rossp

I've done alot of reading lately about backspacing and such and it all seems too confusing. My jeep has 5.5 inches of lift with 305/70/17 mud dawgs on dodge magnum wheels on it. My tires are scrubbing on the control arms when turning and are tucked under the fenders. Im looking to get the tires out a little further and go with a 17x9 wheel. Can someone help me with choosing the right size wheel that im looking for? Thanks.

onevision

What your looking at is the offset or backspacing on the rim. A zero offset is putting the rim where it mounts to the wheel flange, right in the middle. While you can move the wheel offset in either direction, each has advantages and problems. pushing the wheel out for a wider stance also makes the wheel move more when turned, thus needs more clearance. Bringing it in closer makes clearance issues with the tie rod and even control arms. You can sometimes solve some of the clearance issues by using a bigger rim. I've got R15 x 8" with a .25 offset and got them to work but my other set of rims with a zero offset was perfect. If you push them out wider you start pining the tire against the frame with anything bigger than 32" tires. I'm running 33" x 13.5", but needed to shift my axle to clear when turning.