Spacers or different rims?

96 XJ country with 3" RC lift, Procomp 31x10.5 MT's on TJ rims

I don't have a tight turning radius because the 31's are rubbing the control arms at about 3/4's over.

Would spacers work to push the wheels out and give me the ability to turn from stop to stop or would spacers give me other issues?

Anyone know off hand how much would do the trick if that is the answer?

Wheel spacers will do the trick if tight turning radius is what you are looking for.

If you just want to avoid your tires rubbing your control arms, you can put washers behind your steering stops on your steering knuckles. Not really worth it though, turning radius is then terrible.

Since you currently have TJ wheels, look for a wheel spacer that is hub centric and wheel centric (Spidertrax for example). They work great if installed correctly (loctite on threads) and you will not notice them there. I personally would rather just have new wheels with the preferred backspacing in lieu of spacers. You have to remove the spacers if you need to do any brake or axle work and if you happen to break an axle on the trail. The loctite can make it a challenge in removal but any impact can break it loose...just another obstacle to deal with during a repair.

Thanks for the reply - I will look at Spidertrax.

Turning radius is indeed what I am trying to improve, It's not great right now. When you're between a rock and a hard place (literally) you want to be able to manouver between them.

Any drawbacks in terms of strength/reliability with spacers? I have never used them.

BrokenSockets said:

Any drawbacks in terms of strength/reliability with spacers? I have never used them.

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I wheeled pretty hard and DD drove spidertrax on 32s for almost a whole year with no strength problems. However, make veryyy sure you use locktite and that the nuts are tightened thoroughly. I actually had an entire rear wheel fall off because I had rear brakes done and I guess the shop didn't tighten the spacer nuts enough. So in other words, the spacer came loose from the hub causing the whole wheel & tire to fall off while driving. Partially my fault because it started to make noise about 2 miles from my house and I thought I could make it home before checking it out..

Depending on what wheels you want to get they could end up costing about the same as spacers. Then you could even sell the TJ rims and make a profit from the ordeal

Go for the new wheels with the spacing you want, and as mentioned, sell the TJ wheels and make some of it back. Running spacers adds another variable in the possibility of wheels falling off:rof:. Frequent checks and loctite will pretty much eliminate that, but keeping it simple is the way to go IMO.
It is quicker and simpler to double check the lug torque with just the one, out in the open set of lugs per wheel.

You could go to angled LCAs:

http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=RC-CAC1&Category_Code=ARMS

Use WJ LCAs--angled and boxed for strength. Search, its been done before.

Good luck.

Athough I am still in favor of new wheels with your preferred backspacing...you will have no issues with those spacers as long as you fasten them as suggested. Red loctite, not blue...and torque to spec. Do it right and you won't have any problems. I have had no issues with them over the years and have never seen a first hand problem associated with them.

Peregrine said:

..you will have no issues with those spacers as long as you fasten them as suggested. Red loctite, not blue...and torque to spec.

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Wanting to maintain a more stock look, I have run stock alloy wheels, with 1-1/4" spacers, for several years without any problems. I always torque them them to 95 ft/lbs, the same as the sheels.
I would think twice about using Red Loctite. It is is usually used for permanent installations and since I'm constantly modifying and taking things apart, I want to be able to remove the spacers without fear of screwing up the threads. I have never found the spacers to be loose.
Blue Loctite might be a better choice. YMMV

Red specs
http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/10/15/t_lkr_red/overview/Loctite-Threadlocker-Red-271.htm
Blue specs
http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/10/15/t_lkr_blue/overview/Loctite-Threadlocker-Blue-242.htm

Looks like Rusty's control arms would cost the same as front + rear spacers. No guarantee that they have enough bend to clear the 31s at full lock, though.
Still, if you are going to get new control arms, Rusty's w/ a bend would be a good place to start & go from there, see if you need spacers or rims.

spacers are 100 for the pair... idk if you'd buy just 2 or go all 4, but if you go all 4 you can get some rock crawler wheels for 200. plus you get your backspacing you want, new wheels and a wider rim for a future mods

you could then sell your tj wheels for 100 and make half of it back and be money ahead in a sense...

CJbargins on ebay sells a set of four spacers for $120 shipped. I've used three sets of his. They are no different than spidertrax spacers, except for the lack of powdercoating and paying for the name. I've compared them side by side and pretty much the same.

Make sure they are torqued properly and use locktite. Check frequently.

Thanks guys, good advice and a few options for me.

I like how the TJ wheels look on my ride, so I think I will go with spacers up front for now.