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Wheel backspacing question

37K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  Whistledick1 
#1 ·
I am looking to buy a set of aftermarket wheels for my '01 superduty and have a question about wheel backspacing. I am currently running 315/75/16 on factory 16" wheels which have a backspacing of 4.5", correct me if I'm wrong. At full turn the tires barely clear the leaf springs. If I go with an aftermarket wheel with a backspacing of 5" and the same size tire, there is a very good chance that the tires will rub the leaf springs. Am I correct on this or am I missing something? Does wheel width come into play anywhere?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
You are correct. 5" backspacing is pretty much for the newer trucks 05 and up with the coil springs. They dont have to worry about rubbing spring. Find a wheel with less backspacing as you are correct, if you are very close to rubbing now, taking that half inch in will likely make you rub.
 
#3 ·
:whs:

The newer trucks have wider axles and need more backspacing to keep the tires under the truck and not rub the bumper, or fender/inner fender.

Just need to pay attention to the Backspacing versus the width of the rim, as the rim gets wider you will want a little more backspacing to compensate for the added width.


BTW, :welcome: to PSN, and looks like a pretty good truck ya got there :ford:
 
#4 ·
Back Space is a constant over all wheel widths.....on a 99-04 you primarily stick with 4.5" Back Space.

You can do less and push the tires out more but it increases your scrub radius, wear and tire on the front end and can cause clearance issues with the bumper and fender.


Offset varies by width.....so you need to know both offset and width to know how well the wheel will work.
For example:
10" wide wheel with 4.5" Back Space is -25mm offset
12" wide wheel with 4.5" Back Space is -51mm offset.
 
#13 ·
I have a 2001 f250. I would like to put 37x13.50R18LT tires on the truck and need to know how much backspacking/offset I need so that I don't rub the leaf springs. Can anyone help? I would also like to know what size rim in regards to width is appropriate to run a 13.5 inch tire on. Thanks for your help.
 
#14 ·
Thread is almost 9 years old! I thought there was more info available in the tire section but didn't find it after a quick look.

Personally I like the wider stance (have pocket flares) so run a 10" wide rim with 3.5" of backspacing. Probably hard on my unit bearings but until I can afford '05+ axles...
They recommend going no more than 4.5" of backspacing to keep from hitting leaves, '05 + are 5".
On a 10" rim:
4.5 backspacing = -25mm offset, just hung out
4" backspacing= -38mm offset, hang out 1" or so.
3.5 backspacing= -51mm offset, really need flares .
Think many run a 9.5" wide rim with -44mm offset which is close to the 4.5 on a 10"...

I like the 10" rim with 35"+ tires but I work mine and like these rims. Some prefer the 12".
 
#16 ·
Most likely you will have minor rubbing on the plastic splash shield in the fenderwell with that width of tire. It's an easy trim job or tying a wire to the shield and holding it back by a couple inches. Other than that you should be fine.
 
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