In my quest to minimize the distance my wheels will stick out, i finally found a wheel that I like in terms of appearance as well as backspacing. I'm looking at Ultra 185B's. They are 17x8 with 5.5" BS, which should only go out an additional inch from stock.

My question is would there be any harm in running an 8" wide wheel on 35's? It seems that most 35's recommend a wheel ranging from 8.5" - 11". I've noticed in reading through different threads that some people have even used their stock 7.5" wheels on 35's.

Thanks!!

 

My tires actually ride and handle better on 17x8's then when they were on my 17x9's, plus no rubbing! Also rock's and road spray stay inside the wheelwells.

 

Paw Paw - thanks for the response. That's the kind of news i like to hear.

 

Those wheels will only stick out 1/2 inch farther than the OEM 17x7.5 inch wheels (which have 5.5 inches of backspacing). You should have no problems running a 35 inch tire on those as long as it is 13.50 inches wide or narrower.

 

I just took off a set of 16x8's with 5" backspacing and with 315's mounted on them they didn't stick out past the fenders at all.

 

Yes, but your 2001 is a completely different truck than his 2004 with different wheel specs.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

o I thought the had an 03, my bad....

 

Ok, i've been doing a little more figuring with the Ultra 185b's. I sketched everything out and have another question. Here's what I came up with:

Stock - 275x65xr18 Tires (approx 10.86" wide) on 18x7.5 wheels (5.5" BS)
New - 35x12.50x17 Tires (approx 12.50" wide) on 17x8 wheels (5.5" BS)

With the new wheels being 1/2" wider than stock w/ same b/s:
- The new wheels themselves will stick out 1/2" further on the outside.
- The new wheels will be even on the inside

With the new tires being approx 1.64" wider than stock:
- The new tires will stick out approx 1.07" further on the outside
- The new tires will stick out approx 0.57" further on the inside

I measured the spacing on the inside with my stock setup and there is a little less than an inch (approx 15/16") of space between the tire and ball joint at full steering lock.

I am leaning towards ordering the wheel/tire setup from the net to save some $$ and want to make sure that I won't run into issues if i do order this setup.

What are everyone's thoughts on if i will have rubbing issues with the ball joints???

Not sure if the lift would have an effect (better/worse) on the situation. I am planning on going with a 6" Fabtech.

Thanks for the advice!!

 

I think you will be fine.

 

Thanks Wandell! I knew i could count on you to give me the piece of mind I need.

 

JB, if you go with a 6" Fabtech lift you may want to check on the wheel specs for the required wheel width and backspace. Some lift's may require say a 9" width with a 4.5 backspace where the stock dimension wheels are OK with just a leveling kit. Just something else you may want to check out before buying.

 

Good point Paw Paw.

 

Thanks Paw Paw/Wandell.

I got into contact with Fabtech and they recommend 8 or 9 inch wheels with 5 inches of backspacing. They said they left a little room on the inside, but they would be concerned with the tire hitting the upper control arm (with the 8" wheel w/ 5.5" b/s).

Looks like it may be back to the drawing board. Doesn't seem to be a lot to choose from with black wheels with this type of backspacing.

 

Look at Pro Comp's website. THey have a lot of black wheels.