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Ah, the mighty Hummer. It was once the most popular vehicle on the roads – it’s wide, it’s muscular, it’s macho. It is also amazing when you take it off-road, better than probably any other truck from its era, but on the other hand, it was not the best solution for congested cities. The H3 was the smaller one, made exactly for that usage scenario, but it was still big and ungainly.
What we certainly know is that it was the choice of (a particular kind) car enthusiasts. Men simply loved the appearance and ability of this macho truck. Despite that, most of its owners are ready to take that manliness even further, like with the installation of wheel spacers. Sure, the Hummer H3 does look impressive even without them, but wider stance will certainly not hurt anybody.
Why do you need a wheel spacer?
Owners of the Hummer H3 mostly use wheel spacers to give the vehicle a wider stance. In other words, wheel spacers push the wheels outwards, giving the H3 even more masculine look than before, and perhaps more importantly, the wheels will be flush with the rest of the body.
You should almost always use wheel spacers with bigger aftermarket wheels because if you don’t, the tires may rub the inside of the wheel well or some suspension components. Another usage scenario is when you want to put bigger brakes on your H3 – the stock wheels have a very small clearance and installing bigger brakes is almost impossible without the use of wheel spacers.
Besides giving your H3 better looks and the ability to install bigger brakes and rims, pushing the wheels outward can have a positive effect on the handling and stability of the vehicle. You should experience better agility in the corners and better stability at higher speeds.
Wheel spacers can also be used together with a leveling kit in case you want to make your H3 an even better off-roader.
What to look out for when buying wheel spacers for the Hummer H3?
You already have a pretty expensive vehicle and buying cheap wheel spacers should really not be an option. We recommend buying only high-quality products from reputable manufacturers. Remember, wheel spacers are a very simple product, but one of the vital parts of the suspension of the vehicle.
Then, we strongly recommend installing hubcentric wheel spacers. These fit the hub with a much greater precision and are better in every way. For example, normal wheel spacers put the whole weight of the vehicle on the bolts (the Hummer is pretty heavy), while hubcentric wheel spacers carry the same weight. Because of that, after a while, normal wheel spacers can have a negative effect on the stability of the vehicle, like vibrations for example.
You should also determine how thick should the wheel spacers be. In the case of the Hummer H3, you have a much bigger room for error, but we still recommend against putting very thick wheel spacers.
How to install wheel spacers on the Hummer H3?
Installing wheel spacers is very straightforward, but we are still talking about a Hummer here. Always use heavy-duty jacks and jack stands when working on this vehicle, and have the tools needed to remove the wheels nearby. Then, just follow these simple steps:
- Unscrew slightly the lug nuts of the wheel while the vehicle is on the floor. Use the parking brake so the vehicle doesn’t move
- Jack up the end of the vehicle on which you’ve loosened the nuts
- Unscrew the nuts completely and remove the wheels
- Place the spacer directly onto the hub and make sure it is flush
- Tighten using the supplied nuts. Be careful so that the spacer mounting bolts don’t protrude above the surface of the rim
- Put the wheels back on and fasten the lug nuts
- After driving around 100 miles, retighten the lug nuts on the wheel
Appearance: Pushing the Hummer H3 wheels out to increase the stance and more exciting view.
Clearance: Various factory Hummer H3 wheels are missing enough of room to be in agreement with big brake kits.
Correction: The offset of the Hummer H3 wheel setup appears to be too high, leading to the wheels positioned too far inward. This can provoke the tire to scrub on the inside Hummer H3 wheel well, or other components. Wheel spacers fixes the offset challenge.
Handling: by arranging your Hummer H3 wheels farther apart, this light deviation can reinforce the Hummer H3 vehicle with more lateral firmness and improved cornering.
