Wheel frustrations, looking to upgrade and need some help

currently running 255/75/16 bfg KM3s on stock 2015 O/R alloys. SPC UCA's. slight rub on uca even after alignment. ran the same size KM2 with no rubbing. my 2 fronts are have uneven wear so I'm looking to upgrade now. I wish I had gotten it resolved before the uneven wear, but a shoulder injury, not being able to get time off work, covid, and an almost 2 year old have lead me to now.

looking for a 17" rim so I can upgrade to BBK. also reqire tires. I have searched the depths of this forum, 255 skinny thread, 295 thread, fitting 35s on 2-3 lift thread... after weeks of looking at this stuff in the little spare time I have, I am on information overload.

I was looking at Method 17x9, -12 offset. looks to be 4.29 BS
I was thinking of running KO2s or something similar in 285/75/17 specs say 33.9" with an 8" wheel.

or a 295//70/17. possibly settle on 285/70/17 if I have to.
I dont want to get 35s yet as they are significantly more expensive (~$350 per tire) and wont be able to regear till next year most likely. also planning on getting 6 wheels/6 tires to have 2x full size spares to rotate in.

I am looking for a wheel that I can later run 35s on with no spacer..... is this the best route?
seems like I see a lot of people running 35s on an 8 or 8.5" wide wheel, with 3.5-4.5 BS.... But it seems I need some negative offset to get the wheel away from the UCA....

I have a trip from NH --> WY --> NH this fall and will be driving, another reason I dont want 35s before I am ready to regear.

 

I’m no expert but to try to help you problem solve, the end game is to run 35s, just not right now? Or to go with a 33?

following that, main issue right now is rubbing on the UCA? If so more offset will 100% fix that. The stock OR wheels are +25mm offset I believe. Going to a wider wheel with 4.25”(ish) BS/ a wheel with 0 or more negative offset will help, especially if you’re considering going to a wider tire (it will probably be necessary).

I think you should try to nail down what you want your truck to do and work backwards from that, assessing what you want/ need and determining what you need to make that fit. Fitting a 33 seems to be a lot less cutting than fitting a 35, but again I’m no expert.

for me I would like to go up to a 33 but do not ever want to regear (I’m a manual) and fuel economy/performance in 4 seasons is important to me. That’s why I’m looking at going with a 255/80r17 (WP AT3w). For me that should be the best compromise. I have noticed that I do get some rubbing with my 265/70r17 AT3Ws on my stock sport rims on the UCA so for me I will probably wait to upgrade the tire size and get a set of 4Rnr pro rims or something similar before changing rubber.

This forum is filled with A LOT of info. Try to figure out what will be relevant to you.

Good luck!

 

First and foremost. 17x9 -12 is approx 4.5” back space not 4.29 the more negative offset the more you will need to trim and cut. If down the road your plan is to run a 35 with 2-3” of lift there will be plenty of cutting, smashing pinch weld, cmc etc.