How Are People Sourcing Wheels Anymore for Older Rigs? Need Less Back Spacing (BS!)

teamextreme · Post by **teamextreme** » Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:36 pm

I've had a set of 36" Swampers on 15" wheels I've been using for over 10 years. I decided they finally needed replacing, so I started looking around for some used 36" or 37" tires and quickly realized they don't even make tires that big for 15" wheels anymore. So, I had to upsize to 17" wheels. I found some 37's awhile ago then starting searching online for 17" wheels with the appropriate backspacing I need on the FJ40 to clear the tie rod ends. My old 15" wheels are 10" wide with 4" of back spacing. I couldn't find anything, so I decided to go down to Discount to see if they could find me something since I was striking out on-line. There was NOTHING with 4" of BS, but they had one that had what I thought was going to be close enough at about 4.25" based on calculations from their stupid offset measurements they all use now. Problem is, that conversion doesn't take into account the bead width and when they got here and I measured (after they've been mounted unfortunately) because I could tell they didn't look right, the BS is 4.5" That 1/2" is enough that the inner bead hits the TRE. I brought them in loose, so I had to take them home to test fit. They already told me before I left that once they're mounted I own them, so now I have to deal with trying to get something resolved in terms of returns (unlikely?) and getting the right thing. But the bigger issue is, how does anyone get wheels that fit these older rigs? All the new trucks use so much backspacing sticking the wheels way under the vehicle, but the older rigs (at least mine) need way less BS and nobody appears to sell anything anymore. I called 4WP as well and they basically said they don't sell anything like that and had no suggestions.

Willie G · Post by **Willie G** » Wed Jun 03, 2020 3:21 pm

I had the same issue on a frankenstein setup I own.

Wound up going with Spidertrax 1.25" spacers for $100. Cheapest way out for me.

teamextreme · Post by **teamextreme** » Wed Jun 03, 2020 5:07 pm

That's what I'm afraid I'll have to do. We'll see what Discount has to say tomorrow, they're going to do some more extensive research.

vb · Post by vb » Thu Jun 04, 2020 10:29 pm

Raceline has 17s with 3.5 and 3.75. they might also have 4. I just did what you are doing.

74BuckinBronc · Post by **74BuckinBronc** » Fri Jun 05, 2020 6:25 am

You may have to get some custom made. American Racing will do that, so they may be worth a call. The one wheel I was looking at had an upcharge of $20 per wheel for custom lug pattern. But it went all the way to a 4.5" BS on a 15" wheel.

However, I wouldn't go with a 15" wheel. I'd jump to a 17".

Running a search on a that site for a 1970 FJ40 there were several options. The first being a AR172 Baja, which is in a 17" flavor with a 4.53" BS.

Edit to add:
http://stazworks.com/rims.htm
https://www.omfperformance.com/beadlocked_wheels.php

Wulf · Post by **Wulf** » Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:25 am

I went through this a while ago. It is a pain to find the right spec wheels. Some MFG (Raceline) have a catalog of the PN with all the specs that can help. I was able to find a couple of different 17" steelies with 4" BS for my Tacoma. I believe that Discount has a Vision one with that spec as well as Cragar and Pro Comp

I ended up with a ProComp 17x9 with 3.5" BS which is enough to keep a 12.5" wide tire off the upper control arm. You're welcome to borrow it for a test fit

teamextreme · Post by **teamextreme** » Fri Jun 05, 2020 4:55 pm

I'm too cheap for Raceline or similar, just looking for cheap steelies. Wulf, I'm surprised you found ProComps with 3.5" BS. I searched and couldn't find any. Even called 4WP and they said they had nothing. I've pretty much given up now and going to order 1" Trail Gear spacers for the front. I basically own these wheels now that they're mounted, so that's my easiest solution.

Steven · Post by **Steven** » Wed Jun 10, 2020 7:16 am

They should take them back no questions asked. They just say they are yours once the tires are mounted so they don’t have to return them.

Wulf · Post by **Wulf** » Thu Jun 11, 2020 2:08 pm

teamextreme wrote:I'm too cheap for Raceline or similar, just looking for cheap steelies. Wulf, I'm surprised you found ProComps with 3.5" BS. I searched and couldn't find any. Even called 4WP and they said they had nothing. I've pretty much given up now and going to order 1" Trail Gear spacers for the front. I basically own these wheels now that they're mounted, so that's my easiest solution.

4WP parts wheel search is pitiful. I got PN 97-7983S3.5 which is also available from Summit, Amazon, etc

https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/pro-comp- ... 7-7983S3.5

teamextreme · Post by **teamextreme** » Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:48 pm

I spoke with the manager and he said no problem, they'll return them and get me something that will work. That's continuing to be a problem though. I've researched more and there's 5 wheels I've found that will work. 2 of those show up in searches (including the Procomps mentioned above by Wulf) but have either been discontinued or on indefinite backorder and are not available (Vision brand is the other one that is not available). US Wheel is one option that is pretty pricey at $210 for fake bead lock look steel wheels and are 6 to 7 weeks lead time to build them. Or I can pony up $285 for Raceline steel beadlocks. That's pretty much my only options other than $400+ competition aluminum beadlocks.

74BuckinBronc · Post by **74BuckinBronc** » Mon Jun 15, 2020 5:17 am

You won't be sorry to have beadlocks...unless they leak. But usually that can be remedied by adjusting the tire. $75/tire is a solid chunk of change tho!

Have you checked on the book of faces?

Wulf · Post by **Wulf** » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:44 am

teamextreme wrote:I spoke with the manager and he said no problem, they'll return them and get me something that will work. That's continuing to be a problem though. I've researched more and there's 5 wheels I've found that will work. 2 of those show up in searches (including the Procomps mentioned above by Wulf) but have either been discontinued or on indefinite backorder and are not available (Vision brand is the other one that is not available). US Wheel is one option that is pretty pricey at $210 for fake bead lock look steel wheels and are 6 to 7 weeks lead time to build them. Or I can pony up $285 for Raceline steel beadlocks. That's pretty much my only options other than $400+ competition aluminum beadlocks.

74BuckinBronc wrote:You won't be sorry to have beadlocks...unless they leak. But usually that can be remedied by adjusting the tire. $75/tire is a solid chunk of change tho!

Have you checked on the book of faces?

Here's some for $250 ea 17x9 3.5" BS beadlocks: https://www.battlebornwheels.com/produc ... 0366305805

They were OOS all of last summer/fall which is why I went the Pro Comp route. A raceline dealer told me that Raceline owns battleborn

teamextreme · Post by **teamextreme** » Mon Jun 15, 2020 10:51 pm

Wulf wrote:Here's some for $250 ea 17x9 3.5" BS beadlocks: https://www.battlebornwheels.com/produc ... 0366305805

They were OOS all of last summer/fall which is why I went the Pro Comp route. A raceline dealer told me that Raceline owns battleborn

I wouldn't be surprised if they're related to raceline, they look like carbon copies. They are $35 cheaper though...

Wulf · Post by **Wulf** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 10:47 am

teamextreme wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if they're related to raceline, they look like carbon copies. They are $35 cheaper though...

I'm not sure if you have to pay shipping if you buy through a local dealer. Could make the deal better

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

Dave McDonald · Post by **Dave McDonald** » Tue Jun 16, 2020 11:15 am

I bought these to go on my ZJ:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01 ... UTF8&psc=1

and then bought a set of 2020 Wrangler rims that someone replaced when they bought it. I wanted to go with 15s, but figured out the world has moved to bigger rims. Now I have 17s.