I'm planning on installing the Mark MC 2.5" lift and slightly larger tires (on 17" OEM rims. From everything I'm seeing, the 1.5" wheel spacers will be necessary for these to fit. Has anyone running these spacers had issues with premature wheel bearing failures? I've always been under the impression spacers, even a small amount, torture bearings but I haven't come across any discussion on here mentioning that .. ?
Spacers and bearings...
- Thread starter stickypoop
- Start date
They sure do. And it depends on what the OD of the tires is. Over 30.5" and they'll hit the upper ball joint without spacers.
Many of us who go offroad and use our lifts, break bearings and cv shafts yearly. If you do it for looks only, you might get 2-3 years, plus 1-4 fewer mpg fuel economy. Ya gotta pay to play. Won't lie to ya.
Many of us who go offroad and use our lifts, break bearings and cv shafts yearly. If you do it for looks only, you might get 2-3 years, plus 1-4 fewer mpg fuel economy. Ya gotta pay to play. Won't lie to ya.
I'm mostly wanting the lift to get rid of the "minivan" look and feel. I'd also like to do light trails but wasn't planning on making my daily driver into an off road build (maybe someday 
). Only reason I planned on larger tires now is I'm thinking the stock (245/65R17) may look a bit odd with a lift. I could save myself headaches by staying with that size, or even more headache by aborting the whole thing ... hmm
). Only reason I planned on larger tires now is I'm thinking the stock (245/65R17) may look a bit odd with a lift. I could save myself headaches by staying with that size, or even more headache by aborting the whole thing ... hmm
I never thought that wheel spacers would cause increased wheel bearing wear. I have also considered larger diameter tire and a lift. I wanted to know why and did a 20 minute or so search with google.
What i learned...
Just changing the height of the tire affects scrub radius. A larger diameter tire would have a negative affect on the scrub radius. Moving the center contact point of the tire outward by changing the wheel offset would counter react some of the negative scrub radius from the larger tire.
By altering the scrub radius you also alter the load angle on the wheel bearing hence the premature wear.
But i have no experience in any of this and just learned what scrub radius was myself. If my conclusion after googleing is wrong then im sure someone with more first hand knowledge will correct my statement constructively.
What i learned...
Just changing the height of the tire affects scrub radius. A larger diameter tire would have a negative affect on the scrub radius. Moving the center contact point of the tire outward by changing the wheel offset would counter react some of the negative scrub radius from the larger tire.
By altering the scrub radius you also alter the load angle on the wheel bearing hence the premature wear.
But i have no experience in any of this and just learned what scrub radius was myself. If my conclusion after googleing is wrong then im sure someone with more first hand knowledge will correct my statement constructively.
No you're right. The tire is acting to stress the two bearing races (inner and outer) using a longer lever arm. Many offroaders on ORTB did a bunch suspension design research before starting various lift kit installs, to see if it would make sense to ALSO work over the tie rod end mounts to reduce bump steer. Lots of variables....so little time.
I will have to look into some of threads over on ORTB. Will be a while before go all in and kill my 22mpg combined average. From the looks of the pictures i looked at, the math for the change in scrub radius looks like it would be simple geometry. I have the 18" slt wheels so i think i may go down to a 17" or 16" wheel to gain a better tire selection. If i can i will calculate the offset of the wheels so that no spacers are required and i still have clearance.
Got enough ground clearance for everywhere i have been so far. Consisting of rutted and washed out roads down to the lakes on fort knox catfish'n. But this will be my second vehicle eventually. And i want to drive down in the ruts instead of straddling them. After i buy a boat and a more fuel efficient primary vehicle to drive till it rusts out.
Got enough ground clearance for everywhere i have been so far. Consisting of rutted and washed out roads down to the lakes on fort knox catfish'n. But this will be my second vehicle eventually. And i want to drive down in the ruts instead of straddling them. After i buy a boat and a more fuel efficient primary vehicle to drive till it rusts out.
djthumper
Administrator
You want a wheel with a 4.5" backspace, this will match to the spacers. If you understand offset you know it will change entirely upon the width of the rim.
HARDTRAILZ
Moderator
- Nov 18, 2011
- 49,665
Bearing are just a cost of being awesome. 
I get a year out of cheap bearings with 35's set out wide on 9 inch rims.
I got 30K hard miles on the stock bearings with 33s after lifting and adding adaptors; along with 4.5 inch backspacing, so far wider than your setup would be. Those bearings were 80K miles old to start with, so I dont think your setup is going to cause a whole lot of premature failure really.
I get a year out of cheap bearings with 35's set out wide on 9 inch rims. I got 30K hard miles on the stock bearings with 33s after lifting and adding adaptors; along with 4.5 inch backspacing, so far wider than your setup would be. Those bearings were 80K miles old to start with, so I dont think your setup is going to cause a whole lot of premature failure really.