Backspace size

[Mustfish]

I just read the post about BassnRVer's new tires. I think they look great and went to the eagle rims website to have a look. 285 tires with 16x8 rims are what I want. The backspace for those rims is 3 5/8". Is that good enough for our trucks? I keep seeing 4.5" of backspace on most posts. I want a tire and wheel combination that will atleast be flush with the side of the truck. The 245's are like riding on bicycle tires.

Thanks
Jim

[mfontana]

Mustfish: The 3 5/8 inch backspace you refer to will make the 16 x 8 inch wheels stick way out of the wheel wells in the front and blast the side of your vehicle with road junk. In the rear they will stick out but because of the difference in the width of the front and rear, they won't stick out as much.

99% of my driving is on the highway. I dislike tire noise. Agressive tread patterns make noise. How much noise is relative to what it is being compared to. Noise comes from trapped air in an agressive tread pattern.
The GMC dealer I purchased my vehicle from, can only make speedodometer changes up to a 33 inch diameter tire. I have a long warrenty and I want to involve the dealer where possible. I would have considered a 17 inch rim but there are very, very few tall, highway tread pattern tires available in 17 inch.(No, they didn't install my Juice).

The tire I selected after reading many tire tests was the 285/75/16 Yokohama, Geolander HTS, Raised white outline, HIGHWAY- Non agressive, quiet tires. They are 33 inches in diameter, (The stock 245's are 29 inches. There capacity is 3200# at 60psi) (118.00 delivered each).

285's require at least an 8 inch wide rim. I purchased Mickey thompson Classic II wheels in 18/8/8.(3200# capacity) Backspace is the distance from the hub mounting flange of the wheel to the outer edge of the wheel. Lay a wheel front side down on the ground. Lay a yardstick across the top of the wheel. Use another yardstick, vertically from the mounting flange to the horizontal yard stick. Stock backspace is 4 3/4 inch. The measured distance on my truck in the front from the outer edge of the tread on one side to the outer edge of the tire on the other side is 78 inches, aproximately. The rear is 75 1/2 Stand about 20 feet behind your truck and it's easy to see the difference in width. The H2 wheels have a 5 1/2 inch backspace that improves the front but defeats the purpose in the rear. (They are sunk in 3/4 of an inch more than the stock wheels.)

I purchased two wheels with a 4 inch backspace for the rear, that moved my wheels to the outside 3/4 of an inch or in total 1 1/2 inches each more than the H2's. They look great.
For the front I purchased two wheels with a 5 1/8 inch backspace. This now makes the front and the rear overall width measurement within 1/4 inch. I realined the front end and compinsated for the "Return to center". I realize I cannot rotate front to back but I can rotate side to side. The wheels were 122.00 each from Summett.

PS. There was no rubbing, no cutting, no new keys required and NO adjustment to the bars that would have made the ride harsh.

I just received the product Zoop Seal. It is a ceramic coating that seals the pours of the aluminum. They say it will eliminate the need to clean and polish for two years. In the next week or so I will be installing it. There is another ceramic sealer that is one third the price that I have ordered. Same concept, just less expensive and complicated to use. I will post results.

[ 06-10-2003, 08:38 PM: Message edited by: mfontana ]

[BassinRVer]

Mfontana is correct with either of the twe combination it will stick out the same amount. The 4.5" backspacing with 16x10 is the same as 3-5/8" backspacing with 16x8. Mud puddles are dirtying up the side of my truck BUT I do not mind. As far as road noise my tires no not make alot of noise as a typical mud tire does. Interico designed this tire to reduce the typical road noise of a mud tire.