Opinion on Lift and Tire/Wheel Size

Hello, I'm looking into upgrading my wheels and tires when I get home from Afghanistan in a few months. Right now I have the stock 245/75R16's. I'm getting the Dick Cepek DC2's in 17x9 and am wanting the BF Goodrich AT's. I'm aiming for 32" tires. I'm new to the whole lifting and tire thing and I've used the calculator to try and figure out sizes, but am not quite sure if the 32's will work for my goal. I'm wanting the tires to stick out a little. I think that 275/70R17's will work, but just looking for advice and opinions as I am new to this kinda thing. Thanks for any help or suggestions.

 

Thank you for your service! As for the tires, if you go 275 you are going to need to lift your truck to avoid rubbing issues. Do you plan on lifting your truck or just putting on wheels and tires? Without a lift the highest you can go with tires is 265/70 R17.

 

A lift (traditional 3" or less) has no impact on what wheels and tires fit. I get so tired of correcting that assertion every time it pops up here. The lift kits only change the amount of compression till you rub the same place. As for whether your tire size will stick out... that is dependant on your wheel backspace/offset.

 

The offset is pretty aggressive (for a Tacoma) on the Dick Cepek DC2s. They will stick out of the fenders a little bit.

Personally, I like at least a 285/70R17 on a 17x9" wheel. If you go with 275/70R17 you're going to have to find a P275/70R17 for the tire to be approved for use with a 9" wide wheel (Most tire manufacturer's LT275/70R17 should only be used with an 8.5" maximum wheel width, per the tire manufacturer specs). I'm not aware of any P275/70R17s, only LTs. The probably is that the wheel will be slightly too wide for the tire, and you'll run the risk of dropping a bead.

With 285/70R17 you won't have this problem.

 

So, lifting the truck 3" will not prevent rubbing with 285/70R17's or 275/70R17's?

 

Yes, I plan on doing a 3" suspension lift.

 

if i could offer some advice on the wheel situation, i would go with a set of method double standards with the polished lip, and 285/75/17's. youll have to trim some of the cheap plastic in the wheel well, but it would be a sick set up.

 

The width of your tire plays a much smaller role in the stance of your truck than the backspacing of your wheels.

I'm running 255/75/17s on a 17x9 -12 offset (4.5 backspace) wheel and my tires stick out about 1.5 inches outside my fenders.



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How much trimming would have to be done?

 

The trimming would depend on the backspacing of the wheels. I don't know the specific backspacing on those so you would have to look it up. 4.5 is ideal backspacing for our trucks.

 

so i have a 2.5 lift in the front and 1.5 in the rear. im lookin to get new wheels and tires. what size do u recommend to fill out the wheel wells and give her an aggressive stance but not rub and good off road? im new too this so please explain. thanks jim

 

I like this setup - I want a little more negative offset on my TRD Sport, but not too much. I'm thinking of sticking with the factory size or moving up to 265/70-17, but I'm not sure how close the negative offset pushes me to the fenders and if that would even be possible.

How much clearance do you have on the back of that front fender with 255/75s?

 

EZ BAKE---what does 17x9-12 offset (4.5 backspace mean)? and how much did u lift yours?

 

With the wheels straight there is about 2.5 inches. At full lock there's about 1.25 inches from the tire to the fender liner. The only time I've been able to make it to rub was when I turned into my driveway at full lock and pretty fast (I was trying to get it to rub) I haven't had any rubbing during normal driving on the road. Offroad all of my driving is at low speeds so I haven't had any issues with rubbing there either.

Before i took them off it was rubbing bad on the small flaps on the front of the fenders.

 

17 inch wheel, 9 inches wide. The backspace determines where the mounting face of the wheel sits. The smaller the backspace number, the farther your wheels will stick out. The offset is determined by the wheel backspace and width. For example a 9 inch wide wheel with a 4.5 backspace will have a -12 offset. An 8 inch wheel with a 4.5 backspace will have a 0 offset.

Here's a good explanation of offset/backspacing
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/wheels-tires/102992-wheel-backspacing-offset-info.html

For my lift I'm running bilstein 5100s set at 1.75 inches in the front and a 1.5 add a leaf in the rear

 

so with my 2.5 spacer and 1.5 in the rear. your wheels and tires should fit under my truck w/ minimal rubbing?

 

Yes, should fit with no problem

 

whats a comparable 16''wheel and tire combo?

 

A 255/80/r16 would be the same size, but I don't know if anyone makes a tire in that size.

A 265/75/r16 is probably as close as you'll get. About 1/2" wider and 1/2" less in diameter.

 

ok thaks man