I'm having a hard time deciding which wheels to get for my G500. I plan on putting 35" on them and want to keep the weight of the wheel and tire to a minimum. I was looking at the Hutchinson beadlocks but they are 45lb vs the 16" MB Atic or Ashtaroth at around 30lb. I can also get the MB wheels for cheaper than the Hutchinsons. This is my daily driver. I'm new to offroad but I have taken the G to some difficult trails and ti hasn't got stuck running 25 psi air on the tires so I'm not sure if I really need beadlocks or if I'm ever going to need to air down to 5 or 10 PSI to justify them. Another option are the 17" wheels made by Viking Offroad but these are not DOT approved And even more expensive. Does anyone know why they are not DOT approved? Is it just because of the expense for getting the approval? At 17" the size gives the best tire selection and they have a special Lip to help keep the bead in place.
what new wheels to get?
- Thread starter ILIAN
- Start date
otiswesty
Regular guy
A 33' tire should be enough for you. The 35" tire is "better" but unless your uses are pretty extreme, I would say going to that larger size is unneccesary. Over 33" also starts to make your truck look more monster truck like IMO, some dudes on the road may love it, but the utility value is not much greater. That said, I ran a 33" tire on 18's for a few years and was very happy with them. I went with the 16" rims as a matter of principal and from reading here and there. I have not really found there to be a advantage in a 33" tire on 16's compared to what I was running before. However, I am happy with my 16" tire and wheel set up.
The MBUSA 18" wheel has a 43mm offset. Going to the MB 16" Ashtaroth or Atic wheel will give you the standard 63mm offset and move your whole set up further into the wheel well, potentially limiting your tire choices unless you decide to run a spacer. I have the 16" Ashtaroth wheel with 285/75/16 BFG tires and a 30mm spacer per side in the front. The Ashtaroth is supposedly a stronger wheel than the Atic, but the Atics are commonly used and I have not heard of a failure in the G community here. The Atic rim is also more reasonably priced by MB and can be found in good used condition on occasion. For a 16" tire with no spacer, I would be most inclined to use a 255/85/16 tire. It is 33" and should be enough for most peoples needs. For the original 18" 43mm offset rim, a 275/70/18 is the largest that can be used without any rubbing on the steering arm. I can't think of a reason to get a 17" rim unless you already have some expensive tires that are in that size or you want bigger brakes.
A 35" tire may require trimming of the metal fender inside the flare to prevent rubbing at full compression.
The MBUSA 18" wheel has a 43mm offset. Going to the MB 16" Ashtaroth or Atic wheel will give you the standard 63mm offset and move your whole set up further into the wheel well, potentially limiting your tire choices unless you decide to run a spacer. I have the 16" Ashtaroth wheel with 285/75/16 BFG tires and a 30mm spacer per side in the front. The Ashtaroth is supposedly a stronger wheel than the Atic, but the Atics are commonly used and I have not heard of a failure in the G community here. The Atic rim is also more reasonably priced by MB and can be found in good used condition on occasion. For a 16" tire with no spacer, I would be most inclined to use a 255/85/16 tire. It is 33" and should be enough for most peoples needs. For the original 18" 43mm offset rim, a 275/70/18 is the largest that can be used without any rubbing on the steering arm. I can't think of a reason to get a 17" rim unless you already have some expensive tires that are in that size or you want bigger brakes.
A 35" tire may require trimming of the metal fender inside the flare to prevent rubbing at full compression.
My G500 is a 2000 so I have 63mm offset 18" wheels with 33" wheels right now. I also have 40mm spring spacers and 40mm bodylift so the 33s are looking a bit too small. Im going to run 35s with 30mm spacers. I'd like a bit more ground clearance and a bit more rubber. I got a price for the 16" Ashtaroths for $510 each shipped and I really like the look of them. I wouldn't call my use of the vehicle extreme but we get over 3ft of snow around here and the ruts in the mud can get pretty deep.
McBride
Adventurer
I like the setup on the camper with one exception. While I'm very impressed with the performance of the BFG AT KO2 I bought, they are only 34.5 OD, not 35". Seeing as I have very low gears in the G camper diffs and the portals were made to match a 35" tire I've lost about 3mph of speed and gained torque. I'd rather have the speed as the torque was previously more than sufficient.
Today we tried out my camper spare (Hutchinson with the 34.5") on a friends 2000 G.500. He wanted to test for clearance. He has 50mm spring spacers and 30mm wheel spacers. With my spare mounted to his drivers side front he had just enough clearance when turned hard left and right. Under full compression there was slight contact with his steering arm and with the front of the fender liner - very slight.
The Hutchinson wheels he just got have less offset than the ones I got so he will clear the steering arm and maybe have a slight rub under full compression. As a result of the test he is going for the same size tires I got 34.5.
The combo looked fantastic on his G and his clearance was much improved. With his combo he will likely get increased mud fling and I expect he will be looking into wider fender flares in the near future. We'll see if he can live with it.
The 16" Hutchinson/34.5" tire combo is heavy. I'd expect reduced fuel economy. The g500 has plenty of torque to handle it; you just won't be so quick off the line.
Hope this helps. He'll have them mounted up soon and I'll let you know how it goes on our drive to the expo.
Today we tried out my camper spare (Hutchinson with the 34.5") on a friends 2000 G.500. He wanted to test for clearance. He has 50mm spring spacers and 30mm wheel spacers. With my spare mounted to his drivers side front he had just enough clearance when turned hard left and right. Under full compression there was slight contact with his steering arm and with the front of the fender liner - very slight.
The Hutchinson wheels he just got have less offset than the ones I got so he will clear the steering arm and maybe have a slight rub under full compression. As a result of the test he is going for the same size tires I got 34.5.
The combo looked fantastic on his G and his clearance was much improved. With his combo he will likely get increased mud fling and I expect he will be looking into wider fender flares in the near future. We'll see if he can live with it.
The 16" Hutchinson/34.5" tire combo is heavy. I'd expect reduced fuel economy. The g500 has plenty of torque to handle it; you just won't be so quick off the line.
Hope this helps. He'll have them mounted up soon and I'll let you know how it goes on our drive to the expo.
Thank you McBride. You were very helpfull. I will probably use 40mm wheel spacers in the front to avoid rubbing and 30mm spacers in the rear. The bodylift I have is great to prevent rubbing on the fenders and it gives me more room to work on the car and to clean it properly like above the fuel tank. I just bought H$R 30mm wheel spacers and they are aluminum alloy. I don't know if they will be strong enough but time will tell. I will get a set of steel 40mm spacers for the front. I just found out about these steel spacers. What kind of spacers are you using? I also plan on running steel tubes on the outside of the fenders to make up for the tires sticking out and to provide protection. It will be cheaper than spending a fortune for 4 pieces of plastic.
If you want more wheel options, I would look into Braid wheels. They make a 16" and 17" rally raid wheel that you can custom spec (offset, center bore, etc) and it only takes three-four weeks from order to delivery.
I just received a set of 17" Winrace Dakar wheels. They weigh 32 pounds per my bathroom scale. I needed them quickly so they came in stock white, but off to the powder coater this week.
I just received a set of 17" Winrace Dakar wheels. They weigh 32 pounds per my bathroom scale. I needed them quickly so they came in stock white, but off to the powder coater this week.
otiswesty
Regular guy
Keep an eye on eBay and do some L.A. Craigslist searches. Many of the G55 owners are moving to a G63 look and need to replace their fender flares with the new front bumper. I have seen $800 sets of OEM G55 flares for sale. They are wider but not quite as nice looking as the standard G500 flare that you already have. No fitment issues either.
burquedoka
Adventurer
Hola, I am McBride's "friend", at least I think I am
I did just move over to the civilian Hutchies and the 315 75 16 KO2's, along with Titus's Polly 50mm spring spacers and the 30mm wheel spacers you mentioned. So far so good. There is some rubbing on the steering arm from the front left when turning full right, even on flat ground, but it's super slight. No rubbing on the fender well, at least on the flat, I haven't tried to compress it yet. As far as the wheel spacer goes, not sure I need it, it's too early too tell. There looks like the is plenty of room without it, except probably for rub on the steering arm. I will report back as I play with the combo.
As far as my Attiks go, yes they are for sale. I have five, all in used but presentable condition. One has a BFG KO 295 75 16 that is 7 years old, but has never been on the ground, always the spare. Not sure on price just yet. What is the going rate these days?
I also have a set of the metal spring spacers from Vogler Tech available. 40mm and 30mm
