ATV wheel spacers are a popular upgrade among quad riders, whether they're exploring tight mountain trails, tackling thick mud, or outfitting their machine with wide tires. By pushing the wheels outward, spacers widen your track, sharpen handling, and buy clearance for larger tires or tire chains. The same modification also loads your wheel bearings harder and changes how the machine steers.
We machine these parts ourselves in Victoriaville, Quebec, and we fit them to our own machines before they reach your trail. This guide covers what wheel spacers do, the real pros and cons, and how to match a set to your bolt pattern and riding style. It applies to ATVs and to side-by-sides.
What UTV and ATV Wheel Spacers Actually Do
Wheel spacers are machined discs that sit between the wheel hub and the rim, pushing each wheel outward and increasing the track width of your machine. PERFEX machines its spacers from 6061-T6 aluminum, the same billet aluminum grade used in aerospace brackets, because the part carries the full cornering load of the wheel. A one-inch spacer per side adds two inches of total width.
UTV wheel spacers work on exactly the same principle as ATV spacers. Side-by-sides simply run heavier and wider from the factory, so a Can-Am Defender or a Polaris Ranger reaches its practical width limit sooner than a quad does. The physics is identical. The margin is smaller.
Three parts get confused with each other. A wheel spacer keeps your existing bolt pattern and only moves the wheel outboard. Wheel adapters change the bolt pattern as well, which is what you need when the rims you want do not match your machine. Spacer studs are extended studs that push the wheel out without a solid disc behind it; they cost less and carry less. PERFEX builds solid spacers because a disc spreads load across the whole hub face.
Our aluminum wheel spacers ship in pairs with the correct lug nuts for each application, and every set is a direct bolt-on fit. The same catalogue covers side by side wheel spacers for machines that never see a quad trail.
Hub-Centric vs Lug-Centric: Which Your Machine Needs
A hub-centric spacer centers on the machine's hub bore, using a machined collar that mimics the factory hub. A lug-centric spacer centers on the studs instead. Cars almost always want hub-centric. ATVs and UTVs are a different case.
Most powersports hubs do not present a tall centering lip for a spacer to grip, which is why PERFEX builds lug-centric spacers for ATV and UTV applications. Torqued correctly in a star pattern, a lug-centric spacer clamps flat against the hub face and the wheel rides on that clamping force. The trade-off is that lug-centric spacers reward a torque check more than hub-centric ones do, because nothing but clamp load holds the center.
Watch for vibration through the bars after an install. That is almost always a seating or torque issue, not a defective part.
The Pros: Stability, Stance, and Tire Clearance
Wheel spacers earn their place on a machine for reasons that have nothing to do with looks, though the wider stance does look good. A wider track lowers the tipping threshold on off-camber ground, opens room around the inner fender, and solves clearance problems that otherwise require new rims.
Better Clearance for Tire Chains
The vast majority of ATVs do not have tire chains installed, so if you want to run them, you are fitting them yourself. The usual problem is the chain clashing with other parts of the machine: brake lines, the exhaust muffler, the inner fender. Spacers of roughly 1 to 2 inches resolve that interference on most machines.
The honest way to size this is to fit the chains over your stock wheels first and measure the gap you are short. Buy to that number, not above it.
Better Stability, Wider Stance, and Room for Bigger Tires
A wider track makes the machine steadier on rough, unpredictable ground. Riding slopes is where this shows up most. If you lose momentum climbing or catch an obstacle at speed, a narrow quad tips; the extra track width raises the angle at which that happens and reduces the odds of a rollover turning into real damage. Riders also notice the machine feels planted rather than tippy on side-hills.
Ground clearance and track width solve different problems, and riders mix them up. A lift kit raises the chassis; a spacer widens the footprint. Off-road stability needs both working together.
The second practical win is tire fitment. Oversized tires rub the inner fender and the suspension arms long before they run out of vertical room, and a spacer moves the whole wheel outboard to stop that rubbing. Riders pairing spacers with ATV suspension lift kits get vertical and lateral clearance together, which is what a serious mud or snow tire actually needs. Correct tire pressure matters just as much once the tires are on.
Three things a wider stance buys you:
- Lower rollover risk on side-hills and off-camber trail
- Room for bigger tires without inner fender contact
- Clearance for tire chains, winch fairleads, and wider wheel offsets
Find Your Machine's Spacer Size on the PERFEX Sizing Chart
Every PERFEX spacer is listed by make, model, and bolt pattern. Check your machine against the chart before you order, and the fitment question answers itself.
The Cons: Strain, Steering, and Extra Width
Spacers move the wheel's centerline away from the hub. That distance acts as a lever arm, and every drawback below comes from it, which is why the fix for all of them is the same: buy the thinnest spacer that solves your problem.
Increased Strain on Wheel Bearings, Ball Joints, and Axles
Pushing the wheel outboard increases the load on the wheel bearings, ball joints, CV joints, and axles. The further out the wheel sits, the longer the arm acting on those parts, and the faster they wear. This is real, and it is also proportional: a 1-inch spacer is not a 3-inch spacer.
Do not space the wheels further than the job requires. If you need an inch of clearance, buy an inch.
Harder Steering, Bump Steer, and Changed Steering Geometry
Moving the wheel outboard changes the scrub radius, the offset between the steering axis and the wheel's centerline. The steering system now works through a longer lever, so steering effort rises and the bars transmit more of what the front tires hit. Riders call that bump steer, or bar whip.
Power steering absorbs much of this. On a machine without it, you will feel the difference immediately, and on rocky trail you will feel it all day. Spacing only the rear wheels is a legitimate compromise: you gain most of the stability and leave the front steering geometry alone.
If the machine tracks oddly afterward, align your ATV's front wheels before blaming the spacers.
Too Wide for Tight Trails, Trailers, and Truck Beds
A wider machine does not fit everywhere the narrow one did. Trails hemmed in by trees, rutted single-track, and marked-width ATV routes all have limits, and some riding areas in the USA post a maximum width you must respect.
Measure your trailer and your truck bed before you order. A machine that no longer loads is a bigger problem than a machine that corners slightly less flat.
How to Choose Your Bolt Pattern and Spacer Thickness
Fitment comes down to four numbers: bolt pattern, spacer thickness, hub diameter, and thread pitch. Get the first one wrong and nothing bolts up. Get the others wrong and the parts fit but behave badly.
Find Your Bolt Pattern: 4x110, 4x137, and 4x156
A bolt pattern describes the number of studs and the diameter of the circle they sit on. Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki quads commonly run 4x110. Can-Am machines run 4x136. Polaris Ranger and RZR models run 4x137 or 4x156 depending on year and trim, and Arctic Cat uses 4x115 on much of its range. Thread pitch follows the same logic: M10x1.25 covers a large share of ATV applications, while heavier side-by-sides move to M12x1.5.
The numbers that decide your order:
- Bolt pattern, for example 4x110 or 4x156, taken from your machine, not your wheels
- Spacer thickness, chosen as the thinnest that clears your tire
- Hub diameter, so the spacer seats flat on the hub face
- Thread pitch and stud size, which must match your existing studs
Our spacer sizing chart lists every pattern against every machine we build for, and the installation guide carries the torque figures.
How to Know If Spacers Are Right for Your Machine
Start with terrain. Steep, technical, off-camber riding rewards track width, and tight wooded single-track punishes it. Then look at your tire plans: moving to a larger or more aggressive tire is the most common legitimate reason to add ATV spacers, because it stops tire rub without buying new rims.
Your suspension absorbs the rest. Shock springs, control arms, and steering geometry all take the added width, and tired bushings get worse rather than better. A machine without power steering plus front spacers is simply a heavier machine to turn. If a lift kit is also on the list, read what to know about lifting your ATV or UTV before stacking modifications.
The thinnest spacer that solves your clearance problem is always the right spacer.
Shop Aluminum Wheel Spacers for Your Make and Model
Sold in pairs, machined in Quebec, backed by a lifetime structural warranty. Free shipping on US orders over $200, with customs duties and tariffs covered.
Are Lug-Centric Spacers Safe to Install?
Lug-centric spacers are safe when the bolt pattern matches, the hub face is clean, and the nuts are torqued to spec. PERFEX spacers are a direct bolt-on part that requires no machine modification and no removal of your factory studs. Problems come from three places: wrong thread size, a spacer thicker than the job needs, and skipped torque checks.
Cheap spacers fail in a fourth way. Cast or low-grade aluminum lacks the tensile strength of forged 6061-T6 billet, and that difference only announces itself under load.
Torque Specs, Threadlocker, and Re-Torque After 50 Miles
Installing wheel spacers takes a floor jack, a set of jack stands, a torque wrench, and twenty minutes per corner. Lift the machine, support it on the stands, and pull the wheel.
Clean the hub face and the factory wheel studs before anything else. Apply blue threadlocker to the factory studs, seat the spacer flat, and tighten the nuts in a star pattern with a torque wrench, never an impact gun.
M10 studs take roughly 45 to 55 ft-lbs and M12 studs roughly 70 to 80 ft-lbs, but your machine's manual holds the torque spec that governs. Mount the wheel to the spacer's studs and torque those lug nuts the same way.
Then do the part most riders skip. Re-torque every nut after the first 50 miles of riding, and check them at each tire rotation afterward. Spacers that come loose almost always come loose early.
Our lifetime structural warranty covers the spacer itself for as long as you own it.
Are ATV Spacers Worth It?
For most riders, yes. The best wheel spacers are the ones sized to an actual clearance problem, and wheel spacers on atv builds pay off fastest when a tire upgrade is already planned.
The stability gain on rough ground is real, and the tire clearance solves a problem that otherwise costs a set of rims. The drawbacks scale with thickness, which means you control them at the point of purchase. Buy a modest spacer, torque it properly, check it, and the cons mostly stay theoretical.
The riders who should skip spacers are the ones who ride narrow wooded trail, have no power steering, and have no tire upgrade planned. For them the geometry costs more than the stability returns.
Spacers for Polaris, Can-Am, Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki
PERFEX builds wheel spacers for every major powersports brand sold in North America. Polaris wheel spacers cover the Polaris Ranger, the Polaris RZR, and the Polaris Sportsman. Can-Am wheel spacers fit the Can-Am Defender, the Outlander, and the Maverick X3. Honda wheel spacers suit the Honda Rancher, the Foreman, and the Pioneer, and Yamaha wheel spacers fit the Yamaha Grizzly and the Kodiak. Suzuki, CFMoto, Segway, and Kawasaki machines are covered too.
Every set is machined on our own CNC equipment and tested through four Canadian winters before it goes on sale. We are a small shop, and the person who designed your spacers answers the phone.
Questions about fitment get answered by the people who machined the part.
Talk to the People Who Machine Your Wheel Spacers
Tell us your make, model, and year, and we will tell you exactly which spacers fit. No guessing, no returns over a wrong bolt pattern.
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