Can someone explain Wheel backspacing to me? (1 Viewer)

[Rick '79 FJ40]

I am trying to replace my wheels because the ones that came on my truck are out of round. I want to get something that is approximately the same as what I had and as cheap as possible, because I plan to go to factory steelies when the tires I have wear out. I currently have what looks like Rock Crawler black spoke wheels and I was planning to go with Rock Crawler 51 series from Four Wheel Parts. I THINK that what I need is 6 lug 5.5" spacing wheels with 3 1/2" backspacing, but after reading the search results, I am more confused than when I started.

I have a '79 FJ40 with factory front disck brakes and factory drum rear brakes. I will probably go to GM rear disck brakes at some point in the future.

TIA

 

[mr_manny]

google is your friend:
http://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html

 

[1973Guppie]

call summit racing, they will make rims custom, around $20 a pop with any backspacing you want, they come with no paint or with white wagon wheel

Noah

 

[Rick '79 FJ40]

call summit racing, they will make rims custom, around $20 a pop with any backspacing you want, they come with no paint or with white wagon wheel

Noah

That would require me to know what I need... which I am not very confident with at this point.

I've heard of people getting the factory wheels widened to use larger/wider tires. I don't suppose Summit (or anyone else locally) would do that kind of work?

Thanks for the info!

 

[Rick '79 FJ40]

google is your friend:
http://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html

Thanks for the link! That confirms what I thought I understood about backspacing, but I'm not sure that what I read in my previous searches makes sense based on this info.

There were people saying that anything from 2" to 4 1/2" backspacing was standard for cruisers. That's why I got confused. Seems like there should be one number that is "standard/OEM" and then you can play with the numbers based on what non-stock configuration you are running. Since my truck is basically "stock" except for lift and tire size, I was looking for what the "stock" wheel backspacing was.

Thanks again!

 

[Degnol]

3.5" is stock, I believe, but even with that backspacing, you can run into clearance issues with tierod ends IF you use an aluminum wheel due to the thicker rim in an aluminum wheel.

Backspacing is easily measured by placing a straightedge across the rim and placing a ruler perpendicular to the straif=ghtedge and measuring from the bottom of it to the center of the wheel that mates to the hub.

GL

Ed

Go here and scroll to the bottom. This is a good page to bookmark or save to faves.

http://www.ih8mud.com/techtrivia.php

 

[camcruiser13]

i got 2.5 backspacing, much better than stock. gives some wicth and looks better too

 

[projektdotnet]

So backspacing is how far back in from the backside the mounting surface is (i seem to have trouble grasping the concept of BS still *sigh*)

 

[Degnol]

It is how far inboard the rim is from the face of the hub, like where the studs are......


Ed

 

[camcruiser13]

why is backspacing so hard for some to figure out. just think about it for a sec. then youll understand youll see the light.

 

[camcruiser13]

no offense to any of course

 

[projektdotnet]

no offense to any of course

no now that I know what is going on i do feel pretty stupid

 

[1973Guppie]

like degnol said, lay the wheel on its outside face and measure the INSIDE of the rim with a long bar, ruler, whatever and drop a ruler straight down to the inside flange where the studs come through. If stock is 3.5 and you are hitting, figure out what you will need, less backspace = more room, meaning that the length between the inside edge of the outer rim and the flange will be less and more of the wheel will be pushed outward. I can't remember what my rims are but I was able to get rims that worked fine with a little measuring.

I hope I got the above right??

Noah

 

[camcruiser13]

i think the big concern for everyone is wether the ciliper hits the spokes or not, no matter what the backspacing with certain wheels, youll need a spacer or grind the caliper itself ( no biggie), itll hit.

 

[bsevans]

i think the big concern for everyone is wether the ciliper hits the spokes or not, no matter what the backspacing with certain wheels, youll need a spacer or grind the caliper itself ( no biggie), itll hit.

If your TRE is too close to the inner rim you can also knock the balance weights off.

 

[Rick '79 FJ40]

i think the big concern for everyone is wether the ciliper hits the spokes or not, no matter what the backspacing with certain wheels, youll need a spacer or grind the caliper itself ( no biggie), itll hit.

That was one of my main concerns. I really don't want to have to use a spacer if I can get a wheel that will work without it. It's just another complication (not to mention expense) that I would rather not deal with. Especially since my ultimate plan is to go back to factory wheels. These are just semi-temporary, because I have some fairly new Super Swampers that I am using that are too big to fit on factory rims. When they wear out, I will be getting narrower tires and going with OEM steel wheels and, most likely selling these.

Thanks a lot for everyone's help. I've learned a lot, as usual

 

[kruzinboots]

google is your friend:
http://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html

This sure cleared up a lot of confusion for myself. Thanks for the link!



Rick

 

[mr_manny]

Whenever your investing in a set of wheels, the amount of BS is something you definitely want to get right.

glad link helped.

 

[alf]

Get more than you think you need as width is your friend.

kls

 

[Rick '79 FJ40]

Get more than you think you need as width is your friend.

kls

So what you're saying is, size DOES matter?