buddha

Which backspacing.

I'm looking at the American Racing Thug wheel in 17x8.5" It comes in 2 different backspacing/offsets:

AX399178536 17x8.5 6 4.99 6x135
AX399178536A 17x8.5 15 5.34 6x135
Offset +6, BS 4.99
or
Offset +15, BS 5.34

I've got a 2.5" levelling kit, and I'm hoping to clear 370/70/17 BFG AT's (~35" tires) with as little rubbing as possible. I'm also don't want the wheel sticking out much past the stock position as it is now. I would like the wheels to be as underneath the truck as possible.

Which backspacing do I want?

Thanks!
Richard Bryan.

PawPaw

I'm guessing you mean 315x70x17 BFG's. I would go with the 5.34 BS. These will give you more room in the front. They will stick out only about 3/4 inches more than stock. I ran 315x70x17 BFG's for over 40k miles with no problems. Great tires, I had them on 17x8 wheel's with 5.5 inches of BS and had no rubbing.

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2004 Lariat 4x4 Screw, leveled with 295x70x17 Toyo MT's on American Racing wheels, Magnaflow exhaust SI/DO, Edge Evo, PE Jackrabbit cover, Delphi XM converter, K&N drop in filter, Bilstein shocks, Street Scenes speed grille..

PawPaw

This is how they looked.

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2004 Lariat 4x4 Screw, leveled with 295x70x17 Toyo MT's on American Racing wheels, Magnaflow exhaust SI/DO, Edge Evo, PE Jackrabbit cover, Delphi XM converter, K&N drop in filter, Bilstein shocks, Street Scenes speed grille..

Discount Tire

Yes, I second the +15mm offset. Great Pics PawPaw.

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buddha

Well shoot. I have looked everywhere for American Racing wheels close to this offset, but I can't find them anywhere. I stopped by 4 Wheel Parts today and they couldn't get them either (in any of the styles I wanted), so I broke down and ordered some Procomp 7005's in 17x9, with -6 offset and 4.75 backspacing. Have I totally messed up here?

The guy at 4WP assured me they would work fine and wouldn't stick out more than 1.5" from stock. I'm really sick over this. I don't mind if they stick out a little past the flairs, but I hate for them to look stupid, or affect handling, etc. I'm not so worried about rubbing as I can trim where needed.

I have searched for wheels with as close to a stock backspacing as possible for at least a month now with no luck. Thought the Thug was finally going to be attainable, but I guess not, so I just gave up....

PawPaw

The wheel's you describe will stick out 2 1/4" more than stock and may cause some rubbing on the front lower wheelwells. I had the same problem with wheels shown above. You will have to do some trimming on the lower wheelwell liner's but they will fit and you may still have some minor rubbing. Wheel's shown are 17x9 w/5" BS, I have them on my truck now with 295x70x17 Toyo MT's.

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2004 Lariat 4x4 Screw, leveled with 295x70x17 Toyo MT's on American Racing wheels, Magnaflow exhaust SI/DO, Edge Evo, PE Jackrabbit cover, Delphi XM converter, K&N drop in filter, Bilstein shocks, Street Scenes speed grille..

buddha

So, I can expect to stick out about like this?



It seems like I'm making too much of a big deal out of all of this. It's just frustrating trying to figure it all out. I really don't want to mount the wheels to find out they don't work at all. My tire guy claims it won't be a problem at all and if I just take a walk while he installs them, I'll never know how much he had to trim to make them work.

Paw Paw, I really appreciate your help on this!

PawPaw

Yep, they will stick out maybe 1/4" more then what I have on my truck now. After you get them mounted make some hard's turn's going up and down an incline especialy when backing up, this will almost guarantee rubbing! Then hope it can be corrected by trimming, the front is the problem area the rear has lot's of clearance. I ran mine for over 4k miles with minor rubbing untill I bought different wheel's that gave more front clearance and ran the 315's another 40k miles. I sold the tires last week to a fellow with a Hummer. They could probably go another 40k miles.

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2004 Lariat 4x4 Screw, leveled with 295x70x17 Toyo MT's on American Racing wheels, Magnaflow exhaust SI/DO, Edge Evo, PE Jackrabbit cover, Delphi XM converter, K&N drop in filter, Bilstein shocks, Street Scenes speed grille..

buddha

Well, I decided I'd try to cancel my order on the 7005's from 4 Wheel Parts (local store), that I just placed yesterday. They said since they were already en route to that store, I'd have to pay a 10% restocking fee. Which is pure BS, considering I haven't taken deliver of them yet, and their website lists a no-hassle return policy regardless.

Think I'll take the weekend to think about it, as they won't be in until Monday, and if I decide they just aren't working for me, or I just don't want to do any business with 4 Wheel Parts, I'll decide what my next course of action is.

What a nightmare this has all been.

Why is it so hard to find black wheels with the right offest?

PawPaw

Get on the American Racing website. They list all of their wheel's and show the width and backspace. Stock wheel's are 7 1/2 inches wide with 5 1/2 inches of backspace. This applies to Ford OEM 17 and 18 inch wheel's with the 6x135mm lug pattern. Try to find a wheel that you like that has close to stock specs. This will give you more turning room for 35" tires in the front without rubbing and will keep the tires inside the wheelwell's without sticking out too much.

__________________
2004 Lariat 4x4 Screw, leveled with 295x70x17 Toyo MT's on American Racing wheels, Magnaflow exhaust SI/DO, Edge Evo, PE Jackrabbit cover, Delphi XM converter, K&N drop in filter, Bilstein shocks, Street Scenes speed grille..