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Wheel size with 1-tons

Mastiff

Mastiff

1/2 ton status
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Looking for wheel size opinions. Every size has an issue in my mind:

15": Looks best, cheapest to buy, but won't fit over calipers without grinding. Not sure if they'll fit over 14bff drums at all.

16": Good compromise, but more expensive and tires are all "LT" load rating E.

17": Expensive, starting to eat into sidewall too much. Too :pimp:.

I'm going to be running either 35" or 37" by the way.
 
I'd run 17s. They are the industry standard now and have the greatest selection. The rim to sidewall profile on a 35 is still pretty decent.

You can make 15s fit using 3/4 ton brakes on a D60 without grinding. 15s fit on a 14bff HD brake drum.
 
Run disc's on the 14 and 15's fit easily too. The D60 grind can be tedious, but at least you retain the bigger brakes.

I'd probably run 17's too. I'm shopping around and the selection and availability for 15's is now terrible, but I really want to keep my 6 bolt ralley's.
 
I went 17s after the ton swap. I feel the same as you about the sidewall getting skinny, but for tire availability etc in the future and no brake issues, I went 17s. I was also in between 35s and 37s. I'm going 35s because i don't mind a little extra wheel well and refuse to cut my fenders. I have 4" front springs/shackle flip/tons/ORD 1" Body lift. So basically about a 6" lift from stock with 35s. Should work fine I think.
 
Keep in mind also the larger wheel will give more clearance if you plan on doing something different from a standard tie rod end / locations. :waytogo:

I chose 17's - mainly cause I wanted Walker Evans beadlocks and I have plenty of sidewall with 39.5" Iroks.
 
17s like Russel said they are the new standard. I have been looking at rims and tires and to be honest I have found quite a few 17" tires to be cheaper than their 15" counterpart
 
Eh. C's would be too light and D's are uncommon.
 
I just run spacers and 15's, the spacers were a couple hundred bucks for all 4, but made up for that in the savings i got on tires. Everyone and their brother has 35-12.5-15's in their back yard or craigslist. I got my 500-mile used boggers for 15" rims for $600 after I sold the 6 lug wheels they were on. Then it was ~$250 shipped for a set of 5 wagon wheels.

I got a lot of **** for running spacers, saying my wheel would fly off and I'd die in a fiery explosion - with my driving, if anything was going to happen, it would have already.

But as zuk said, if you're buying new, tires for a 17" wheel are similar or cheaper at times than their 15" equivalent.
 
15" wheels with reversed centers (low backspacing) are commonly available and cheap. These will go on 1-ton axles with no, or very little, grinding on the front. I currently run 15x8 wheels with 2.75" backspacing on my D60/14FF axles and it required a couple minutes of grinding on the front calipers to clean them up...the wheels would seat all the way and just slightly rub on the casting flash. Previously I ran 15's with 4.25" backspacing (before the D60 front) and they fit the large version drum brakes on the 14FF with no issues.

The 17s are definitely an option to consider and I almost went that route. However as mentioned above I went 15's because I found a good deal on a set of tires.
 
Im going to be running 16.5" wheels with (cheap) 37" military surplus Hummer tires. My D60 has sual piston calipers so grinding to fit 15" wheels was not an option. I'm not even sure 16" rims would fit.

You can pick up a set of the military tires with double beadlock wheels for $500-$750 depending on tread depth. Check craigslist.

I doubt they are as good as a new set of MT's but for 25% of the pruce I'm willing to give them a shot.
 
AR_K5 said:
Im going to be running 16.5" wheels with (cheap) 37" military surplus Hummer tires. My D60 has sual piston calipers so grinding to fit 15" wheels was not an option. I'm not even sure 16" rims would fit.

You can pick up a set of the military tires with double beadlock wheels for $500-$750 depending on tread depth. Check craigslist.

I doubt they are as good as a new set of MT's but for 25% of the pruce I'm willing to give them a shot.
Click to expand...

As said above, 15's with low backspacing will fit fine. My friend also runs 15x8's with 2.75" BS on his '78 Ford that has a D60 with the dual piston calipers and they fit fine. He ran 16's previously and they also fit fine.
 
Actually my friend has a Ford 60 with dual piston calipers, we got one side ground enough to clear 4.25" spacing then gave up for the night. It's possible, just takes FOREVER.
 
Ok i guess its possible if get some rims off the back of a lowrider, I really didn't consider that.

I just traded my 37's on 15's for 37's on 16.5's no grinding necessary and spares are cheap and plentiful.
 
If I go to 37's, 17" rims seem okay. I'm not sure about 17" rims with 35's as far as rubber to wheel ratio. Regarding 16.5, the trick is the wheels. Not many offerings except the Hummer wheels, and that looks like a bit of a pain to deal with. Just reading on line, it seems like people have trouble getting them balanced too. The price does make them appealing though.
 
when I bought the tires n wheels for my kids truck and mine right after, his 305/70/17"s were cheaper than my 33/12.5/15"s. wheels were about the same.

most of what ive seen lately 17"s are cheaper than the 15"s
 
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