Wheel size Question / alignment/ rear axle

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riverjunkie243
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Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 6:21 pm

Wheel size Question / alignment/ rear axle

Postby riverjunkie243 » Tue May 09, 2017 6:36 pm

I have a 2005 pathfinder SE 4x4. I believe the stock wheels are a 16x7. At one time i was wanting my wheels to stick out further so i added 2 inch wheel spacers. My alignment ended up being out of wack and the tops of the rear tires was leaning inwards which caused the tires to wear out pretty quick. At the shop i was told to get rid of the spacers. I was told the rearend had a 2 piece axle and that it couldnt handle the spacers. That it was just 2 much pressure on it. So i let them take them off. I asked if there was a difference in the 2 inch spacers and me putting on a 16x9 wheel and was told that would be to much for the axle as well and would have alignment issues again. I have never heard of this. I have had several vehicles in my life and always stuck wider wheels on them. Anyone else heard this and have some advice? Im looking at some 16x8s on ebay i really like that have a -5 offset and 4.3 backspacing which i dont really know much about. I already have a bigger all terrain tire on my pathfinder just would like them to stick out past the fender a little. Nothing crazy. All replies appreciated. Thanks.


riverjunkie243
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Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 6:21 pm

Postby riverjunkie243 » Tue May 09, 2017 6:48 pm

Btw here is a picture back when i had the spacers on...

Image

riverjunkie243
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Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 6:21 pm

Postby riverjunkie243 » Tue May 09, 2017 6:50 pm

Image

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chippa
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2016 1:01 am
Location: Tasmania

Postby chippa » Wed May 10, 2017 3:32 am

prob needs this moving to r51 brakes, tires and wheels.. i don't see how spacers or wheels can affect your alignment. spacers arent ment to be a good idea but plenty of ppl run them with no issues. I will be running spacers when i do a titan swap on the front of mine.. i have 20x9s on mine with 33s, i have camber issues but thats caused by lift not wheels and tyres

riverjunkie243
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Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 6:21 pm

Postby riverjunkie243 » Wed May 10, 2017 6:17 am

That was the problem it caused a negative camber. And they had to get a new kit and align it. In the pictures above you can kinda see the camber issue with the tops of the rear wheels leaning inward. It was actually pretty bad. Only maybe 70 % of the bottom of the tire was making contact with the ground. And they said the spacers or wider wheels would cause it again. They said if i am lucky i MAY could use a half inch spacer and be ok. He blamed it all on the axle being 2 piece.

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chippa
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2016 1:01 am
Location: Tasmania

Postby chippa » Wed May 10, 2017 5:49 pm

sounds to me like hes full of shit. spacers in my understanding should have no affect. Ur alignment is aligning the hub to the angle it needs to be, spacer is bolted to hub which is still the same alignment

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Touchdown
Posts: 358
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2012 2:45 pm
Location: Dallas Area

Postby Touchdown » Wed May 10, 2017 6:34 pm

You need to install the eccentric bolts for your suspension!

Recently discussed here:
http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic. ... highlight=

I run 1.25" spacers with 35" tires, no problems! :twisted:

XVTer
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Joined: Tue Jul 09, 2013 9:24 am
Location: VT

Postby XVTer » Wed May 10, 2017 6:36 pm

Spacers will cause premature bearing and bushing failure (due to the longer 'moment arm' causing additional stress) but if you rig is aligned without the spacers, it'll still be aligned with them.

I've had alignment issues on both our pathfinders. On our 2010 we get around 20-25k out of a set of tires, and have the benefit of replacing control arm bolts every few years due to rust, luckily has been covered under the 100k warranty

JLars
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Joined: Mon May 29, 2017 7:28 am

Postby JLars » Tue May 30, 2017 4:35 pm

I had offset wheels (16x8.5x+15mm w 265/65r16s) and not spacers, about .5" less poke than you, and my theory is that the r51 likes to be close to factory "scrub radius". My alignment was good, even wear and straight as an arrow, but I had a pretty harsh ride, most notably hard chop in the back end at low speeds and premature bearing wear. There are some online calculators to compare stock to new, and I'd try to pick a wheel/tire combo that keeps you within .5" scrub for the best ride and suspension wear. BUT I did like the look and the ride was good enough for me to keep the combo for about 150k miles!

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ALO604
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Re: Wheel size Question / alignment/ rear axle

Postby ALO604 » Fri Sep 11, 2020 11:33 am

There is no issue with moving the wheels out board as long as there is adequate clearance to the fenders and turning radius.
A slight negative offset on a wheel moves the tire out a bit. I up-sized to a wider and taller tire rim/tire combo. It looks great and drives fine.
All the alignment specs are within boundaries.


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