Can I Put Off-Road Wheel Spacers On 2023 Land Rover Defender 130-xu (1)

Can wheel spacers cause vibration? What are hub-centric rings? What are hub-centric rims? The most important concern for consumers is driving safety. We often see in the forum that some consumers who have bought wheel spacers find that the vehicle shakes during high-speed driving, which is very dangerous. The question that arises is whether wheel spacers can cause shaking? Is it safe?

The first thing we need to know is that wheel spacers do not vibrate on their own, they are designed to increase the track of the vehicle to improve the stability of the car when cornering, to provide more space to fit larger rims, or to upgrade to larger performance brake kits, and to give the appearance of a flush wheel to the fender for a fuller look. Wheel spacers were first seen at motorsport events and in recent years they have become more popular in residential cars, where many problems have arisen for non-professional reasons.

Can 2022 BMW 7 Wheel Spacers Cause Vibration-xu (2)

What is Hub-centric?

Most car manufacturers and aftermarket rim manufacturers nowadays have adopted the hub-centric design, as the support and centering of the rim allow for a better response to the impact of the road during vehicle implementation, especially over rough terrain. However, lug-centric rims were also retained for sale because of their wider range of fitment, but also because of the negative effect of using lug bolts or lug nuts in the fixing process, where these parts act as load-bearing and resist the impact loads of the road. Lug bolts and lug nuts no longer remain concentric with the hub, the clamping pressure on the rim is reduced and the rim shakes or even falls off during high-speed driving due to the gap.

As we can see on the rim mounting surface of the 2022 BMW 7 Series, the hub centric is designed to match the protruding part of the car’s hub, a feature of the hub-centric rim and the origin of the hub centric, which first came from the rim, not the wheel spacers. The hub-centric of wheel spacers was modeled on the rim hub-centric, adding backspacing while keeping the rim and hub concentric with the hub centric to eliminate the vibration caused by the non-hub-centric wheel spacers.

Can 2022 BMW 7 Wheel Spacers Cause Vibration-xu (3)

Can 2022 BMW 7 Wheel Spacers Cause Vibration-xu (1)

What Are the Causes of Vibration After Installing Wheel Spacers?

Firstly, the use of non-hub-centric wheel spacers (i.e. lug-centric wheel spacers) will cause vibration, as the lack of support from the rim and the change in the force area will cause wear under high load, and also wear due to road shock on rough roads. Secondly, the wheel spacers are not fixed in such a way that they overlap with the mounting surface, creating a gap between the wheel spacers and the hub, which amplifies the effect of the gap on driving stability during driving; finally, the possible cause of vibration is that the wheel spacers are not fitted with sufficiently extended wheel bolts, and the hub on the inside of the rim centric did not overlap with the hub centric of the wheel spacers, and the rim and hub, did not maintain a concentric position.

Can 2022 BMW 7 Wheel Spacers Cause Vibration-xu (4)(1)

BONOSS Hub-centric Wheel Spacers

BONOSS wheel spacers are designed with a corresponding hub-centric design, which largely eliminates the possibility of vibration at high speeds when wheel spacers are installed. The 6061-T6 and 7075-T6 high-strength aluminum alloys used are able to cope with high road loads and resist impacts from the road. Forged AL6061-T6 with Tensile Strength ≥310 MPa and Forged AL7075-T6 with Tensile Strength ≥ 572 MPa, are ideal manufacturing materials for greater safety. And in some models, the hub centric is designed to fit the vehicle perfectly, such as the Porsche model.

Can 2022 BMW 7 Wheel Spacers Cause Vibration-xu (5)