Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Wheel Spacers...
| Wheel Spacers... [message #296652] |
Thu, 03 March 2016 19:33  |
quadracerx1
Messages: 207
Registered: April 2013
Location: Puyallup, Washington
Karma: 1
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Senior Member |
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Hey guys...
I see that there are wheel spacers for the front of our coaches. And some are available in 2" and some in 3"?
Are they worth the investment? And if so, 2" or 3"
Thanks,
Steve
75 26' GMC Glenbrook
Puyallup, Washington
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| Re: Wheel Spacers... [message #296667 is a reply to message #296652] |
Thu, 03 March 2016 21:07  |
Bullitthead
Messages: 1411
Registered: November 2013
Karma: 5
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Senior Member |
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Changing the offset changes the leverage the wheel assembly has on the springs that hold up the coach. Wheel farther out=increased leverage on the spring so the wheel goes up farther in it's travel for the same weight(i.e. the coach will go down). It's simple math, but even knowing this I wanted the front wheels out farther for handling improvement(which is more simple math). So I used 1.5 inch spacers with the stock front end because I just didn't want to go 2 inches farther out. Front ride height still dropped an inch, but I also had a weak torsion bar. Still like the cornering feel better with the spacers(after I replaced the weak bar).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/260656291080?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
They also have the 2 inch spacers.
Terry Kelpien
ASE Master Technician
73 Glacier 260
Smithfield, Va.
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| Re: [GMCnet] Wheel Spacers... [message #296670 is a reply to message #296667] |
Thu, 03 March 2016 21:17 |
Ken Henderson
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma: 9
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Senior Member |
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Terry,
How are your wheels centered with those spacers? The ad shows acorn nuts
and no hub ring.
Ken H.
On Thu, Mar 3, 2016 at 10:07 PM, Terry wrote:
> Changing the offset changes the leverage the wheel assembly has on the
> springs that hold up the coach. Wheel farther out=increased leverage on the
> spring so the wheel goes up farther in it's travel for the same
> weight(i.e. the coach will go down). It's simple math, but even knowing
> this I wanted
> the front wheels out farther for handling improvement(which is more simple
> math). So I used 1.5 inch spacers with the stock front end because I just
> didn't want to go 2 inches farther out. Front ride height still dropped an
> inch, but I also had a weak torsion bar. Still like the cornering feel
> better with the spacers(after I replaced the weak bar).
>
>
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/260656291080?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
>
> They also have the 2 inch spacers.
> --
> Terry Kelpien
> ASE Master Technician
> 73 Glacier 260
> Smithfield, Va.
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach
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| Re: [GMCnet] Wheel Spacers... [message #296672 is a reply to message #296670] |
Thu, 03 March 2016 23:47 |
Bullitthead
Messages: 1411
Registered: November 2013
Karma: 5
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Those spacers DO NOT center my wheels on the hub Ken, I have to do it with the cards up my sleeve, and didn't think about that until just now when I closed that auction window. And sure enough one of you smart guys noticed before I could edit my erroneous ramblings...  Sometimes I forget the extra steps I take doing certain tasks are not obvious to most other people even when they watch me doing them. The sharp ones though, they catch those maneuvers(and my errors), and I keep them as my close friends.
The cards up my sleeve are 4 tapered seat nuts with a really sharp leading edge that I put the wheel on with and center it up, and then run down the other 4 1973 GMC washer nuts (I have steel Ford wheels). Then I zip off the tapered ones and put the remaining 4 washer nuts on.
You have to be someone that knows the feel of when a nut and bolt is done drawing items together and starting to stretch or starting to strip in order to be successful with all these old machines and materials, especially these coaches' mechanical items. The wheel studs on the spacers discussed will tighten past tight quite a bit, as the stud heads get pulled into the aluminum, and you better know when the aluminum has started to compress because the stud splines have fully seated. If you tighten farther you will ruin the spacer.
Putting any spacers on such a large vehicle is not like slappin' 'em on your VW or Falcon station wagon back in high school or college! This operation must be done correctly or it will come loose over mileage. If you have any doubts of your abilities, get a shop to do whatever type of chassis work you need done. There is just too much mass involved on these things to have stuff go wrong because the person doing the chassis work did not check off every box in the task performed.
Terry Kelpien
ASE Master Technician
73 Glacier 260
Smithfield, Va.
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| Re: [GMCnet] Wheel Spacers... [message #296679 is a reply to message #296672] |
Fri, 04 March 2016 01:35 |
Mr ERFisher
Messages: 7117
Registered: August 2005
Karma: 2
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Senior Member |
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Read here bout spacers on" standard front ends"
http://gmcmotorhome.info/front.html#extended
On Thursday, March 3, 2016, Terry wrote:
> Those spacers DO NOT center my wheels on the hub Ken, I have to do it with
> the cards up my sleeve, and didn't think about that until just now when I
> closed that auction window. And sure enough one of you smart guys noticed
> before I could edit my erroneous ramblings... :) Sometimes I forget the
> extra steps I take doing certain tasks are not obvious to most other
> people even when they watch me doing them. The sharp ones though, they catch
> those maneuvers(and my errors), and I keep them as my close friends.
>
> The cards up my sleeve are 4 tapered seat nuts with a really sharp leading
> edge that I put the wheel on with and center it up, and then run down the
> other 4 1973 GMC washer nuts (I have steel Ford wheels). Then I zip off
> the tapered ones and put the remaining 4 washer nuts on.
>
> You have to be someone that knows the feel of when a nut and bolt is done
> drawing items together and starting to stretch or starting to strip in order
> to be successful with all these old machines and materials, especially
> these coaches' mechanical items. The wheel studs on the spacers discussed
> will
> tighten past tight quite a bit, as the stud heads get pulled into the
> aluminum, and you better know when the aluminum has started to compress
> because
> the stud splines have fully seated. If you tighten farther you will ruin
> the spacer.
>
> Putting any spacers on such a large vehicle is not like slappin' 'em on
> your VW or Falcon station wagon back in high school or college! This
> operation
> must be done correctly or it will come loose over mileage. If you have any
> doubts of your abilities, get a shop to do whatever type of chassis work
> you need done. There is just too much mass involved on these things to
> have stuff go wrong because the person doing the chassis work did not check
> off
> every box in the task performed.
> --
> Terry Kelpien
> ASE Master Technician
> 73 Glacier 260
> Smithfield, Va.
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
--
Gene Fisher -- 74-23,77PB/ore/ca
“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today --- give him a URL and
-------
http://gmcmotorhome.info/
Alternator Protection Cable
http://gmcmotorhome.info/APC.html
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| Re: [GMCnet] Wheel Spacers... [message #296704 is a reply to message #296702] |
Fri, 04 March 2016 12:15 |
James Hupy
Messages: 6806
Registered: May 2010
Karma: -62
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Senior Member |
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When I first got my coach, the 16.5" wheels and tires were aged out and the
sidewalls of the tires were cracked. I have a friend with a tire shop, and
he found me about 20 16" steel wheels with the right bolt pattern and the 4
9/16" i.d. center hole. After spinning the wheels on his tire balancing
machine, we sorted out 7 good ones which I had sand blasted and powder
coated and new B.F. Goodrich T/A Load range E steel belted radial tires
mounted on them. When I went to mount the front wheels over my new large
front brake calipers and new rotors and new brake pads, I found out that
there were more clearance issues with the wheels. So, beings as how I had
already spent the money for the wheels, tires, powder coat, brakes, rotors,
etc., I had to figure out a way for all that stuff to play nicely together.
I bought a pair of 1/2" spacers and I tried your method of using the 4
tapered lugnuts to center up the steel wheels, then tightening up the other
4 flat ones, then replacing the tapered lugnuts. I tightened the lugnuts to
150 - 165 foot pounds, which is more than the studs are rated for. After
driving the coach for a few miles, I encountered a chuckhole that knocked
the wheels off center. That won't work. So, I removed the front hubs and
knuckles, removed the studs, bearings, rotors, and replaced the studs with
longer new studs. Then I machined a spacer that has an internal lip that
centers on the inside of the hub, and has a flange on the outside that
measures 4 9/16" minus .010" or so for wheel clearance. Put the whole deal
back together and ran it for long enough to age out the B.F. Goodrich
tires. IT IS MY ADVICE TO ANYONE FOOLHARDY ENOUGH TO WANT TO RUN 40 YEAR
OLD STEEL 16" WHEELS ON A GMC TO JUST WHIP OUT THE PLASTIC AND BUY A SET OF
AMERICAN EAGLE ALLOY WHEELS FROM APPLIED GMC. THEY WILL CLEAR THE CALIPERS,
AND THEY ARE HUB CENTRIC. AND THEY ARE CHEAPER IN THE LONG RUN THAN WHAT I
DID.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Or
78 GMC Royale 403
On Fri, Mar 4, 2016 at 9:36 AM, A. wrote:
> Bullitthead wrote on Thu, 03 March 2016 23:47
>> ...center my wheels on the hub...with 4 tapered seat nuts with a really
> sharp leading edge ...put the wheel on with and center it up, and then run
>> down the other 4 ... washer nuts... . Then ... zip off the tapered ones
> and put the remaining 4 washer nuts on. ...
> This would represent a process for using any steel wheel with enough
> offset and the correct bolt pattern on a GMC, regardless of oversized hub
> hole
> diameter.
>
> I like that someone that can't afford 6 or 7 alloy wheels in a given
> fiscal year can transition to 16" rims for about $30 per rim, and
> transition to
> alloys over time, if at all.
>
> 6 of mine have the correct hub hole, and one hub is oversized. When Kerry
> Pinkerton helped me put that one on, he had some scrap aluminum about the
> right thickness and we shimmed it with three small pieces to center it and
> tightened the nuts. I was planning to replace that rim, but now I think I
> might just buy some tapered nuts and keep it as a spare.
> --
> '73 23' Sequoia For Sale
> '73 23' CanyonLands Parts Unit For Sale
> Upper Alabama
> Why don't they sell spray paint that washes off with soap and water for
> graffiti vandals to use?
>
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| Re: [GMCnet] Wheel Spacers... [message #296707 is a reply to message #296704] |
Fri, 04 March 2016 12:37 |
A Hamilto
Messages: 4508
Registered: April 2011
Karma: 39
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Senior Member |
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James Hupy wrote on Fri, 04 March 2016 12:15When I first got my coach, the 16.5" wheels and tires were aged out and the sidewalls of the tires were cracked. I have a friend with a tire shop, and he found me about 20 16" steel wheels with the right bolt pattern and the 4 9/16" i.d. center hole. After spinning the wheels on his tire balancing machine, we sorted out 7 good ones which I had sand blasted and powder coated and new B.F. Goodrich T/A Load range E steel belted radial tires mounted on them. When I went to mount the front wheels over my new large front brake calipers and new rotors and new brake pads, I found out that there were more clearance issues with the wheels. So, beings as how I had already spent the money for the wheels, tires, powder coat, brakes, rotors, etc., I had to figure out a way for all that stuff to play nicely together. I bought a pair of 1/2" spacers and I tried your method of using the 4 tapered lugnuts to center up the steel wheels, then tightening up the other 4 flat ones, then replacing the tapered lugnuts. I tightened the lugnuts to 150 - 165 foot pounds, which is more than the studs are rated for. After driving the coach for a few miles, I encountered a chuckhole that knocked the wheels off center. That won't work. So, I removed the front hubs and knuckles, removed the studs, bearings, rotors, and replaced the studs with longer new studs. Then I machined a spacer that has an internal lip that centers on the inside of the hub, and has a flange on the outside that measures 4 9/16" minus .010" or so for wheel clearance. Put the whole deal back together and ran it for long enough to age out the B.F. Goodrich tires.
IT IS MY ADVICE TO ANYONE FOOLHARDY ENOUGH TO WANT TO RUN 40 YEAR OLD STEEL 16" WHEELS ON A GMC TO JUST WHIP OUT THE PLASTIC AND BUY A SET OF AMERICAN EAGLE ALLOY WHEELS FROM APPLIED GMC. THEY WILL CLEAR THE CALIPERS, AND THEY ARE HUB CENTRIC. AND THEY ARE CHEAPER IN THE LONG RUN THAN WHAT I
DID.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Or
78 GMC Royale 403 I never would have thought of that. You are saying there can be force on the alignment ridge while underway. And (the several tons of) clamping force is not enough to hold the rim in place when heavily impacted.
Good to know. If running rims with oversized hub holes, expect to have to recenter the wheel(s) after a pothole.
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| Re: [GMCnet] Wheel Spacers... [message #296736 is a reply to message #296707] |
Sat, 05 March 2016 09:43 |
Joe Weir
Messages: 769
Registered: February 2013
Location: Columbia, SC
Karma: 7
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Senior Member |
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I skipped the spacers and went with Eagles in a different offset. Same cautions about suspension geometry apply. They are lug centered.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/aew-0589-7788
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/aew-0589-7788
They are 1" wider, but with the offset, it doesn't matter. If you don't already have the fronts it's cheaper than the spacers and rims.
They are available from Alcoa if you don't mind almost twice the price.
https://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-5242-167041.aspx
https://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-5242-167041.aspx
76 Birchaven - "Wicked Mistress" - New engine, trans, alum radiator, brakes, Sully airbags, fuel lines, seats, adult beverage center... those Coachmen guys were really thinking about us second hand owners by including that beverage center...
Columbia, SC.
[Updated on: Sat, 05 March 2016 09:51] Report message to a moderator |
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