Trying to decide on wheel spacers width

[number9L]

Yep, the spacer fit nice and snug to the axle flange like it should and the wheel center fit over the lip on the spacer nice and snug like it should as well. All the holes lined up right and everything went together as it should.

I did use blue loctite on the bolts that bolt the spacer to the axle flange and torqued them to 120 #/ft. I didn't want to worry about them working loose cause you can't see them once the wheel is on and you wouldn't know it until it was too late likely.

I did not use loctite on the bolts that bolt the wheel to the spacers as the spacers are aluminum and I don't like loctite in aluminum. I torqued those to 120 #/ft as well.

The spacers came with all the hardware needed, which all worked out as it should. I chose to reuse 4 of the stock bolts instead of the black bolts that came with the spacers to keep it looking close to factory, they match the bolts on the front wheels.

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[MotorsportTech]

Yep, the spacer fit nice and snug to the axle flange like it should and the wheel center fit over the lip on the spacer nice and snug like it should as well. All the holes lined up right and everything went together as it should.

I did use blue loctite on the bolts that bolt the spacer to the axle flange and torqued them to 120 #/ft. I didn't want to worry about them working loose cause you can't see them once the wheel is on and you wouldn't know it until it was too late likely.

I did not use loctite on the bolts that bolt the wheel to the spacers as the spacers are aluminum and I don't like loctite in aluminum. I torqued those to 120 #/ft as well.

The spacers came with all the hardware needed, which all worked out as it should. I chose to reuse 4 of the stock bolts instead of the black bolts that came with the spacers to keep it looking close to factory, they match the bolts on the front wheels.

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Great to hear. We're building our database of tractor fitments and want to know if there is anything we can do to improve the fitment, as almost every tractor has a different bolt pattern, hub, center bore, etc.
Thank you for your feedback and I want to see how it works with the mower and other attachments.

 

[number9L]

Couple more pics of the tractor with the spacers.

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[number9L]

I mowed yesterday for the first time since putting the spacers on. I was able to make 3 passes along the hill by the pond. About 3/4 way up, the hill gets a little steeper and my pucker factor decided that was far enough. Could the tractor have done it with stock track width?, I don't know, maybe but not with my pucker factor. Heck, someone that is used to tractors may even mow the whole hill sideways and not even think twice about it. I'm not there yet, or my pucker meter *is* calibrated and I am right? I could feel the weight of the FM pulling on the tractor to the downhill side. I've been riding/racing dirtbikes and offroading literally my whole life, so I am pretty sure my pucker meter isn't far off from reality. I don't have any idea what the angle is, I need to measure and see just so I know.

It sure does make mowing go a lot faster than having to mow backing up and down the hill the whole way.

I wish the spacers were 6" wide each side, that would be great for mowing the slopes. But in reality 3" each side puts the rear tires at 66", which is the same as my FEL bucket and still under the FM at 72". Nice thing about that is when I have the FEL on, if the bucket fits between 2 trees I know the rest of the tractor is going to (minus the FM).

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[vtsnowedin]

If you have two trees closer then 72 inches they are crowding each other and the lesser of the two needs to take a trip to the wood pile.

 

[number9L]

If you have two trees closer then 72 inches they are crowding each other and the lesser of the two needs to take a trip to the wood pile.

I don't that I mow around or anything, but I've got 82ac of mostly woods so the possibility to encounter that condition is there. Mostly though, I was just using trees as an example - enter any two objects into that scenario.

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[MotorsportTech]

We've had a few guys say that they want to go a bit wider than 3" a side, and some have. The largest we've built for a customer so far is 5" and he said it was a world of difference on the hills.

 

[Rhino35]

Hello MotorsportTech,

Couple of questions. I am only interested in rear wheel spacers. You said "The way we build them it becomes an extension of the hub and centers the wheel to bare the load, so it won't effect the axle." A lot of posters on wheel spacers seem pretty sure widening the wheels (front or rear) will place additional strain on the axle, and in particular asymmetric strain on one side of the wheel bearings. Yet because my Kioti allows building the rims with varying widths there must be some design tolerance within a range. Could that design range extend out another 3-5 inches on either side? So if you can amplify why spacers shouldn't be a concern for axles or bearings that would be great. I'm thinking that you're saying any additional load from spacers would not be on the axle - because the weight of the tractor is supported at the same point on the axle where the chassis attaches - nothing has changed vertically - and the extra strain is borne by the spacer itself between the normal rim attach point to the axle and the wheel rim. Am I right about that? If so it begs the question - how much weight can your aluminum spacers take before they themselves might bend or fail resulting in the loss of the wheel and tire from the tractor? Can they take a sudden load - a banging down of the weight of the tractor?

Also, as someone pointed out, if wheel bearings normally last several decades, and if spacers did contribute to early wear and the need to replace them a few years earlier than otherwise, if you prorate that cost out over a couple of decades the cost is small compared to the risk of rolling your tractor.

Lastly, I don't have a trailer to take my tractor to the dealership for maintenance. Is there a danger of widening the rear tires to the point where it becomes a problem loading or transporting a tractor on a trailer?

Thanks!

Rhino

 

[MotorsportTech]

Hey Rhino,
That's a lot of questions to sort through that I don't know much about, but the owner does. If you want a good detailed explanation to answer a lot of those quesstions the owner Lenny said he'd love to talk it over with you on the phone, would be a bit easier than splitting hairs on the forum for a few weeks . The shop number is 775 351 1000, or you can PM me yours and he'll give you a call.

The things I can answer:
As far as durability of our products: We've built stuff for armored military combat vehicles, NASCAR, NHRA drag cars, monster trucks, almost every major car manufacturer and thousands of other vehicles for our customers. We've been doing this for nearly 20 years and we've never had a part fail. We've had studs break (usually user error or the very rare bad stud) but never an adapter or spacer.

We just had New Holland Corporate buy 20 spacers earlier today.

The spacers bolt on and center on the tractor hub which they are machined to fit perfectly and the spacer becomes an extension of the hub. They're made of solid aluminum. The axle is not stressed by this at all. We've never had a customer call and tell us their axle snapped because of using our spacers.
Some of our competitors weld spacers. I'll put two pictures side by side, what would you rather bolt to your tractor?

Our stuff is solid and safe, made to exact tolerances in the USA on US built HAAS CNC machines and Alcoa aluminum. We strive to build the best products on the market and we believe we are the best.

As I stated above, call Lenny at the shop and he'll talk you through any questions or concerns you may have.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Spacers will increase the levrage the wheel has on the hub no matter how you look at it. Just like a longer prybar pulls a nail easier spacers will add to the wear and tear on wheel bearings due to the increase in width. How much it will actully change things is a whole different question and unless you are a mechanical engineer (I'm not) the answer is speculation. I just bought a John Deere 3005 and it's wheels are less than 60" wide. Wheel berring wear and tear or not I'm building spacers to gain 4.5" each side. Mine will fit between the wheel center dish and the outer rim. Depending on how they make the sidehill factor feel I may also add hub spacers like the ones talked about in this thread.