Alright, i'm about to do a lift on my 00' xterra, i'll be doing a 3"suspension lift and a 2" body lift, i'm going to be going with 15x8 rock crawlers' with 33x12.50 bfg mt's. Will 4.75" BS do the job, i've been reading around and haven't come across anything that answers my question directly, just want some knowledgable opinions, is 4.75 too much and will they be sticking out way to much with the 15x8 rim and 12.5 tire, and could i get away with going any lower than 4.75" BS?

anyone? i could really use some help with this

they will work fine. i have 4.5 BS.

how much does 4.5" stick out, too much?

The higher the number, the less they'll stick out. The stock backspacing is 5.something.

I'm running series 51 15x8, 6 lug on 5.5" pattern with 3.5"BS rockcrawler wheels from 4wheelparts.com

They stick out a bit - but I think they look cool - and they help keep you off of stuff while offroad... though they do throw mud and rocks up onto the vehicle MUCH more when they stick out like this.






So - to answer your question directly, if anything, 4.75" might not be sticking out *enough* - since the tire is 2" wider than stock you've got to make sure it won't rub on the frame. I think it'll work, though. Anything between 4.75 and 3.5" will probably be just fine.

Keep in mind that you will still need to trim the fenders behind the front tires. One of our club members with an '01 just upgraded last week to the exact same lift and tire combination you're talking about and he had to cut into the metal (not just the plastic) behind the front tires to stop them from rubbing when the steering was turned all the way. It's no big deal - we've all done it... but just to prepare you...

(FYI, my setup in the pics is with no suspension lift, a 3" body lift, and 32" BFG MTs)

Here are some pics of when I trimmed mine... I just removed the plastic piece altogether. My friend figured out that you can just cut where the tire rubs inside the fender without having to take it off and leave it off like I did.

Better check but I think the 4.75 BS may actually rub/hit the brake calipers. I do believe that is why most of us had to go with less and thus stick out a bit more.

better safe than sorry

i've almost convinced myselft to go with 3.75" backspacing, but i have one more question. Would there be any advantage with going with a 15x10 rather than 15x8... this whole time i've been planning on 15x8's , but what are the advantages/disadvantages of going with 15x10 on a 12.5 tire

I don't know anybody who is running 15x10's. They may work - but it is more of an unknown.

Technically they say that an 8" wheel is too narrow for a 12" tire - but it works just fine.

I run a 15x10 on my 33x12.5's, but my backspacing is pretty far off. I'm in the middle of changing webservers, so I don't think I've got a pic of it handy, lemme see.

Here are some shots of my 15x10's (measured rim edge to rim edge is 11", but I don't think they make a 15x11) with 3.5"BS - 33x12.5 BFG MTs...







I had to fold the lip of the wheel well in just a little to get them to fit in there

and yea, with as far as they stick out, one mud puddle pretty much covers the entire side of your truck. It makes it difficult to wheel with the windows down, as I've learned.

For the original poster...remember, the wider the wheel and tires are, and the more stance you gain by a lower number of backspacing, the harder it is on your steering components...especially when you add the suspension lift. Focus on steering if you haven't done so already. I would do nothing short of 4.5" BS if you're going with 12.50" wide tires...and you can put a 15X7 rim with a 12.50" wide tire with no ill effects. Basically, your tire sidewall will bulge around the wheels more, but that actually helps protect things better like valve stems, hubs, and wheels. I don't really care about my wheels, as they're black steel and I can get them replaced for $35 each...but valve stems being ripped out and hubs being shattered on rocks can ruin a day on the trail (or at least make it a longer day then intended ).

My setup is on 35X12.50 tires, 15X7 AR767s, with 4.5" of backspacing...no rubbing on the frame. I could stand to go with a 15X8 with 4" of backspacing, but especially with 35's I don't want to go much more than that. Hope some of that info helped out.

Dave.

edit to add: If you're doing a 3+2 lift, you're raising your center of gravity obviously. With a wider track, you'll get better control. So you may want to go with a 4" backspacing after all to get that truck planted with less tendency to feel "tippy" on the trails. When you go up like that, it's usually a good idea to counter that COG change with going "out" as well. Wide track axles are always more stable off road, and you can mimic the effects of a wide track axle by pushing the tires and wheels out a little further.

It'll look like this:

And it does rub a little but after you get used to it, it is manuveralble.