Almost lost a wheel

valiantpatrol said

I read the info banzaibullit submitted from Maximum Motorsports. It does seel to describe spacers which use the same lug studs as the wheel. My adapters bolt to the existing drum/axle and have five additional lugs that the wheel bolts to. My question is if an adapter has the same lug pattern for both the mounting holes and the lug studs is it classified as an adapter or a fancy spacer ?
Agreed with Maximum Motorsports statements regarding proper torqueing.

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I mean if the bolt pattern doesn't change it's not adapting anything right?

That's how these things get confused. But if you look at the breakdown in the Maximum Motorsports article, it really doesn't make a difference (there is one extra consideration). If you have an adaptor or a spacer, if the lug nuts are properly torqued and maintained at that torque then there really isn't much difference.

If you apply the physics that the MM article covers, there is only one thing that changes between a plain old spacer and an adapter with its own studs. The material of the adapter has to be strong enough to support the studs it carries (just like the hub), because you're bolting the adapter to the hub and the wheel to the adapter. Once everything is tight, well, all the same principles apply.

The only reason it's worth mentioning at all is because of those crappy, cast adaptors that used to be out there for the 5x4 to 5x4.5" switch. They were only like 3/4" thick, and cast out of cheap metal. Lots of pictures of those that are cracked, and that's because the base material of the adaptor isn't strong enough to carry those studs long term. If you use a quality billet adaptor it's not an issue at all.