wheel/tire info

[Kyle Maguire]

hey everyone just wandering if i can get some help. on my ST now i have rather tall and skinny tires and don't get me wrong the ride and everything is nice and perfect but i want something with a much wider stance, something with more ground coverage. my question is on a completely stock non-lift ST how wide could i go. Any recommendations to a certain tire size and wheel size? right now i run a 245/70R17 tire size with a 17x8 wheel. could i keep my wheels the same size and just throw on a wider tire or won't they fit? would i also need wheel spacers? maybe 2 inches? much help is needed thank you everyone. any and all suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

[Patrick Wallach]

You can run wide tires on an 8" rim. I think 12.50s might be a little sketchy as far as breaking the bead in turns though but I run 35X12.50 on a 17x8.5 wheel. So the thing with spacers is that they might cause you to have to trim a little of the bottom cladding. It really isn't noticeable if you do it right and go slow. A lot of us guys with 33s and 35s have had to and you can barely tell on any of ours. That's not a definite but it is a possibility because you are pushing the arc of travel of the fattest part of the tire farther out if that makes any sense. It's kind of a hard concept to explain but maybe there's a video on youtube or something that could help you out there.



Spacers would be the easiest way to push out to a wider stance. I run 1.25" spacers on my rear axle for a wider stance. That'll change here shortly to almost 2" adapters to match the lug pattern of the Dana 44 I swapped in up front. But I am happy with the change it made. Another member on here did the same thing but with 1.5" spacers and we both run 35" tires.

 

[Patrick Wallach]

You have to keep in mind that spacers will put the weight of your wheels and tires that much further outside of the axle and will cause more stress on suspension components such as ball joints. I think 2" spacers would be a little sketchy as far as wear and tear on the front axle. Personally I would not go more than 1.5" up there but you'd be surprised how much of a difference they make as far as stance goes.

 

[EddieS'04]

What is the offset on the wheels.?

 

[TRACket Paul]

FYI:

 

[Kyle Maguire]

thanks Patrick, and Eddie i cant remember exactly i believe it was like 0 mm offset but i can't remember.

 

[EddieS'04]

Kyle, if your wheels are 17x8 @ 0 offset. You may be able to run a 275/60-17 tire. it will be wider but, 1/2" shorter. I think a 285 will have clearance problems.



I have 18x8.5" @ 0 offset. With 265/60-18 tires. Stock hieght, no clearance issues. Tires are wider than oem but same diameter. These cooper discover ht plus have 9" tread width on the ground.







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[Gavin Allan]

Eddie, I really like your tires. They look SWEET. Gonna consider them for my Trac.