Keep 15s or go 17?
 

I have a K10 Suburban (6 lug) 1973.

Selection for 15" tires are somewhat limited these day. I want to go tall and skinny, something like 33" tall x 8 wide.

At 15" all the 33" tires are 12.5 wide.

Should I ditch the stock 15" and go 17" aftermarket or newer stock wheels?

Anyone done this?

thanks!

Re: Keep 15s or go 17?
 

Isn't the 6 lug wheels from late model gm 1/2 ton trucks the same bolt pattern? If so anything on a late model of interest? Usually nice looking and a junk yard would probably have something in the 17" to 18" range.

Re: Keep 15s or go 17?
 

The bolt pattern of 6 Lugs @ 5.5'' spacing is the same, but the backspacing is different.
I have a set of 16 x 6 ''Wagon Wheel'' rims [other names were White Spoke, Pie Cuts] I bought for my '68 C/10 Stepside in 1999, when the tire shop told me my OEM rims of 17.5x5.25 were shot after about 300,000 miles. I was running R17.5x8LTs. [Also now unobtainable.]
[Yes, Seventeen-Five (17.5''). Not a typo.]
The backspacing is about 4.'' The right rear was impacted in a collision. I took it into Discount Tires and they checked it out. The rubber tire is OK but there is a slight kink in the rim. It would vibrate at speed, they said. I'm taking that rim to an expert tomorrow, to see if he can true it. A search of local wheel shops and online querries found that 16x6 rims are now obsolete. I can't get a new replacement rim to match the other 3. Hoping the guy can straighten it out, otherwise I'll need to get new rims And maybe tires. Or settle for a different ride height.

A friend gave me a set of aluminum rims [take-offs from his '99 4x4 Suburban] and their backspacing is 5.'' I am hopeful they will fit on my '71 K/1500 GMC Jimmy and replace the 33x12.5x15LTs on 15x10 rims. Great meats for off-road, but with gas prices at current levels, their lack of economy is killing me. 16X8 rims with 235/75/16 is the intended replacement.
I would not like to use wheel spacers to compensate for modern backspacing.

I also have a couple of extra rims from a Nissan. That backspacing is really deep. Maybe 6''. I tried mounting a spare 235/85/R16 on the Stepside from a Toyota [I think] rim -- the inboard clearance is only about 1 finger.

The bolt patterns and also hub clearance [for FWD Warn hubs] are OK, but the backspacing is the killer.