Are the front and rear hub diameters the same??

[franklin2]

I'm thinking I may have to. I have 265/75-16 on it now with no specialty tweaks. I have a minor rub when fully turned especially in reverse turning the wheel right all the way. I just wanted that wide stance and beefy rubber look, but I definitely don't want to hurt the truck at all.

It does give it a look that I think looks good also. You can stick them out a little bit more and while it might put a little more load on things, like I said before it will be minor. What you will notice more than anything is how it throws road dirt and rocks all over the side of the truck, damaging the paint. Been there, done that.

 

[skeptikalone]

I'll receive the 2" spacers on the 20th so we shall see if the PVH fits through it or not. If it doesn't I'll have to return all of them because I purchased a set of 4, then buy 2 identical again and 2 others with the 87.1mm center bore that are lug centric unfortunately. Hopefully they'll not create vibrations out be off kilter at all.

 

[fastpakr]

I'll receive the 2" spacers on the 20th so we shall see if the PVH fits through it or not. If it doesn't I'll have to return all of them because I purchased a set of 4, then buy 2 identical again and 2 others with the 87.1mm center bore that are lug centric unfortunately. Hopefully they'll not create vibrations out be off kilter at all.

Have you considered eliminating the pvh hubs before going through all that?

 

[Uncle Gump]

I'm kinda curious what 4 quality wheel spacers even cost?

They just had these wheels on sale for $109. 16's 8 inch wide 4 inch backspace and super light. The overall width would be 1 inch narrower then using 4 inches of wheel spacers.

 

[skeptikalone]

I'm kinda curious what 4 quality wheel spacers even cost?

They just had these wheels on sale for $109. 16's 8 inch wide 4 inch backspace and super light. The overall width would be 1 inch narrower then using 4 inches of wheel spacers.

View attachment 78993

I found a Canadian company that used high quality aluminum alloy and super strong lugs and I got a set of 4 for $87. They average around 100$ from what I see, and if course cheapo ones are as low as 40 bucks. I like wheels like that though for sure! I am going for a rugged look.

 

[skeptikalone]

I'm kinda curious what 4 quality wheel spacers even cost?

They just had these wheels on sale for $109. 16's 8 inch wide 4 inch backspace and super light. The overall width would be 1 inch narrower then using 4 inches of wheel spacers.

View attachment 78993

The set was $109!? Or each?

 

[skeptikalone]

Have you considered eliminating the pvh hubs before going through all that?

Definitely. I can't find Any manual locking hubs that are much different in size, some flare out wider even. I've seen a way to modify the PVHs into manual push button locking but not sure if that's a great way to go or not.

 

[don4331]

Changing to manual push button just eliminates the failure point of the vacuum engagement.

Changing to newer unit bearings/drive shafts eliminates the issue.

Going to lug centric spacers puts all the load on the stud threads - really a bad idea...

 

[Uncle Gump]

Price for each.

 

[skeptikalone]

TIME OUT:

The hub centric wheel spacers fit just fine - I'd show you pictures, but my spacers on my son's '99 4x2 Ranger as I have my '94 Cobra rims on that truck at moment. On '98+ Ranger, the spacer only fits tight on the face of the hub & the ~1/4" of the hub. The idea being, the load is on the hub, not the threads of the studs. When you install the hub, it shouldn't have any movement after you push it on, but before you install the lug nuts. It does not fit tight the entire surface of the locking hub.

And the difference between 70.5mm and 70.6mm is a quick wipe with some fine sandpaper. Manufacturing tolerances are probably greater than that 0.1mm (these aren't aerospace parts).

On other hand, I agree PVH hubs are annoying.

IMNSHO, spacers have their place when installing wheels like dually rims on front of F-350. The offset of the rim (125mm) is matched by the 5" (127mm) of the wheel spacer. The result is the center of the contact patch of the wheel is exactly where the engineer at Ford designed it to be when he set the king pin inclination axis. (it is known as scrub radius)

For the Cobra rims (negative 40mm offset) on my Ranger (6mm designed offset), 35mm spacers achieve that contact patch location (well within 1mm, which is close enough for the girl I go with). You can tell it is correct as when I dry steer (steer without truck moving), the wheel just twists, it doesn't roll forwards or backwards.​

Using spacers to fit larger tires is what gets people into trouble*. When you push the wheel out, there is more load on bearing, so it wears faster. It also causes the wheel to "roll" forwards/backwards when you steer - the result being it makes contact with sheetmetal. And because you are rolling the wheel fore/aft, it takes more force, making it hard on steering rack - which can get dangerous should you have a flat as the truck will suddenly pull to that side.

*You will note that as you increase tire size, you need to move the tire out to maintain the correct scrub radius i.e. later Ford 4wd rims have 12mm offset, to match the 265/70R16's greater diameter. But Ford engineers only moved offset out 6mm when they when from 235/75R15 (29" tire) to the 265/70R16 (31" tire), so one would only want 18mm offset for 33x12.5R15s.

How deep is your pocket book? Replacing the unit bearing with alternate is a $4k touch. If you've got the coin, we can talk.

Did your son's hub centric spacers fit over the pulse vacuum hubs in front then? Do you remember what kind of spacers they where? Thanks for the information, I really appreciate everyone's opinions.

 

[skeptikalone]

Changing to manual push button just eliminates the failure point of the vacuum engagement.

Changing to newer unit bearings/drive shafts eliminates the issue.

Going to lug centric spacers puts all the load on the stud threads - really a bad idea...

Yeah, I was almost just going to give up on the spacers and get the stance widened later with the proper wheels if these ones don't work, I was very worried about lug centric for sure. Some people say that they will work, some don't so it's hard to know for sure, I suppose I'll know here soon, it'll just be a bummer if it didn't work out because I won't be able to get new wheels until the spring probably, I've been putting so much into those truck this summer to get it running properly and paying emissions that the next round of larger purchases is going to have to wait a bit.

 

[Uncle Gump]

There is an old saying... buy once, cry once.

 

[cschannuth]

Yeah I've seen some of the horror stories online, I definitely do not want to ruin anything!

Spacers no different than using a deeper dish wheel. The geometry is the same. Either would be a little harder on your truck but I’ve used them for decades with no ill affect.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Spacers no different than using a deeper dish wheel. The geometry is the same. Either would be a little harder on your truck but I’ve used them for decades with no ill affect.

Spacers are entirely different...

That add a totally new set of failure points.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I got a set of 4 for $87.

I am going for a rugged look.

Soooo... your saying my truck looks wimpy?

Do we still meet out out at the bike rack to Duke it out these days? Or are we doing drive by stuff now?

I'm kidding of course. But I did consider adding Spacers on the rear to make the track width the same front vs rear. The pair I settled on was north of a $100.

I also think "rugged looking" is in the eye of the beholder. I see a Ranger with stock wheels and a 4 inch wider track width... I see a Ranger sporting $100 worth of wheel spacers... not rugged.

Be sure to use a torque wrench... re torque a couple times after a bit of driving until you're sure they're not loosening up. Be safe out there.