getting new wheels this spring...

[racsan]

http://www.summitracing.com/oh/parts/clm-7015812/overview/
"D" window wheels, heavy-duty ones, 1/4" thick centers, 1/8" thick rimshell. 29# per rim...tires im leaning towards are the pro-comp a/t's in a 255/70/15 size, 39# per tire, so the assemblies will be nearly 70# for the tire/wheel combination, its just slightly larger than my stock size 235/75/15's so hopefully it wont cause much if any power/economy loss. this rim only comes in a 4" backspacing, from what ive read it should be ok, just have to wait on the income tax refund to finance the whole thing.

 

[racsan]

well, just ordered the rims today, got to decide on tires next, not sure if i want the 255/70-15's or go with a 31/10.50-15. its a 8" wide rim so thats probly the smallest size i could go with, gears are 3.73's so i dont want a much bigger tire. got a rear sway bar on the way as well, the stock one broke on the drivers side inside the axle bushing a couple of years ago and ive never done anything with it since. didnt order centercaps with the rims, ive got centers from my jeep wheel i could use or maybe use my amc rally wheel centers, thoght about modifiying some old broke lock-out hubs and putting them on the rear as centers also.

 

[racsan]

front:

rear:




looks like the tires will be right at the edge of the body or a little beyond. didnt buy centercaps, think i have a couple out at the farm, fronts i wount even bother with.

 

[Kowboy]

I am also in the market for new rims. I've settled on the Wheel Vintiques, 62 Series from Summitt Racing. I've taken quite a few measurements and feel that an 8" wide rim w/4" backspacing would put the rim at the edge or slightly beyond the outside front fender. I wanted 10's for the rear but, they would stick out beyond the rear fenders. I will be going w/ 7's up front and 8's at the back. I'll paint them myself and use moons w/ trim rings. Old School! I do like the deep dish look you're going to achieve.

 

[racsan]

the deep-dish look is appealing to me also...i considered painting these new rims, gold in the center section and silver on the outer section, but im just going to leave them be black, maybe get some trim rings. the front width does seem more than the back, looking forward to some new tires, going with a 255/70/15, so they will be the same height as the stock 235's, but about a inch wider. got a new rear stabilizer bar too, no garage so it will be spring before i put it on. my "bolt-in" valve stems are the wrong size. (need to be bigger) so i guess i'll go hunting the right size for that...and im going to put a bead of rtv where the center section meets the inside of the rim itself....keep water out and rust from forming!

 

[racsan]

well today i put a bead of black rtv silicone around the rim where the center section meets the outer rim shell, keep rust from forming in that crack. i had bought some bolt-in valve stems but they ended up being too small, i didnt even know there was two different sizes, so i got some pull-through rubber atv stems and put in, there short and look good, plus were only about $6 for the four of them, the fancy ones i got (the securing nuts would be inside the tire) were $12 for the set of four. oh well....noticed something else kinda off, when i test fit them the day they came in, it seemed like they were out a little far, i know its a 8" wheel, but with 4" backspacing, it should be at or near the edge of the body, looked like they were just past it. well i measured the backspacing today and they are 3-1/2" backspacing....guess its not too big a deal, but idk why they werent 4" like they were advertized, heck, most of the rims from this company (bart wheels) are advertized as 4" backspacing..... should be getting tires in the next week or two. gotta find those centers for the back, thought about drilling/tapping holes to use my stock ranger centers, but kinda hate to do that, the centers of these rims are 1/4 thick, thats pretty thick to be drilling/tapping a 4mm fastener for, my luck id brak a bit or tap, or it would end up being off somehow. i'll just keep it simple.

 

[racsan]

think ive finnally decided how to do my centercaps, thought about drilling/tapping and using the originals from my alloy wheels, but i happened to have a old rusty set that ive painted with primer then clearcoated, will do the same (grey primer/clearcoat) to the brake drums and front lockouts. not sure if i'll bother with paint on the front calipers, will just get dirty quick or discolor from the heat of brake useage. ready for it to warm up so i can get the tires and new sway bar on, see how it will be with a set of wider tires. going with a 255/70/15, im not sure how im going to like the tires being a little outside of the body, but since i got 3-1/2 offset instead of the 4" it was supposed to be, i cant do much about it, just hope its not too much of a load on the wheel bearings with the off-center loading...guess i'll find out!, i plan on going through the front end before i put the new tires on, make sure my bearings are good to begin with and i have fresh grease and proper preload in place.

 

[racsan]

going with these tires:
Tire Details Futura GLS Super Sport | Pep Boys
cooper tires, 60,000 mile rated tire, probly just run these in the summer anyways, too wide for winter useage, might try them and see, pickicing them up saterday, im sure theres still some snow left this winter. would have rather had the generals, but these are quite a bit cheaper and for what i do with my truck , these will work and probly be better on mpg's.

 

[racsan]

bought my new tires saterday. wont get them on until after i go through the front axle, probly in another month, too cold out right now to work outside. best thing is, when they rang up my tires, they listed them as a 225 70 15, when really they are 255 70 15. so i got 96 dollar tires for 80 bucks per tire! didnt even notice their mistake until i got home and was looking over the receipt. i know i got the right size on my rims, i checked that out before i loaded them into the truck.

 

[Kowboy]

I hope that you won't need warranty work on these tires. The shop may not recognize them as the tires they think they sold to you. Just a thought.

 

[racsan]

today i started seeing what i needed to do to put my new rear stabilizer bar on, turns out i need to pull the bed, old link on the drivers side i cant get to the nut on the backside without pulling the bed or dropping the tank, guess it will have to wait until its warmer out. since i had the jack out anyways and it wasnt too bitter cold, figured id roll a tire out and see what it looked like, just tried it on the rear, tire is right at the edge of the flare at the top of the wheelwell, just outside the edge of my mudflap. i'll probly get a longer bolt where the mudflap bracket joins the frame and kick the flap to the outside a 1/2 inch. also took a picture of the new tire beside the ones im running right now, its noticeably wider. wish it was warm enough out to go through the front end so i could put them on, got some seals from autozone yesterday, if im lucky all i'll need to do is regrease things, the good bearings are 25 bucks per bearing, but if their needed im putting them in.

 

[racsan]

one step closer to getting them on today, had to put in a new radiator so that ate up alot of my time and it started turning colder before i could get much done with the front axle, while i was waiting for the wife to get home with the last hose clamp i needed i took off a front tire and put one of the new ones on. this same side is now stripped down to the steering knuckle, hopefully it warms up tomorrow and i can finish things up and get all the tires on. at least the bearings on the right side seem good, hopefully the other side is good as well, then its just a "repack and reassemble". wish i had a garage, i dont mind working out in the open as long as its nice out, which it wasnt bad until about 4 today, then it turned cold and started spitting rain, which turned to sleet.

 

[racsan]

finnally was warm enough to go through the front end and put the tires on, like the look, makes my old jeep wrangler winter wheels look like junk! doesnt hit anywhere on turns, glad the tires arent any taller as they hang outside the body by about a inch.