Tire/wheel recommendations

[Racer 238]

1978 GMC K15 just received a 4” rough county lift and it’s time for tires and wheels. Stock suspension except for the 4” sitting on 255/85 R16’s, wheels are 16x7. I like to hear what your recommendations are to replace the pizza cutters without rubbing. Seems like most run at least a 4” backspace on wheels. Really thinking of putting polished slots on her just can’t decide on size. Thanks!

 

[bucket]

How wide or "meaty" of a stance do you want? The wider the rim, the less diameter you will have clearance for when turning.

I believe we have a lifted truck picture thread around here somewhere, to give you some ideas.

 

[bucket]

Here ya go, there's a bit to look through.

How Will My Square Body Look With XX Lift and XX Tires?

We've got this on another site I surf and it's a great tool for folks trying to get ideas or see how a combo will look. It helps to cut down on the repetitive "how will 4" lift & 33's look" posts. _________________________________________________ Keep it simple, post a pic w/ simple lift and...

www.gmsquarebody.com

 

[TotalyHucked]

Couldn't tell ya specs cuz I haven't messed in the 4x4 square world yet but some 15x8 or 15x10 slots and 35s would look killer on there

 

[Grit dog]

How wide or "meaty" of a stance do you want? The wider the rim, the less diameter you will have clearance for when turning.

I believe we have a lifted truck picture thread around here somewhere, to give you some ideas.

Rim width is a secondary part of the equation though, depending on wheel offset and of course tire size.
4” lift half ton is perfect for 33s with 0 offset. Could go a little more neg backspacing and still work on the street.
New springs and depending what brand and type and weight of front end will make some difference. IE 4” new rough country with a small block will sit higher than 4” custom or soft ride springs and a big block.
….in general. YMMV.

But that looks really tall if those are 255-85s. Is the pic distorted?

 

[bucket]

Rim width is a secondary part of the equation though, depending on wheel offset and of course tire size.
4” lift half ton is perfect for 33s with 0 offset. Could go a little more neg backspacing and still work on the street.
New springs and depending what brand and type and weight of front end will make some difference. IE 4” new rough country with a small block will sit higher than 4” custom or soft ride springs and a big block.
….in general. YMMV.

But that looks really tall if those are 255-85s. Is the pic distorted?

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again many times in the future. "Offset" is a byproduct of backspacing and a nearly useless term. Especially in this case, where most every 4x4 squarebody is going to need about a 4" backspacing, +/- 1/4" or so. So when shopping for wheels it's way easier to just go off of backspacing than it is offset... unless you actually like doing math for the fun of it.

About the only useful time to use the term "offset" is when doing generalized comparisons between different wheel styles. Like: "Modern cars tend to run wheels with much more positive offset than older cars." Otherwise, it just makes things more complicated than they need to be.