Wheel size/opinions?

[cbbeard]

So this is the 84 Stepside I am rebuilding with my son, and we are getting closer to finishing, which is good since he turns 16 within a month. Next on the list is new wheels and tires. We are thinking that Cragar Smoothies (with the baby moon hubcaps) are the way to go since we are kind of giving it a throwback look with older GMC badges and the like.

The question is in regards to size. Should we go with 15x8's all the way around? Should we go with 15X10s on the back? Should we consider another size? FYI the wheels on it now are 16X9ish.

Also, what size tires would look good with this setup?

Any and all opinions are welcome and wanted!

[cbbeard]

Aw come on...I've been around this site long enough to know people have opinions!! What do you think?

[J Knight]

Staggered looks best to me, 15x8, 15x10..or...20x8.5, 20x10.

[Jake Wade]

15x10 on back with the proper backspace so it the tires are flush with fender.

15x8 on front

[cbbeard]

J Knight...20s huh? I could see that I suppose.

Jake Wade...any idea what the proper backspace might be or how I could find out?

[J Knight]

Originally Posted by cbbeard

J Knight...20s huh? I could see that I suppose.

Jake Wade...any idea what the proper backspace might be or how I could find out?

15x8 4in bs, 245/60/15 tires

15x10 5in bs. 295/50/15 tires.

[cbbeard]

Thanks J!

I may have to do some looking, I found 4.5 inch backspace on the 5X10 but not 5.

[rich weyand]

I'm assuming this is a 2WD truck, or tire considerations get very different.

If you run 15x8s all around, you can rotate tires to even out wear, so that all the tires need replacing at the same time.

P245/60R15 (the BFG Radial T/A is the only tire tirerack has in that size) are only 26.5" diameter, instead of the stock 29", so on the rear that would 1) give you effectively a lower rear-end ratio, 2) worse mileage, 3) require you to dink around with the speedometer drive gears to get the speedo to read right. Now, if the truck has a 3.23 or 2.73 axle ratio, or something like that, that would be an improvement. If it has a 3.73 right now, it would effectively be increased to a 4.08, which could be a little high, depending on the driving. Lots of long distances in Texas; you might want more of a highway ratio than that. On the front of course, it wouldn't matter.

Same thing with P295/50/15. 26.7" diameter.

One of the stock tires is a P235/75R15, which is pretty tall and won't mount up to an 8" rim.

P255/70R15 might be interesting. 29" diameter, so no speedometer drive messing around, mounts to 8" rim.

P255/70R15 on the back and P245/60R15 on the front would give you same ratio/speedometer, both mount on 8" rims, and would give you about 1-1/4" of rake (drop in the front relative to the back).

[school boy]

20x8 front 245/45/20 20x9.5 rear 275/40/20 (28.68 tall) Camaro SS wheels with 2" adapters
.

.
15x8's with 235/70/15 (27.95 tall)
....

...
15x8 295/50/15 (yes in all four corners, 26.61 tall)
..

[school boy]

btw, no motor in the truck in the last 3 pics

[J Knight]

Originally Posted by cbbeard

Thanks J!

I may have to do some looking, I found 4.5 inch backspace on the 5X10 but not 5.

4.5in bs will be borderline OK as long as you don't drop more than 5in in the rear.