Just read this off a 4 wheel drive forum. Interesting...
You will never find wheel adapters or spacers on any vehicle I own.
The design of vehicle suspensions, and the matching of wheels to those suspensions, should be left to experts. The hairs go up on the back of my neck when I read about putting spacers or adapters between the wheels and the hubs JUST TO CHANGE THE APPEARANCE OF THE VEHICLE.
Here's a bit if insight into some of the effects of doing this:
A vehicle is not a "rigid body". It is flexible. As it rolls down the road, it flexes, and this includes the suspension components. I mean that the individual components of the suspension actually change their shape, and they change their positions and orientations relative to each other.
For example, the upper and lower control arms of the Tundra front suspensions pivot at their inboard ends. They pivot about bushings that are partly RUBBER.
Think about what happens to the control arms when you apply the brakes: 1) The forces generated try to rotate the spindle so that the upper ball joint is pushed forward and the lower ball joint is pushed rearward; 2) They push the tire, wheel, and spindle toward the rear, which pushes both ball joints toward the rear; and, 3) They try to rotate the tire, wheel, and spindle so the front of the tire points more outboard (i. e. because of the positive scrub radius, it tries to make total toe more negative), by putting an inward force on the end of the tie rod, thus pulling outward on both ball joints. Now, just what is the "net force" on a ball joint, and thus what is the "net change" in the orientation of the control arm to which it is attached?
If you space the wheel more outboard the vehicle, this DRASTICALLY increases the scrub radius, which is small to begin with. It thus DRASTICALLY increases the negative change in total toe that happens upon braking, especially hard braking. Do you want to GUESS what the effect is, just because you like how it LOOKS?
As I stated above, the vehicle flexes as it rolls down the road. In fact, total toe changes as it rolls depending on, among other factors, the speed of the vehicle. In a rear wheel drive vehicle like the Tundra, with rack-and-pinion steering mounted behind the front axles, total toe tends to become more negative as the speed increases. The specification for total toe is set such that the the "dynamic" total toe at a nominal speed (commonly about 55 mph) is zero. This prevents tire wear and increases stability, because the tire is not "scrubbing sideways" as it rolls down the road.
The increased scrub radius GREATLY affects the change in total toe due to speed. So, if you set the alignment of total toe dead on the factory spec, does that result in total toe being zero as you cruise down the road? Again, do you want to GUESS what the effect is, just because you like how it LOOKS?
How often have you seen or heard of a traffic accident which appears to have no reasonable cause? The driver just turned a corner or put on the brakes and the vehicle swapped ends? Next time it happens, look to see if the vehicle has stock wheels and tires on it.
I apologize for the rather strident tone of this response, but this subject is a raw nerve with me. I don't presume to tell people what they can and cannot do in modifying their own vehicles, but I point out that the accidents that result from modifications often have undeserving victims.
I follow the beat of a different cliche. I don't own a vehicle to impress anyone. Mine look fine, and I keep them clean and in good repair. To me, they are just transportation. I am concerned with how they work and how safe they are, not with what passersby think of them.
So, what do I drive? I have a 2000 Tundra Access Cab V8 SR5 4WD with the offroad package, on factory alloy wheels with Michelin LTX M/S in P265/70R16 tires. My wife has a 2001 Sequoia SR5 4WD, on factory alloy wheels with Michelin LTX M/S in P265/70R16 tires. I am VERY satisfied with how they drive.
#10 (permalink)
07-10-2003, 12:37 PM
Source
Wheel Spacers - Are they safe? - Toyota Tundra Forums : Tundra Solutions Forum
