[BleedDodge]

Saw the other threads about 20" OEM pimp wheels on our old trucks, but couldn't find anything year-specific. I have the opportunity to get a set of these things for cheap, so will they fit my '97 2wd without machining? If I had to go without the rim center cap for awhile that wouldn't bother me in case the dust cover won't make it.

 

[BleedDodge]

Did some more reading on the forums today and near as I can tell, some guys are using no spacers, some have their rims machined, and one for sure had 1.5" spacers. Saw one thread where a guy said you could use 1/4" spacers and another guy said he tried it and it wasn't enough.

I'm thinking I can probably get these rims, order some 1.5" spacers and they'll fit.

 

[clean_dodge]

go for... it has obviously been done before so it shouldnt be too big of a deal, plus they look tight as shit! haha

 

[BleedDodge]

 

[BleedDodge]

So how's it look? I didn't put spacers on or anything, and they seem to fit fine. The dust covers are poking through the rims but the women shouldn't notice. They're '03 rims, with 285/55's on them, and the fronts rub if you turn sharp enough, but it's not bad. Could fix that by putting some 275/45's on I guess.

I should have done this a long time ago.

 

[RB24]

they look great on the 2nd gens but i hate the flower petal (02-05) 20s on the 3rd gens...the 20s on my 07 are sweet too

 

[xtremewlr]

I don't see anything, no picture.

 

[BleedDodge]

Hmmmmm

They worked when I posted them. Maybe the server went down.

 

[xtremewlr]

I don't even see the code for pictures if I quote your post. Its like you posted a blank message....

 

[BleedDodge]

They were still showing about an hour after I posted them. I think my ftp server went down. I see red X's now.

If someone wants to host them for me I'd do that. Or if you just want me to send them to you so you can see, ask.

 

[xtremewlr]

http://photobucket.com/

Get an account there for free, works good.

 

[BleedDodge]

Server must have come back up, they're showing now.

 

[RB24]

yeah they are there

 

[xtremewlr]

Now they are working for me Looks great.

If you decide to change tires again due to the rubbing, going to a 285/50 gives you a 1" shorter tire than what you have on there now. This is still about an inch larger in height than the stock tires which being a 2wd, I would assume yours were 245/75/16. A 275/45 is about an inch shorter than the stockers. 295/45 is almost identical in height as is 265/50. Search TireRack.com for available tires. General has the Grabber UHP which looks good and is fairly inexpensive compared to some of the other name brands out there.

The other thing to consider is the loss of power (torque, low end grunt) that you get with a tire that is taller than the stock tires were. Staying as close as you can to the stock height keeps the power in the same RPM range as stock and keeps the speedo closer to the correct speed too (at least as correct as it was from the factory). The only other way to correct the change in power/rpm is to re-gear the rear end.

245/75/16 = 30.5" tall
285/55/20 = 32.4"
285/50/20 = 31.3"
275/45/20 = 29.8"
265/50/20 = 30.5"
295/45/20 = 30.5"

 

[BleedDodge]

These tires are 285's and they don't have much of a bulge to them like it looks. I think I'd want the width of a 295 as opposed to a 265, even if it has a lower aspect ratio. I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to use all around, in a Cooper tire though. My height should be dead on to the 245/75-16's that I had on. I'll be able to keep my 16 inch spare that way.

This truck has until springtime before it sees a street anyway, so I'll probably order 295's for the back axle to see how they look, and if I decide that's too wide looking for the front, then 265/50's are what I'll put on the front.

I swore I'd never put big wheels on any of my trucks, but now I'm kicking myself for not doing it years ago. I've got the only truck I've ever seen in my part of the world with the old style truck/new wheels. If someone's got one around here they're hiding it.

 

[chizzle1]

Please send me some pics/links of how your's look, the link here isn't working.

I am about to purchase some of these wheels (see pic) but don't know about the spacer situation as I've got aftermarket spindles.

I am going to see how they look with the factory tire size (whatever comes factory on the 20" wheels) and go from there. My goal is to run a street tire (better mpg, quieter ride, more traction) without having huge gaps in the wheel well. I am shooting for a tire diameter of about 33-35 inches, so I'd need something like a 295/60/20?

 

[BleedDodge]

Well a 275/60-20 is about exactly 33". The 285/55's on my truck are just shy of 32.5"

My truck is a '97 2wd just like yours so they should work.

I can see the pics there, so you should be able to see them. They weren't working for awhile but they're up now. If you need to see them let me know how to go about sending them to you.

 

[chizzle1]

I think it's the lack of bandwidth we have over here, I'm lucky to be able to get on the board at all as most forums are blocked by DOIM.

on topic: the fabteck spindles that came with the lift kit are much beefier & are cut different than stock units. I had clearance problems with the OEM 16" wheels mounted. The tolerance between the upper spindle area (near the ball joint) and the inner bead area of the wheel was so close I had to shave down the spindle a bit and run stick on wheel weights.
With a larger 20" tire I should have plenty of room but I'm not sure.
I don't have any pics on this computer of the spindles or I'd post them up.

Either way, I'll make em fit.
I just need to the 20s so I can get a street tire that's between 33-35" tall by 10 - 12" inches wide, there is no such animal for a 16" wheel.

edit: shoot me an email at [email protected]