Hello guys, need some help with backspacing as the title says. Been lurking on and off on here for the last 2-3 years and actually used the search button for my last truck and got my answer, this time such isn't the case haha

My (new to me) truck is a 98 Ram 2500, auto trans, 4x4, 5.9 gas quad cab. The previous owner either is dumb or wants people to think he is as I've been undoing and fixing everything since I bought it last fall, a story for another time lol Currently it has buckshot tires on it, 35s in the stock wheel, they look good, but are pretty much bald, maybe 3/32 of tread left lol

I get rub at full turn like real hard, which is to be expected no surprise to me. There is what looks like bushwhacker pocket flares on the truck which looks good and gives me legal room for moving the wheel out from the body to create space.

Now this is where the previous owner comment comes into play, he said it had a 4 inch lift on it which when I looked at it there's nothing that looks like aftermarket anything for suspension, rear blocks look pretty big but I also read that the 2500 blocks are like 4-5 inches vs the half ton which is 3 ish. I've concluded that it's stock height and it just sits higher vs half tons so he said it had a lift.

My question is what wheel specs will I need to run a MasterCraft Courser MXT 35 inch tall tire and not rub at full lock? Id like to be even with the fender flares. My previous truck I ran 33s on and used a 4.5 backspace but that was for a 318 half ton, however it worked really well. I plan on getting crager soft 8 wheels in black if I can, nothing fancy.
And will prolly go with 17s as the wheel size. What do you all think? Thanks in advance guys!

 

I think stock backspacing is 4.5 inches on the 16" wheels. Need to see where your current tires are rubbing though. If I had to hazard a guess, it would be on the control arms....... would have to look at it to give you an accurate answer. If you want your tires out even with the fender flares, measure how much further out you would need to come to accomplish that. Keep in mind though, that the further you push them out, the harder is is going to be on the unit-bearing hubs. Another option might be to replace the lower control arms with some of the 'added clearance' fellers..... Couple companies make them... but, they sure aren't cheap.

 

Yeah I was reading about those, aren't they notched or something? As far as I know yeah it's on the control arms, haven't actually had the wheel full lock while under it lol

This is why I posted the question, didn't know that the BS was 4.5 stock as with my half ton I went with 4.5 and my tires were out past the fender by I want to say an inch maybe 1.5? Had no flares on that truck but it was still tastefully done haha also as a side note depending on size as stated before looking at maybe 17s but at a 10 inches wide?

When I measure it should be from the center of the wheel (cover off) out and then a straight edge from the edge of the flare down correct? Based on that measurement, how will that change the specs would I add or subtract number for number on the BS or is there a specific ratio I should look for?

Anyone running a 2500 with flares and have their wheels even with them? Specs and/or pics welcome, any info greatly appreciated as well!

 

Also, be careful in the rear if using 16" wheels. I found that deep backspacing wheels in the rear with 16" wheels doesn't work (like the factory aluminum wheels off disc brake rear end 2000 - 2001 Dodge Ram 2500s), as they will hit the stiffening rib of the drum. I ended up having the drum stiffening rib turned down between 1/16" - 1/8" all the way around to allow for the 16" wheels to clear the drums. Once the stiffening rib was cut down, the wheels fit like a glove with no impact on braking.

 

You lost me man, I double checked and found that the stock wheels are 4.5-4.75 bs from the factory, I'm not going with the same backspace as I need to pull the wheels out to be even with the fenders lol

Planning on a 17 inch wheel 10 inches wide but I need to know the backspace or how to measure and come up with the calculation needed to tell me the backspace so I can get them to sit well with the fender flares and no look so sucked in haha

 

Backspacing is simply the distance from the backside of the rim, to the mounting surface. It is independent of rim width. So, putting a 10 inch wide rim, even with the same backspacing, is going to have the wheels stick out another 3 inches over stock. (assuming 7" width stock wheels.... actually, I think they are 7.5, so, 10" will stick out 2.5" more.) Keep that in mind when selecting wheels.

 

So what would you go with backspacing wise to avoid issues with a 10 inch wide wheel?

 

http://www.crawlpedia.com/wheel_dimensions.htm

 

So you're saying I shouldn't focus on backspace and instead look at offset or?

 

Offset and backspacing are related. The biggest thing you are concerned about is, not having the tires hit anything when you turn. Backspacing is more important here, as two wheels can have the same offset, but wildly different backspacing. (different width rims.) Have a look at what other folks are running, if they have any problems, and go from there.