Wheel Selection & Backspace

[Greg K]

I've narrowed wheel selection to 2 types of wheels and need advice on backspacing of front and rear (Bolt On).
Options are 15x8 & 15x10 or 17x8 & 17x9.5 maybe 11.

Thanks

[Greg K]

17x9.5 are out now.
Searching old threads, it appears 15's are typical 3.5 to 4 on backspacing. I see in the Hurricane options page for wheels, they have 4.25 and 5.25 for the 17's. Any other suggestions?

[Alec@Hurricane]

Greg,
Our 17" pin drives are usually made 17x8x4.25 for the front wheels, and the rear wheels are made 17x11x5.25. In my opinion, 11 wides on the rear give it a really aggressive stance, and they fit no problem. That is what we put on the shop car currently being built, and they look great.
Hopefully that helped your decision.

[Greg K]

Alec,
I saw those numbers on the wheel option for pin drive, what thickness is the adapter? (1/4"?). I think this would have some impact on backspacing.
In the Coyote build video I thought I saw you installing lug nuts on those wheels?

Thanks

[Kruse]

I believe they are 3/8" thick.

[Greg K]

Thanks guys

[Redstang69]

Going to resurrect this instead of starting a new thread since there's good info here.
Are the 17" measurements that Alec references what is on the coyote build? Does the coyote have IRS and if so is the end to end axle width of an IRS the same as the 9" from John's?

[Greg K]

Coyote build had a 9 inch rear end. I do know the fronts were 17x8 with 4.25" backspacing, they had shipped parts to me in one of the black wheel boxes I just threw out Friday. The rears were 17x11 and I think with maybe 4.5 to 5.0 inches of backspacing on the rears.

[Redstang69]

After Greg helped me with some wheel/tire sizing, I'm leaning toward a 17 x 10.5" wheel in the rear with a 3.75" backspace, this would put my wheels approx. 1" further out than the coyote hurricane. This would have a 315/35 Nitto tire.
For the fronts I'm thinking a 17 x 8 wheel with 4" backspace, so that would set the wheel out approx .25" further than the coyote hurricane. This would have the same 245/45 size tire as the coyote.
Anyone running this setup or something very close to verify this sizing/spacing would work?

[Paul Proefrock]

I would recommend mocking up the outer edge of the tire cross-section that you could attach to your axle, then check for body clearance when the axle is at full compression.

The tire gets very close to the body when the suspension is compressed and can rub if you deviate from the design very much. Check both sides since the body is not symmetric and the axle is rarely centered between the two wheel openings.

I had to fine-tune my IRS to make sure it cleared. Even so, I've got a couple rub marks on the inside of the rear fender where it scrubbed slightly.

Paul

[Redstang69]

Paul, you're meaning the tire will rub up inside the wheel well right? I was thinking I only needed to worry about the wheel well lip but good point about up inside the wheel well if that's what you mean.

[Paul Proefrock]

Ben,
You grasped it correctly. The way the body fits over the wheels, with the normal axle width and prescribed backspace, the outer diameter/edge of the rear tire is inside the lip of the wheel well. At full axle compression and/or articulation, it rubs inside the body about 2" up on the inner fender.

You need to be real careful with any changes to axle width, tire & wheel size and backspace since you could make the tire come in contact with the lip of the fender when the design calls for it to be out of the way during this movement. You could have to set your ride height so high, it looks like a mud truck.

In the past, other guys who have played with these settings, would make a template that looked like a reverse "P" placing the straight part against the axle/wheel flange then rotate it with the axle in the full down position to see if any of the "curved part of the P" hit the fender

Paul