Me again on this... here are 2 quotes from 2 experienced users of this forum on the rubbing of 32" tires:

first from OffroadX: I have 32x11.50R15s on my 2000 Xterra with nothing more than a little t-bar adjustment. With 32s, rubbing in the rear is limited to the useless plastic fuel filler line cover at max compression, and the front is only at max compression on the plastic fender liner. Both are harmless. Of course you will have to trim up front a bit, but absolutely no added lift bits are needed.

Now from xoc:
I have 32" Mud Terrains, and they rub everywhere.

The right rear will tear off the fuel line cover in the passenger side wheel well.
Both rears will contact the front edge of the rear wheel well.
Both rears will rub severely on the sheetmetal within the wheel well.
The fronts will rub the lower control arm and front torsion bar anchor at full lock.
They will both rub on the stock bumper trailing edge trim.

Now from me:
Are you guys using stock steel rims? Why so many people want to buy aftermarket rims, just for looks or is there some kind of issue with the stock rims? I will not change my rims, I have the stock 15" steel wheels. According to OffroadX I should go for the 32s, but according to xoc I should avoid it. They both have a 2000X but have completely different experiences with same size tires... mine is a 2001, I think it's exactly the same as 2000. I want 32s if they are like OffroadX says. Anybody with 32s without lift please answer... Including you 2 guys, in case something has changed in your experience...

Thanks a lot.

I have a lift and 32" Bridgestone M/T's. Like XOC, mine rub everwhere, but nothing rubs hard and I have to get the tires pretty stuffed and such.

Personally, I think 31" tires are perfect for a non lifted Xterra and 32's are perfect with a 3" suspension lift. To a lot of people tire size is like penis size and it's a desire to have larger just to have bragging rights. Youknow, they are penis extenders just like buying a Hummer or soemthing.

i have 32 MTRs and they did rub the lower A arms with stock suspension. just adjust your steering stops out alittle. the rear fuel line cover will get torn off but all you have to do is cut the bottom protruding edge where the bottom push pin goes into the metal piece. no problems rubbing at all on the rear for me other than the fuel line cover.

will need to trim front bumper and usual mudflap trimming.

I rubbed the fuel filler cover with stock tires at full flex. Like stated above, you should clear them with 3" of lift otherwise stick to 31" on a stock truck and adjust the steering stops if you have rubbing up front.

I have 32" BFG MT's and a 1.5" Lift and they don't rub hardly at all. They just barely contact the fuel filler cover and in front I trimmed the fenders about 1/2" and they don't touch at all. I guess alot of it depends on your vehicle.

Personally I'm going back down to 31" AT's with mt next tires just becasue the MT's are overkill when 90% of my driving in on pavement. I only NEED the MT's every now and then; the reason I got them was one particular experience (to Moab in the snow with UXOC ) I really could of used them then. But I've never really needed that much tread any other time.

I've got 32" BFG mudterrains mounted on DR rims, with a 3" Calmini lift on my 2000 X. And i get no rubbing. I had to trim a bit of the plastic mud flap up front but that was it.

Thanks a lot guys, I'll get the BFG AT 31", and the calmini shackles and a bit of t-bar tweak, it's all at a good price, which is good for me. Before you all say I don't need shackles with the 31", I'll just say that I know but I'll buy them anyway, they're cheap.

Anybody knows why people buy aftermarket wheels? Just for looks? I don't think I need to buy wheels even if I buy the 32" right? I couldn't care less about the looks of the wheels.

Take care.

I have a 2" body lift and 33x10.5s on american racing steel wheels with a little longer offset. They rub only under full suspention travel, and only very slightly, oh and I removed the mudflaps completly.
I also have cranked the t-bars and have 1" shackels.
The tire size issue, for me has always been about ground clearence. I took my X on a trail today and noticed the the diference right away.
This is before

This is after

THat's pretty much what I got in the way of suspension except I went with the Calmini AAL's becasue my leaf springs were sagging a bit. It only cost $150 for 1.5in of lift.

I also stuck with the stock cast aluminum wheels, I like the look of stock over aftermarket ones. The only reason to change is to go to steel rims. If your cast aluminum wheels take a bad hit by a rock they crack and the air leaks out; if the steel wheels take a hit they bend and you can use a BFH to bang them back into shape. But I've been on some gnarly trails and never had the stock wheels hit a rock so I figure I don't really need to go to steel rims.