Do Wheel Spacers Void Warranty? [ Here’s The Truth ]

If you are an automobile owner having a fascination with modifying your car with aftermarket accessories, you can often run into conflicting views.

For instance, you might want to install wheel spacers, but others might tell you that it might void your warranty. Some car owners believe these accessories to be extremely beneficial, while others recommend against getting them for your car.

To bail you out of the dilemma, we have discussed whether installing wheel spacers can void your warranty, and how you can benefit from them.

Do wheel spacers void warranty?

Installing wheel spacers can affect the warranty of your vehicle. In some cases, the manufacturer would consider it to be an aftermarket modification, and therefore, void the warranty.

However, in most situations, this rule governs accessories that are only susceptible to accelerated wear due to the deployment of these parts.

For instance, a manufacturer or dealership wouldn’t warranty a defective unit bearing in case you have wheel spacers installed in your car. Again, the warranty would be valid if it concerns a part not related to the usage of the wheel spacer, such as the engine.

It appears that the dealer’s discretion largely determines the degree to which you would end up compromising the car’s warranty due to the installation of the wheel spacer.

Do wheel spacers affect anything?

To understand whether or not wheel spacers affect anything, it makes sense to know what these accessories do to your vehicle.

The purpose of these accessories is to widen the stance of a vehicle. On installing wheel spacers, you get an additional space between the mounting flange of each wheel and the inner face. There is an outward displacement of each wheel and the distance is the same as the thickness of the wheel spacer that you used.

You can purchase wheel spacers in different diameters, thicknesses, and bolt patterns.

So, you can customize wheel spacers depending on your vehicle’s needs. Sometimes, you need to get aftermarket lug nuts or wheel studs to engage the thread properly.

When you use a wheel spacer, the car can benefit from better traction and grip. Apart from a better aesthetic value, these accessories ensure proper wheel fitment.

Do wheel spacers hurt ride quality?

No, installing wheel spacers in your car wouldn’t hurt the quality of your rides.

With wheel spacers installed in your car, you can benefit from better ride qualities. You would appreciate the comfortable and smoother rides when you have more wheel spacers.

When you have more track width, the car would deliver enhanced performance on the road. With a wider track, the wheels would have a better grip in every application. So, when you corner your car, it would give you a better experience.

Installing wheel spacers is feasible and safe, which explains why most people decide to go for them. The passengers get more comfort, and the tires get more space between them to make room for more components.

However, you also have other means to leverage your ride quality, such as integrating a wide body kit, getting better shock absorbers, and replacing the tires.

Besides boosting the ride quality, wheel spacers ensure that you can install other suspension parts safely. You can start by changing the struts and shock absorbers.

These components of the suspension are responsible for absorbing the bumps to deliver a smoother ride. Car manufacturers calculatedly integrated the springs, tires, wheels, and OEM shock absorbers. When you get the shock absorbers replaced, it might lead to tire rubbing.

Wheel spacers would be the fastest solution to mitigate issues like tire rubbing. When you distance the wheels further out, there would be more space between the wheels and the hub assembly. So, this serves as an effective way to prevent the tires from coming in contact with shock absorbers.

What are the pros of wheel spacers?

Installing wheel spacers in your car can significantly enhance the drive quality.

1. Better traction and grip

With a wider wheelbase, you would benefit from more traction and grip. With wheel spacers, you would have the opportunity to increase the stock car’s wheelbase to ensure better performance. This explains why racing cars often have wheel spacers.

2. Good fitment of the wheels

Well, an increasing number of car owners are vouching for aftermarket accessories each day. The integration of wheel spacers can deliver good fitment of the wheels. Particularly, these accessories can be significantly helpful in cars and off-roading vehicles.

3. Better aesthetic value

For many car owners, the priority to enhance the aesthetic value of their vehicles is high. So, they readily love widening the stock wheelbase to make the vehicle visually enticing. Also, integrating a wheel spacer can make the car look outwardly aggressive.

What are the cons of wheel spacers?

Although installing wheel spacers comes with some perks, you cannot possibly overlook the downsides. Many motorists and car owners avoid installing wheel spacers due to these reasons.

1. Vibrations in the wheel

The manufacturers generally engineer each model in a specific way to ensure better drivability and ride quality. The front-end geometry in the cars would be optimal for each model. So, when you modify these dimensions and angles by installing wheel spacers, you should expect additional vibration in the wheels.

2. Faster component wear

The reputed car brands design the wheel-end components to ensure optimal service. Regardless of the stick application where you use them, the service would be good. However, when you widen the wheelbase of a car, it exerts more operational pressure on these parts. Naturally, the hubs, axles, and bearings wear out faster.

3. Fender interference

You might find a viable solution for frame interference and suspension issues with wheel spacers. When there is an increased wheel offset, and you widen the wheelbase of your car, there would be a reduction in the clearance between the wheel-to-fender that the manufacturer engineered. Therefore, it might result in fender damage or a tire rub.

Conclusion

Generally, using wheel spacers turn out to be safe since the wheel studs do not sustain the weight of your car. The weight of a vehicle is not cast directly on any particular wheel spacer that you might install. The aftermarket accessories work as an extension of the stick hub faces of the vehicle.

In case you decide to go for a wheel spacer, get one from a branded manufacturer. These manufacturers use billet aluminum to make these accessories, which makes them sturdy and durable.

Moreover, enough wheel studs should get adequate exposure through the spacer or any face you are using. This would ensure proper alignment of the threads.