Nice 8 lug rims..are they made?..rear drop help

[iluvmy72]

basically what I'm asking is there a nice set of rims that have a hub cover over the 8 bolt on the rear axle?....and do they make any that would match the front using a 5 lugg pattern?...I ask because I'm going to a 3/4 ton rear end for towing and bed weight issues(large camper) and I can't see me making the 3/4 into a 5 lug.....I want to keep the 8 for strength. And since I'm asking questions....does anyone know the best way for me to lower the rear 1 1/2 or 2 inches?....I tried moving the rear axle on top of the springs and it was too low by about 3 inches......I am told lowering shackles would work but I'm not sure he best way since I have to have the 3/4 ton springs for the weight.....basically what I want is a rear drop but still have good strength to hold the weight.

[crazy longhorn]

The shackle should be the easiest way to drop a leaf truck 1 1/2 -2",& shouldnt cause any trouble......other than you may need a wedge type shim 'tween the axle& spring to bring the driveline angles on. I have been told the brass wedges are the best, & can be picked up in a 2 or 4 degree at the local spring shop. good luck.....Longhorn

[Mike C]

Why are you worried about 8 lug in the rear and HD springs in the back when you have 1/2 ton brakes in the front? The front brakes are probably the single most important thing, and if you are going from 8 lug to five, might as well swap out the rear. You might be able to get a Weld wheel that has covered lugs, but I doubt it, the bearing hub just extends too far. Also, price on the 8 lug wheel will be significantly higher than the 5 lug due to GVWR concerns. For my money, I'd do/keep 8 lug discs in the front. IMO, either go big or go small but don't try to split the difference. You can lower the rear with shackles about 1 1/2". or Early Classics (who is the only one who makes the 2 1/4" shackles as far as I know.) They also have 4" lowering springs, but only for 1/2 tons. After doing the disc conversion on the front of my 2500 it lowered the front at least 1". i added the early classic shackles for a much more reasonable rake and have in no way compromised my load carrying ability. The 8 lug brakes are 1" larger diamet than the 5 lug.

[iluvmy72]

Mike.....it's a 1/2 ton right now.......5 lug on the front and 5 on the back....I need more towing and weight boost.....the 3/4 rear end will fix that.....I guess I might have to change out the axles on the 3/4 rear end and replace the 8 lug with the 5 lug. But I will use the lowering shackles...it's a rake stance right now because I dropped the front 2 1/2 so when the rear is lowered I should have a nice level looking truck.

[Vince M]

Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure nobody makes a five lug 3/4 ton axle. If the rear axle is from our vintage trucks then it is a full floating axle. You possibly could redrill the brake drums and axle but in the long run you would be derating the load carring capacity of the axle with the five lug rims.
Mike brings up a good point in that whatever load you are trying to carry/tow it will ultimately need to be stopped.
Good luck with it.

[Mike C]

What are you towing? If you just haul you bass boat and an occasional car, I would go with the 4" springs from Early Classics and a set of Firestone AirBags for added weight control. You need at least 3.73 gears. Get a trailer with brakes, and the hardest thing is going to be getting low profile tires that have a suffiecient GVWR. I pull my 20' Malibu inboard boat with the Jimmy. (~3500#, boat and trailer) It does have 3/4 ton 4" lift springs in the rear and 4.10 gears although the 35" tires knock that down quite a bit. The tires are load range D. Brakes, tires, and differential is the biggest concern, but the 12 bolt will be fine up to 5000# tow weight, but the brakes need help above 3000# or so and 3500# by law. (At least in TX)

[dion]

I have these on my 3/4 ton. They look pretty good but I saw some American Racing Rims that I might switch too as soon as I have an extra $1000 laying around.

[chevynut]

Hey Dion,
What did you do to the front of your truck to get it at that height. I have a C20 and the front is alot lower than the back and was trying to get it to sit level like yours.

Thanks,

[MOTHERTRUCKERS]

chevnut call Tampa brake and spring at 933 2805 and ask for Kevin, the spring you need is a 3/4 ton HD coil spring for big block trucks, they stock Federal mogel,TRW and Moog for our year trucks. If he tells you a price over 80.00 for the pair have him call me.

[jflem3]

What size Rims are you looking for? and are you going to be running low profile or an All-terrain tire.
I had a set of Mickey Thompson Classic 2's on my 3/4 ton burb in 17x9 with 275/70/17 Goodyear AT/S's they were 32.3" tall.
Enkei Makes a really nice 20" 8-lug 5-spoke that I used on a Suburban We just finished for the SEMA show in November, It has enough GVW rating.

Axle Options : another option is to locate a rear axle from the late model GMT(800) Silverado, Sierra, Yukon or Suburban.
A 1/2 ton axle has the same (GVW) rating as the 3/4 axles of the 67-72 series trucks, or if you want a heavier duty axle, light duty 3/4 ton axle it has eight lugs but its a semi-floating axle and you could redrill the bolt circle. To top it of they have rear discs (big ones)