Originally posted by X-Quad:
Spacers can lead to catastrophic failures with snapped wheel studs. This is due to the fact that the spacers are made of Aluminum which soak heat very quickly and hold it. This will cause them to over time bend, stretch, and flex causing the studs to either fall out, snap, or twist. Effects range from massive rollover wrecks, lost wheels, to simply not being able to remove the wheels later. I would use caution.
A spacer made of billet aluminum, and machined (preferably CNC for accuracy) is most definitely not going to "warp" very easily. With proper studs installed, it will be VERY strong. I would stay away from a cast piece, but no one that I know of even makes a cast aluminum spacer larger than a few millimeters, probably because it's not nearly as strong. This is why all the ones sold at those websites are CNC billet aluminum with pressed studs.
I'm not sure what you mean by aluminum "soaking heat and holding it" but sorry, it sounds like you have no idea what you're talking about. As a metal is heated, it becomes more pliable - this was known ages ago, when blacksmiths heated iron in order to work it. Even when heated until it's glowing red, you still have to hit it pretty hard to deform it. Aluminum has different properties from iron, but the concept is the same. Casting is a process by which you can avoid having to work it this way, but it involves heating it to a LIQUID state, and that changes the properties of the metal significantly - and your final piece is going to be VERY affected by cooling rates and other factors. This is why cast pieces, while easier for making complicated pieces, are not as strong as those that are machined.
An aluminum disc on a wheel is NOT going to reach temperatures that will warp it easily, unless you go holding a torch on it for a long time. Even in engine blocks, as people have pointed out, aluminum is strong enough to retain its shape.
After doing my research, it seems that the horror stories from spacers (although rare) occur they use crappy studs that are not properly pressed in, and/or don't install the spacers with the proper lug nuts and torque. Thus, the spacer might fail not because it "bends" but because it was never put together correctly in the first place.
Spacers seem to be commonly used in Europe (in fact, in Germany some are approved by their equivalent of DOT) because it makes it easy to make an aftermarket wheel and fit it to many different vehicles. Even in the States people seem to use spacers on trucks quite a bit (do a search on the Tundra forums, for example). Some people don't like them, but plenty run them safely with no problems. You just have to make sure they are quality materials, quality studs, and most importantly, are PROPERLY INSTALLED WITH A TORQUE WRENCH.
Unless you have specific accounts and proof that aluminum spacers are going to warp under normal driving (highly doubtful), please don't go spreading around this type of misinformation.
Disclaimer: I know a little about metals because I'm an engineer, but this is not any type of formal advice, only my opinion on the subject.
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