New Wheels/Tires

Hello,

Found this site a few days ago -what an awesome resource!

I'm waiting delivery on my new Xterra, (got a good deal on an 01 SE 4x4), and I'd like to have some new wheels and tires waiting for it when it arrives.

Over the past few days I've read almost every message in this section and still have a few questions concerning wheel sizes. As I could gather from reading, the stock wheels are 16x7 with an offset of +40mm and a 5.25" backspacing. In searching the various online wheel/tire dealers I couldn't find anything that had a +40mm offset and that exact backspacing, but I did find the following, which is pretty close:

AMERICAN RACING AR-23 RWD
Specifications:
rim diameter: 16"
rim width: 8"
back spacing: 4.5"
offset: 0mm
load capactiy: 2200 lbs
hub centric: NO

My question.... How important is the 40mm offset difference, and the .75" backspacing difference? Since I don't have my Xterra yet, I'm not sure how much those differences will cause the tires to stick out of the wells and/or cause other problems. The differences seem minimal, but offset and backspacing are new to me. By the way, the tires will be the TRXUS 265/75/16's.

Thanks in advance.

-Sid

I might be wrong, but you can't compare offset or backspacing numbers between a 7" rim ( original ) and a 8" rim.
ie.. a 4" backspace on a 7" rim would split it 3 & 4, the same on a 8" 4 & 4. ( not exactly, just rounding to make the point )

Here's a good diagram to explain it all.

Backspacing and offset are tied together, so the 0MM offset and 4.5" backspacing advertised for that 8" rim can't happen.

That AR-23 rim will stick out 1.75" from stock, which is about 1.75" too far for my tastes.

Thanks for the quick response guys.

XOC, that picture helps. So with the 0mm offset, the backspacing would have to be 4" on that wheel because it's 8" wide, right?

>That AR-23 rim will stick out 1.75" from stock, which is about 1.75" too far for my tastes.<

Too far for your tastes as in looks or in a mechanical/damaging sense? Look wise it'd be ok to me...my only concern would be the risk of doing damage to the vehicle. (I know I'll have to trim, not a problem)

Thanks again for the quick responses!!!

-Sid

Both. Although beauty is in the eye of the beholder, sticking out that far is risky for your suspension and steering components.

Anything beyond what Nissan designed will cause problems sooner or later.

Your steering will change, handling will change, the stress on the wheel bearings will increase.

You may hit the body with a rear tire during suspension travel (it goes inside the wheelwell stock).

My personal tastes have always hated the sticky-outy-rice boy look.

Just what I needed to hear, thanks.

I think I'll just go with new tires on the stock rims until one of the wheel manufacturers creates something closer to the stock specs.

-Sid

Sid,

There are other Nissan wheels that have the proper offset and look good on an Xterra. I'm looking at getting some 6 spoke mid-90's Pathfinder 15x7 wheels when I get new tires. There are also some similar ones I have seen on a newer Frontier.