I save seen diffrent folks say you need 3 1/4, some say 3 1/2, some say 3 3/4...Which is best?? JT Outfitters has some nice aluminum rims on sale with 3 1/4 backspacing. Will these work with a lift and running 33's???
You often need that extra 1/2" with alum rims because while lighter, they are thicker and may rub the calipers. IMO, steel is 3-3/4 and alumm is 3-1/4. I plan to run 2-1/2 with my beadlocks, someday....a bit more stance for added offroad stability.
Hey Woody,thanks for the friendly tug out at Pismo Sn'T a few years back.We were wheeling Mark's green/wht.top 55 and got stuck on that ridge in that super windy sand storm afternoon!! Sorry off topic,back to backspace,I have a 2.5" 15x8 black steel for a spare and it does not clear calipers very well.Might have to do a little light grinding.I want to make sure it fits so I can replace the other 4 wheels(they are older chrome metal with black centers with a 3.75" bs) with the old wheels I use a 1/4" spacer to clear tre's.So maybe 3.5" would work better for me as I have not mounted up the spare yet. John
I also had a caliper clearance issue with 2.5 inch backspace wheels. I bought the wheels below... Pro Comp Wheels 52-5883R2-5 - Pro Comp Xtreme Rock Crawler Series 52 Black Wheels - Overview - SummitRacing.com The d-shaped cuts in the center have a lip on the back side and that is what was hitting the caliper. I am using 1/4 inch spacer to clear... was a little disappointed I still had to use spacers. I did not want to grind my new wheels at the time but I may now that I have plenty of rock rash on them. Just wanted to add that I think these wheels would have rubbed the caliper regardless of the backspacing.
Vfrer,I will try my spare with the 1/4" spacer to see if it clears better.Are you ok with the way the wheels stick out a bit more?As Woody said you get a wider stance. So Summit charges like 10 bucks more a wheel,4WP always has them for $55.95+ free S/H.Just sayn for someone else to save a few bucks! 4WP has got the 15x8's in B/S 2.5",3.5" & 3.75".I might try the 3.5" so maybe I won't need the spacers and have more grab with the lug nuts.
