By: Shawn Spickler
Looking behind our Project Blazer, something didn't look right. If
you ever looked behind the GM trucks, you will notice the rear axle
is about 3" shorter than the front. This makes the truck look very
strange.
With the spacers installed, the K5 seemed to take
corners better. A definite notice was taken when driving off-road.
The off-road handling characteristics was also improved. We passed
on the rollover test. We'll save that for another time...
It also decreases handling on / off road and affects center of gravity so your chances of are greater. Performance Wheel & Tire has the fix for this. They design high strength wheel spacers for all kinds of cars, trucks and Jeeps. Performance carries many different sizes of spacers. All their spacers are made in house so it cuts out the middle man resulting in affordability. The quality of these spacers is superb.
Made from high quality 6061-T6 aircraft grade aluminum, there's no reason to worry about breaking or cracking. They make spacers in 4, 5, 6 or 8 lug ranging from widths of 1" to 2.75". Before we ordered, we measured the difference in length between our front and rear axle. Ours happened to be 3" of difference so we ordered the 1.5" spacers. Some axles are different so be sure to measure to get the proper size. On our 8 lug axle, our studs were 1.3" in length so a 1.25" spacer would have required the studs to be ground a little to fit.
Since no grinding had to performed, installation was quick and easy. The spacers only took 45 minutes to install.
Note: If your axles are the same length but you want a wider stance, you can install these on both front and rear axles. Benefits of wheel spacers:
- Redistributes center of gravity; reduces risk of rollover
- Better traction and cornering
- Vehicle can still use factory rims
- Wider tires can be placed on the factory rims
- Allows better control at greater inclined angles
- Looks much better!
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We ordered
the 8 lug 1.5" spacers. These are made out of high quality 6061-T6
aircraft aluminum. Click picture for larger image |
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The spacers
are a snap to install. It only took 45 minutes to mount them. Click picture for larger image |
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The studs
will come close to the edge of the spacer. If thinner spacers are
used, you may have to grind the studs. Stock lug nuts are used to
secure the spacers. Click picture for larger image |
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You can tell
instantly when the wheel is installed. The wheel and the 1 ton hub
are now closer. Click picture for larger image |
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You can see a
difference once installed. Left picture is before, right is the
after picture. The front tire now matches the rear. Click picture for larger image |
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 1096 West Hampden Englewood, CO 80110 (303) 934-2929 http://www.performancewheel.com/ |
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