Wheels for Off-Road M/Ts/Off-Set & Back Space?

[Redline]

Last week I put a set of Toyo A/T 265/75R16s on the stock wheels. These A/Ts are my everyday on-road/winter/light-duty off-road tires.

I'm about to buy a second set of wheels (hopefully tomorrow) for the Toyo M/T 265/75R16 off-highway tires I already own. I planned to use my stock, spare wheel and a Toyo M/T as my spare for both sets of 265s. Saturday when I had a Toyo M/T put on the stock spare wheel the spin balancer only called for .25-oz. on the inside of the wheel! We didn't add the weight and left this nice match alone! But, there was trouble ahead...

I planned to use this spare for both the 4Runner AND my Adventure Trailer Chaser. Looking at the off-set and backspacing of the Toyota wheels vs. the black steels that are on the trailer I realized I better make sure the stock wheel & Toyo M/T 265 would fit on my Chaser; I test fit it last night. No go. The wheel off-set and/or backspacing is too great on the stock wheel and the tire sidewall is only about 1/2-in. from the Chaser's chassis. When I go to my tire shop tomorrow I will take the Chaser to confirm my 'off-road' wheels are going to work on the Chaser and the 4Runner, and will now buy 5 instead of 4.

Regarding the wheels themselves... I prefer wheels/tires that don't stick outside the fenders and are tucked in as much as possible. Based on my need for less off-set and/or backspacing to fit on the Chaser, the tires are going to stick out further, but hopefully this doesn't mean they will have to stick out beyond the fenders. My tire shop also says that the wheels need to stick out further to clear the A-arms after most lifts (I have OME waiting in the garage). One positive for wheels with less backspacing and a little negative or neutral off-set is that my track-width with be widened for more potential stability.

Anyone know the backspacing and off-set of their 16 x 8 ( or 17 x 8?) wheels, hopefully with 265/75 tires or similar width tires? Do they stick outside the Tacoma's of 4Runner's finders?

I'm going to test fit Ultra brand "Type-50" counter pressure cast aluminum wheels tomorrow.

http://www.ultrawheel.com/wheel_detail.cfm?brand=1&id=32

 

[Redline]

Wow, no input on aftermarket wheels, backspacing and off-set?

 

[DaveInDenver]

Wow, no input on aftermarket wheels, backspacing and off-set?

Sorry, I'm still running 15x7 wheels with 4.25" backspace and 33x9.50 tires on an old Hi-Trac truck. No idea about these new fangled 16" and 17" wheels and all this offset talk.

If you want an opinion, I'll give you one though. Get the wheels that fit the truck best. You want no more backspace or offset than is necessary to clear the A-arms and brake calipers. Any more width or change in centerline will negatively affect steering and wheel bearing life. Also like you mention you want the wheels tucked under the fenders as much as possible. So once you've found the right wheels for the truck, I'd probably stick a spacer on the trailer hubs to move the wheels out enough to clear the suspension and chassis and be done. It's much less critical that the wheels be located correctly on the trailer (and rear axle on the truck for that matter) than the front end of your truck.

 

[Grim Reaper]

Taller tire less back set is not a bad thing. You are actually getting it back to the scrub radius it was designed with.

If you look at suspension geometry a basic goal is if you draw a line through the axis of the ball joints where that line intersects the road surface would ideally be near the center of the tread. If its not it can give weird handling issues.

So the taller the tire the more the intersect point moves away from centerline of the vehicle. That’s why they went to more offset and widened the rear axles when they went front solid axle to IFS. The Axis of the ball joints is at a much greater distance then the king pins on the solid axles.

Probably want to look for something with about a 3-3.5 inch back set if you are near a 33 inch tall tire.

 

[offroad_nomad]

I've got 285/75R/16 Goodyear MT/Rs on 16x8 rims with 4.25" backspacing and zero offset. I initially had my MT/Rs on stock rims, but the backspacing and tire size caused a bit of rubbing on my upper control arms.

 

[Redline]

Thanks for the replies. I did buy 4 wheels on Friday, Ultra Type-50 16x8s from my Local Les Schwab dealer, and had my Toyo M/T 265s mounted on them. The Off-Set is -06mm and the backspacing is 4.25-in. We test fit a tire/wheel on the 4Runner and the Chaser first; they just clear the front calipers but rub the front inner fender liner when the wheels is turned to lock. This is okay as when it's lifted and the Shrockworks bumper is on there will be plenty of clearance there with the liner up out of the way. With these wheels/tires, the tread is just inside the fenders, though the big sidewall lugs on the Toyo M/Ts do stick out if you look down the side of the rig, just barely. This is not my preference, but the wider track should help with stability so it's a trade off.

On the Chaser the wheels stick out further than the black steel wheels and BFG M/T 265s I have on there now, but in the case of the trailer this is a positive. The steel trailer wheels don't fit on the 4Runner at all and they are pretty close to the chassis on the Chaser, very little room, probably not enough room for tire chains.

While I'm waiting for my bumper and slides to arrive and before I install my OME lift, I'm considering a couple options:

1) Buy three more of these wheels, one for a spare for both sets of 265s and two for the Chaser.

OR

2) Using two of these wheels on the Chaser (better stance and room for chains) and another up in the stock spare location. Buying 3 more stock Toyota 4Runner wheels from Capital Wheels in So. Cal.

http://www.capitalwheels.com/store/customer/search.php?substring=4runner&in_category=&x=0&y=0

I like the idea of having 7-in stock wheels with 265s, especially when airing down low without bead-locks. I'm not sure the excellent clearance of the stock wheels can be beat. I like the 'sleeper' look and don't mind not having 'cool' aftermarket wheels. These used take-off stockers are expensive, $175.00 each, but they might be just the ticket for my mild approach.

Regardless, I'm waiting a few weeks until I get the little crawler lifted and have a chance to test what I have mounted.