Rims for 14.5" wide tire?

[Rede]

I did some horse trading and pickup a set of 38.5"x14.5" thornbirds just for bombing around town. (39.5"x18" boggers for the trails)

I was cautioned by the local tires shop here about making sure my rims (16x8) have enough offset/back spacing to clear my steering components?

I'd preffer not to run a massive spacer if I can get away with it.



Anyone have any first hand experience?


Ideally I'm just looking for your basic steel, spoked rim. (next to no budget)

[Redcap]

Look for some 16x10s. What bolt pattern?

[Rede]

wow that was quick!

I've checked around kijiji for the past few days, but I'm not interested in 22's

What offset/back spacing will I need if I have to order some?

[thirdstreettito]

How much lift do you have? What axles? SRW or DRW?

[Rede]

1980 chev 1/2
dana60 (1986 1ton, need steering block)
10.5" 14bolt
6" lift with butchered fenders

I don't know what the srs and drw meen. :?
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[thirdstreettito]

SRW = Single Rear Wheel
DRW = Dual Rear Wheel

If it's SRW maximum backspace I'd say is 3-4". If it's DRW, maximum backspace around 9". You can swap SRW hubs for DRW hubs if you want to.

[Rede]

Ahh it's single like most 1/2 tons :p

The rear isn't an issue I'm sure as there are 39.5/18/15 on the rear sitting in my driveway.
It's clearing the tie rods and all that on this new-to-me dana60 front that I'm a worried about.

I can get these other 14.5" wide tires on my spare 16x8 rims, but with the 3 inches of tire bulging out, I'm pretty sire I'm going to see some "rim job" action....and not in a good way. :|
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[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by Rede

Ahh it's single like most 1/2 tons :p

Most 1/2 tons don't have Dana60s or 14 bolts either.....details like that are fairly important in the original post.

But I am missing the point of your original question? Why would you think that there would be clearence issues with the steering parts, with an 8" wheel? You would have to have a very late-model wheel with a lot of negative off-set to even get close.
The only thing the wheel could ever contact would be the knuckle where the tie-rod connects....the "bulge" of the tire is irrelevant, it's diameter is too great to contact that.

[Rede]

These tires were originally mounted on some decent looking alluminum 12" rims but for whatever reason, they weren't clearing the tie rod knuckles and when he would back up there would litterally be fine alluminum shavings coming off.
By the time he realized what was going on (new to him 1/2 ton with 10bolt front diff) the inner lip on the front rims were pretty thin and there are some nicks in the tires as well from digging in. I had a tire shop check out the tires and he said it was cosmetic damage to the tires, but the damaged to the rims was enough for them to tell me that they wouldn't even mount a tire on them, ever.

Which is why the tire shop said they could order any size of rim, but I'd need to figure out the back spacing/offset so I didn't end up doing te same thing.
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[LONGHAIR]

A 12" wheel is a completely different situation.
With a standard 8" steel wheel, it's a non-issue.

[special-K]

What diameter rim do you need? I always ran 10" (or 9.75 x 16.5 wheels with 14.50s. Never gave back space a thought. I was never asked and white spokes were only offered one way. The backspace is in the range that basically every wheel made was,before tires and wheels got retarded on sizes. If you're going with el cheapo white spoke wheels,just get 10",that's all. The tire store guys should already know this.

[Rede]

Originally Posted by special-K

What diameter rim do you need? I always ran 10" (or 9.75 x 16.5 wheels with 14.50s. Never gave back space a thought. I was never asked and white spokes were only offered one way. The backspace is in the range that basically every wheel made was,before tires and wheels got retarded on sizes. If you're going with el cheapo white spoke wheels,just get 10",that's all. The tire store guys should already know this.

lol who knows what the tire guy was thinking...
I didn't know the answer either but I figured there's gotta be someone here who would

There's tires are 16".

Will they clear the dana60 calipers and what not without any caliper grinding?
I've...never been with a dana60 before...*gets all shy and twists a toe into the dirt*
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[Redcap]

Originally Posted by Rede

lol who knows what the tire guy was thinking...
I didn't know the answer either but I figured there's gotta be someone here who would

There's tires are 16".

Will they clear the dana60 calipers and what not without any caliper grinding?
I've...never been with a dana60 before...*gets all shy and twists a toe into the dirt*
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16" rims should clear just fine.

[Rede]

Originally Posted by Redcap

16" rims should clear just fine.

Just to clairify, 16x8 or 16x10 will clear?
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[Altec]

Originally Posted by Rede

Just to clairify, 16x8 or 16x10 will clear?
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Both.

Be warned, those thornturds are going to be worse then the boggers... Worst tires ever made...

[special-K]

Personally,I see Thornbirds as novelty tires. Never ran them,but they don't impress me just looking at them. Why are no other tires anything like them? What is their specific design intended for? The don't look as good as any of the other Interco mud tires and they don't look like they'd be good for sand. I think Xterrains would do just as well in snow and mud (not the best) and they are great sand tires. That's what I run for sand. Then use Swampers for mud. A/Ts are middle of the road for everything but hiway,but suck in mud. Probably just as good as Thornbirds though.

[Rede]

Can't say I'm a fan of them either, but I traded for a greasy th400/np208 combo I picked up for 250 bucks.
They were the cheapest thing I could find between 35" and 40" tire.
Anything else looks like pizza cutters

Unless I find someone else who wants to trade something decent sized for them, I'll just use them as is and look for something else for rubber next year.