fault of the person not maintaining their vehicle properly.

 

[CRUZE 418]

Yeah, well, there's a fault there that I won't cross again. Go ahead and run 'em, good luck to ya.

 

[72bluNblu]

Yeah, well, there's a fault there that I won't cross again. Go ahead and run 'em, good luck to ya.

Hey that's your prerogative, they do add more work because you have to take the wheels off to torque the spacers and you have to torque the spacers at least as often as the wheels get torqued. If you're used to running steel wheels and hubs then they need to be torqued more often, because the heat expansion on aluminum is higher. If you're used to aluminum wheels/hubs then it's the same.

But their safety is a simple matter of physics. As long as the material is correct and there's enough of it to support the studs, the adaptors are just as safe as running aluminum wheels or hubs as long as they're properly installed and maintained. It's just that simple.

Are there adapters out there made from inferior materials? Absolutely. But that's true for a lot of parts, you have to make sure that what you're running is up to the task. I've run adaptors, outside of an extra set of nuts to torque they're not an issue. Hell pretty much every dually truck runs them, and runs them in MUCH larger offsets than anything that would get used on an A-body.

 

[CRUZE 418]

Then hopefully we can agree to disagree. The OP has his answer, it's up to him.
I'm out.

 

[72bluNblu]

Then hopefully we can agree to disagree. The OP has his answer, it's up to him.
I'm out.

Like I said, whether or not you "like" them or run them on your own car or not is totally up to you.

Their safety is simple physics, if you disagree with that then you disagree with reality.

 

[72bluNblu]

To put it another way, if someone came on here and said they installed a new set of aluminum wheels, torqued them to spec on install and then never touched them again, and then tried to blame the wheel when it fell off because the lug nuts loosened up they'd be eaten alive with members saying it was 100% their fault. They never re-torqued the wheels like every aluminum wheel manufacturer ever states you need to do.

But if the same person came on here and said they installed a set of billet aluminum wheel adapters, torqued them once and never again, and then drove until an adapter failed because the lug nuts loosened up at least half the responses would be "adapters aren't safe", even though it was literally the same method of failure and 100% the fault of the installer for never re-torquing the adapters.

Properly made and maintained adapters don't add any more force on the primary studs than a wheel with the same offset as the adapter/wheel combination. The secondary studs aren't subject to any more force than the primary studs would be with a wheel of the same specs. If the material of the adapter is chosen properly and the studs are the proper grade the only difference in the combination is an extra set of lugs/studs that have to be maintained the same as the primary set would be with an aluminum hub/wheel.

 

[Super-Cuda]

Then hopefully we can agree to disagree. The OP has his answer, it's up to him.
I'm out.

Agreed!

 

[harrisonm]

Adapters are perfectly safe as long as the material they're made out of is strong and thick enough to support the studs they carry.

They have to be torqued at regular intervals, just like aluminum wheels. If they are not the can loosen (just like aluminum wheels), and that failure is 100% the fault of the person not maintaining their vehicle properly.

Back in 69, I was 18 and bought a new 69 Barracuda Formula S 340 4 speed. Nobody was making decent wheels for 5x4, so I got a set of American Racing Torque Thrusts with adapters. It looked amazing. Back then I knew nothing about adapters. I kind of doubt that they had billet adapters back then. My RF wheel almost fell off. Luckily, I was on a city street. It was wobbling really bad. It turned out to be a cast metal adapter; don't know the metal type. Nobody told me to retorque them. I will agree with you that a billet adapter would probably be perfectly safe.

 

[72bluNblu]

Back in 69, I was 18 and bought a new 69 Barracuda Formula S 340 4 speed. Nobody was making decent wheels for 5x4, so I got a set of American Racing Torque Thrusts with adapters. It looked amazing. Back then I knew nothing about adapters. I kind of doubt that they had billet adapters back then. My RF wheel almost fell off. Luckily, I was on a city street. It was wobbling really bad. It turned out to be a cast metal adapter; don't know the metal type. Nobody told me to retorque them. I will agree with you that a billet adapter would probably be perfectly safe.

The cast adaptors out there, and that are STILL out there to go from SBP to BBP, are not safe. They're a cheap cast aluminum, and they are not thick enough to support the studs.

And even those will last quite awhile if they're torqued and retorqued properly.

 

[RustyRatRod]

While I agree there are some acceptable wheel adapters, for one, I don't like them and I won't use them.....just personal preference.

Secondly, that's a MIGHTY big jump from 5x4 to 5x5.5. Just something to think about.

 

[cherokeechief79]

im going to buy the wheel and tire set regardless.
its too good to pass up.
i just paid 535 bux each for 2 rear mickey thompson 30x12 15 ssrs.
this set is brand new and im getting all for 650 and its local right around the corner.
all of my mopars have been converted the 5 x 4.5 i forgot to mention that.
the wheels are those old school look aluminum solid wheels that i think were made by cragar.
even if i dont use the wheels im still going to get everything for the tires alone.

 

[LO23M8B]

Don't do it.

 

[cherokeechief79]

i may just put the wheels up for sale but i cant pass on these tires

 

[Swinger 340]

i'm not a fan of spacers/adapters.

I have used spacers on my B-300 van for over 50 years and never had a problem with them. I will like to add, I used them with 15" US Indy mags with a 8 bolt pattern. They probably fit snugger than a steel rim would. I needed Clearnce on the front calipers. A little grinding on them also helped. YES, the fun days!!!!