thanks, and by the way....love the site and forum.

i ordered decals from you the other day. no rush...i'm stuck in D status!

 

yes it did....thanks to both of you.

 

So if a wheel has less backspacing AND less offset, it will be even further away from the body, creating more clearance for the inside of the tire? For example, the 17" AEV Pintler has a 4.75 backspacing and a +10mm offset; it's then 1 1/2 inches further out PLUS 75mm further out?

 

The offset is how far from center the mounting plate is, and then the back space is subtracted from that. so... a +10mm off set would just be subtracting from the back spacing. but not another 75mm, just 10mm or 0.39" giving a total of 4.36" of back spacing. this is how i understand it... but in short, it would bring the tire in a little from what the listed backspacing is. if the backspacing is a negative, it would push the tire out more (minus a negative is a +).


if i'm wrong, someone correct me.



EDIT:::: i was a little off... did some homework and learned something.
ok, the off set is kind of like backspacing, but its more like the difference, hence the name, off set. the to find the off set you take the width of the wheel divided by two so that you get the center line. Now, take the backspacing and minus the center line number and that's your offset in inches. or the the distance between the mounting plate due to backspacing and the centerline.

in otherwords, the off set is the difference in how much backspacing there is and the center of the wheel. so the backspacing pushes the wheel out a certain distance, the offset will be the difference between the middle of the wheel and where the backspacing ends.

so... in an 8" wide wheel, backspacing of 4.75, the off set would be 0.75" or +19mm. keep in mind, the width of the wheel isnt the stated width, its the width between the lips on each side.

now, an 8" wide wheel with 3.75" of backspacing would have an off set of -.25" or -6mm.


so in the first example, the mounting plate of the wheel would be 19mm towards the outside of the vehicle from the center. the backspacing is still 4.75, but its just saying that the plate is now .25" past the center of the wheel towards to outside of the vehicle. in otherwords, the wheel is now .75" off center.

in the 2nd example, the mounting plate would be .25" closer to the frame based on the center of the wheel. so that means that the wheel will be .25" past center going out, so it'll look like the mounting plate is recesed into the wheel past the center.

so if you had a wheel 8" wide and 4" of backspacing, the offset would be 0 meaning the mounting plate is dead center.


so for your question on the off set of +10mm, with backspacing of 4.75, it means that the mount plate is 10mm outside the center of the wheel. but regardless, the offset will not affect the backspacing making it more or less.


i think i got it right now... EDIT::sorry i keep changing this, i keep finding mistakes in my typing.

 

Got it. Besides rubbing, are there any other advantages to having the rim/tire further out from the body?

Is there a minimum backspacing/offset to be able to run 35x12.5 tires without using a spacer?

 

a wider track gives you more stability. and it'll allow for wider tires which also help in stability and give you more grip, epscially in sand and mud.

as to backspacing, i think its 4.5 or something close to that... someone else will have to answer that one.

 

First let me apologize for the lack of off road education, which I will remedy when I get my jk.

I am looking at putting on 33 x 10.5 on and know that the wider tires will give more traction. Because it will mostly be a daily driver I will probly not go over a 10.5 width. I know as previously explained that the smaller diameter ie. 15"s will be less expensive, but what practical aspects do I need to consider? Also steel vs. aluminum wheels, which is more practical for trails?

I do not plan on doing any hard rock climbing but would like the ability to drive on moderate trails. if I get bit by the hardcore bug then i would look at upgrading including the suspension.

 

Thanks atomicmecha, i'm still looking. I want something that looks like the soft 8's but don't want steel, I like the ProComp (Series 8069) or American Racing Mojave with Teflon® (Series 3981). Anybody know of any other black wheels with this look?
I'd better hurry up and make up my mind before there are too many choices, I hate shopping.

 

I can confirm that the Cragar 15X8 4"BS wheels will fit without modification.