max wheel / tire on a step side

[Stevemoore]

Hey folks, kinda new here and I could probably search tis topic, but wanted to throw it out here anyway. Trying to find out the widest tire and wheel that can be put under a 68-72 step side fender. No tubs or and other mods. I'm wanting to go with 20" wheels. Truck is probably 6 inches lower than stock in rear and 4 inches lower in front. Probably going with 18" in front and I want to fill the wheel openings.

[jwilb88]

A 10'' wide wheel wit fit under there with no problems, just make sure the backspacing is correct for your year model rear end

[Willie Makeit]

i wouldn't exactly say "no problem" with a 10" wheel.

i have 20x10 torq thrust II's under a bagged stepside using the narrower 67-70 rear end and 5 lug conversion axles. this was only achieved with custom machined spacers. it only has about 1/8" clearance on both fender lip and the bedside. i am also using an adjustable trac bar in order to get the rear centered perfectly.

it will fit, but it's a LOT of work

[jwilb88]

Originally Posted by Willie Makeit

i wouldn't exactly say "no problem" with a 10" wheel.

i have 20x10 torq thrust II's under a bagged stepside using the narrower 67-70 rear end and 5 lug conversion axles. this was only achieved with custom machined spacers. it only has about 1/8" clearance on both fender lip and the bedside. i am also using an adjustable trac bar in order to get the rear centered perfectly.

it will fit, but it's a LOT of work

I agree with you on a bagged truck there would be a lot more work involved to make them tuck, but he said he was lowered 6".

[Stevemoore]

Any tips on the backspacing? Also, will these trucks accept a 10" up front?

[Mike C]

My 69 short step has about a thumb width clearance on inside and outside with 275 55 17 on 17x9 Legend wheel with 5" backspace. This is with the wider 71-72 5 lug axle. That's as big as will fit if you don't want rubbing and you are 7" down in the back.

On the front I have 17x8 with 4.5" backspace. 235 55 17 an I am REALLY happy with that combo, and my opinion is anything much bigger in the front looks funny.



Once again, opinions.... 17's are the smallest I would run on the front so the tie rod can tuck into the wheel which lets you go wider to the inside in the front. 20's really start to look a little odd I think. If I could get a good wheel for the price, 18's seem to be the sweet spot for tire availability.

[jwilb88]

15x10 5.5 backspace , 28 10.5 slick no issues...

[68Stepbed]

I don't have 20's, but this combo is 18.x9.5 (5.25bs) with 285/40/18 tires all around. Lowered 4.5/6.75. I have the wider 72 rearend also.

The combo fits pretty good, but not without issues, well at least for what I do. I started doing more autocrossing with it. Under normal street driving conditions, not of it was an issue at all. I had to modify the lower control arms on the front because the inner wheel lip was rubbing the LCA at full lock under hard cornering.

On the rear, it still tends to rub the inner bedside, again under hard cornering. Normal street driving yielded no issues.





In these next photos, I have 1/4" spacers on the front wheels, and 7/16 spacers on the rear wheels. I did this to hopefully cure the rubbing issues in the rear. I just added the front spacers so the rears didn't look odd being out almost a 1/2" more. It did cure the rubbing at the next autocross I went to.

[jwilb88]

Just to clarify guys I was only talking about a 15x10 on the rear of the truck, I haven't ever tried anything over 8 wide on the front

[67Slider]

Should fit fine. I have 15x10's all the way around but mines only a 3/4 drop.

Matt

[ultrahd4me]

Here's a stepper I did with 20x8 and 22x9 with a 255/35/20 & 265/40/22. My truck was dropped 5/7. So with a rear tire height of 30" and width of 10.5" it fills the wheel well just about perfect. This was with the wider 70-72 rear axle also.

[Stevemoore]

Thanks a bunch for all of the replies! I've got to get measuring and see what I can come up with. You guys have helped a lot.

[Stevemoore]

Here is my 68. I'm wanting to try something different and get away from the 15's. Would like to go with American TTs with the CL205 option.

[James the III]

Originally Posted by Mike C

My 69 short step has about a thumb width clearance on inside and outside with 275 55 17 on 17x9 Legend wheel with 5" backspace. This is with the wider 71-72 5 lug axle. That's as big as will fit if you don't want rubbing and you are 7" down in the back.

On the front I have 17x8 with 4.5" backspace. 235 55 17 an I am REALLY happy with that combo, and my opinion is anything much bigger in the front looks funny.



Once again, opinions.... 17's are the smallest I would run on the front so the tie rod can tuck into the wheel which lets you go wider to the inside in the front. 20's really start to look a little odd I think. If I could get a good wheel for the price, 18's seem to be the sweet spot for tire availability.

So your are 5/7 drop?? did you need to frame notch?

[steelhorse]

Hey 68stepbed I am going to run a very similar setup on my truck. Do you think going 5.5 back spacing would fix the issue?

[68Stepbed]

Originally Posted by steelhorse

Hey 68stepbed I am going to run a very similar setup on my truck. Do you think going 5.5 back spacing would fix the issue?

No. The 5.5" bs will put the wheel closer to the inner bedside. A 5"bs would fix it.

[Boog]

You might find this helpful. It's from the suspension section faq.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=530806

[Pitufina]

Originally Posted by 68Stepbed

I don't have 20's, but this combo is 18.x9.5 (5.25bs) with 285/40/18 tires all around. Lowered 4.5/6.75. I have the wider 72 rearend also.

The combo fits pretty good, but not without issues, well at least for what I do. I started doing more autocrossing with it. Under normal street driving conditions, not of it was an issue at all. I had to modify the lower control arms on the front because the inner wheel lip was rubbing the LCA at full lock under hard cornering.

On the rear, it still tends to rub the inner bedside, again under hard cornering. Normal street driving yielded no issues.





In these next photos, I have 1/4" spacers on the front wheels, and 7/16 spacers on the rear wheels. I did this to hopefully cure the rubbing issues in the rear. I just added the front spacers so the rears didn't look odd being out almost a 1/2" more. It did cure the rubbing at the next autocross I went to.

What brand wheels do you have on your truck?
Posted via Mobile Device

[68Stepbed]

Originally Posted by Pitufina

What brand wheels do you have on your truck?
Posted via Mobile Device

US Mags Rambler

http://us-mags.com/rambler-u111-w-6133.htm

[Pitufina]

Originally Posted by 68Stepbed

US Mags Rambler

http://us-mags.com/rambler-u111-w-6133.htm

Thanks for the info.
One more question with that 18x9.5 with 5.25 bs id you were to lower your truck to a point where your tire will go inside the fender would it be touching the inner or outer part of your back fender
Posted via Mobile Device

[68Stepbed]

Originally Posted by Pitufina

Thanks for the info.
One more question with that 18x9.5 with 5.25 bs id you were to lower your truck to a point where your tire will go inside the fender would it be touching the inner or outer part of your back fender
Posted via Mobile Device

It's actually a really tight fit both ways, but it rubbed the inner bedside on heavy turns. I fixed that last year by putting tubs in the bedside.

However, I would imagine that if a truck were bagged and the fender dropped enough, there might be some clearance issues with the fender lip. Mine sit just above the tire and my coilovers have limited travel, so it's never been an issue for me.