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.

 

[Racer 238]

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?

Yes that pic was pretty bad. I’m leaning towards 16” x 10” on around 315/75r 16’s. That would add 2.4” of width, fill it out a bit.

 

[Racer 238]

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.

Hoping to go with 10” wide wheels just to fill it out a bit. Thinking maybe 315/75 16’s. Having a hard time finding mags in 16” x 10”. Looks like most companies have discontinued making the old slots. I added a 1.5” spacer to the rear to line the rear with the front today. Looks pretty good without that narrow rear stance.

 

[bucket]

Hoping to go with 10” wide wheels just to fill it out a bit. Thinking maybe 315/75 16’s. Having a hard time finding mags in 16” x 10”. Looks like most companies have discontinued making the old slots. I added a 1.5” spacer to the rear to line the rear with the front today. Looks pretty good without that narrow rear stance.

So those stiff Rough Country springs will help with your goals. But a 35" on a 10 inch wide wheel with only a 4 inch lift is a tall order. A small block and street use might let you get away with little or no trimming. But if you have a big block or you do truck things with your truck, you're going to end up trimming your fenders.

Iirc, M/T has a variation of the slotted mag in a 17x9 and US Mags has one in a 17x10. I know they are offered in 8-lug, I'm assuming they are offered in 6-lug too.

 

[Grit dog]

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.

Not sure what you’re getting at here. As the terms are essentially interchangeable. Albeit one has to understand the difference in the two terms. (Which you do, of course) 0 offset on a 6” wide wheel will put the tire in the same spot as 0 offset on a 12” wide wheel. However that’s a big generalization to say 4” BS is what’s needed because that’s a completely different setup if it’s a 6” rim with 4” bs vs a 12” rim with 4” bs.
IMO it’s just 2 different ways of saying the same thing but like I said earlier there’s 3 or I suppose 4 factors when determining fit. Tire height, tire width, rim width and “backspacing.”
Of course I just noticed I used the words rim and wheel interchangeably as well. Which also could be debated. Lol