Wheels and tires for my 1996 pickup

[ThomD]

After using my pickup for home owner duties, she is ready for a refresh. I'm getting a trailer with a goal of going to some slightly out of the way places. Most of the driving would still be highways, with simple trips onto fire roads and such.

The truck still has the stock wheels and 215/70-14s (not the actual tires, just the size) that it came with, so I'm thinking about moving up to 16s so I can get a little lift and put on something more dual purpose. Beowulf has declared 255/85-16 THE light truck size of choice and I feel left out.:sombrero:

Any advice on where to look for wheels and what will fit? I'm not worried about the speedometer being wrong, I'll get that adjusted or ignore it. The couple of on line places I looked at tended toward more bling for wheels than I care about. Where does one buy simple wheels?

 

[mcm4090]

You would be better off going with a 15" rim. The price on tires and rims are better and you also will have a better selection to chose from.
Most people go with a 16" do to the fact that is the smallest rim they can use on their truck.

 

[ThomD]

Thanks. That probably is the best way to go on this truck.

 

[canadianjk]

I had a 97 nissan pickup that was used for 95 percent on road driving, I swapped the stock tires for 31-10.5 r15s bfg m/ts and was very pleased with the results. It still was able to keep up on the highways and in low range did fine in the bush. I was able to fit them without any lift or triming and had zero rubs. If you want to see a pic search the forum for "hardbody" I posted a photo there a while ago. cheers have fun.

 

[ThomD]

I had a 97 nissan pickup that was used for 95 percent on road driving, I swapped the stock tires for 31-10.5 r15s bfg m/ts and was very pleased with the results. It still was able to keep up on the highways and in low range did fine in the bush. I was able to fit them without any lift or triming and had zero rubs. If you want to see a pic search the forum for "hardbody" I posted a photo there a while ago. cheers have fun.

Bingo! That's exactly the kind of detail I was hoping for. Now I just need to put it in the budget. Thanks

 

[canadianjk]

awesome glad I could help. happy trails!

 

[Peck]

ThomD, keep in mind that I do believe candianjk had a 4wd Hardbody. I'm thinking you have a 2wd 4cyl XE (according to your stock tire size)? If so, 31x10.50s aren't going to fit stock.

I suggest a 235/75R15 tire. You will need to adjust your torsion bars to level it with the rear, but that is about it. The tire is about a 29" tire.

 

[twofortyfreak]

I run 15x8 cragar soft 8's with 30x9.5 tires on my 94 4x4 pickup and they do just fine, could have gone 31's.