Wider Stance Without Changing Wheels

[JamesSam]

I am thinking about widening the stance on my truck but don't want to invest in new wheels and tires. I could also easily talk myself out of this as I don't want to change the trucks appearance too much.
It's lifted.
Are spacers the way to go? Would this make driving it less enjoyable/efficient? Would it be sacrilege?

 

[bucket]

Looking at the pictures you have posted, your wheels are more meant for an '88+ truck. Properly torqued, high quality wheel spacers probably aren't a bad option. There will be naysayers though. There always is when there is talk of wheel spacers.

 

[fast 99]

I worked at a shop that sold tires. If any vehicle came in with spacers and we saw it before taking the wheels off, they refused to work on it. Too many times there were issues reinstalling and the liability was horrendous.

There are many reasons not to use them and all relate to safety.

 

[JamesSam]

Thanks for the input fellas. I kind of don't want to use spacers now. Is there any other way to get a wider stance without buying new wheels????

 

[Girth]

Thanks for the input fellas. I kind of don't want to use spacers now. Is there any other way to get a wider stance without buying new wheels????

Other than a wider tire on the same wheels, not really. Looking at whats on there now, you might run into clearance issues, and even that won't really chance the "stance", just the overall look.

I'm in the "Not a fan of spacers" camp too, though in my experience the only ones that are in any way acceptable are the type that bolt on, and your wheels in turn bolt onto the spacer. (some of those are even scary, when they're cheap imitations) In your case, that probably means an extra inch of offset at least, and again.... possible clearance issues. (That tire contacting the rear of the wheel arch in a turn?)

Wheels and tires are a funny thing. Lots of combinations to choose from, but very few are "just right" and even that depends on personal opinion. Even the same size tire, in a different brand/style could look different on the truck. Sorry though.... no cheap option in my opinion.

 

[JamesSam]

Thanks brother. Suggestion on tires? The ones on my rig are oversized. The previous owner put 18" wheels on it. I'm fairly certain these tires are 35's
Maybe a slightly wider tire that is a 33?

 

[Shorty81]

I would not use wheel spacers. I would use the correct size rims for the truck(15"). I think they would have a bit more back spacing. Wheels spaced out too far will kill your paint. These are 10.50 x 31 x 16

 

[Girth]

Thanks brother. Suggestion on tires? The ones on my rig are oversized. The previous owner put 18" wheels on it. I'm fairly certain these tires are 35's
Maybe a slightly wider tire that is a 33?

Can't say. What size are they? Probably a "metric" size? 285/75-18 or something like that? The first number is your section width, sidewall to sidewall in mm. The second number is the "aspect ratio", basically your sidewall height. In my example, your sidewall is 75% as tall as the tire is wide, or 0.75x285=213mm or so. 25.4mm to an inch, so a sidewall height of 8.38in. Twice that plus the rim diameter..... overall diameter of 34.75in. That's just as an example though, in case you weren't sure how all that worked. You can do the math to get a ROUGH idea.

Then you start looking at wheels, and you need to understand the difference between "offset" and "backspacing". That's where your issues with "stance" really come into play.

My point though, is even in the SAME size tire, different brands and styles will have a different profile. They'll be the same size, but maybe not look like it. A/Ts and M/Ts usually having a more aggressive profile, they LOOK wider. More square shoulder and all that.

If it were me.... it'd be new wheels and tires time. I HATE the 20s that came on the wife's new rig. HATE them. They won't be long for this world. lol Her goal is a dually conversion though.... so my wallet will be bleeding for sure. YOUR best bet, might be to find a good tire guy/shop, that can get what you want, and is happy to mount something up to test fit on your rig, so you can SEE how they look. Or find something you really like on someone elses truck, and just copy that.

 

[fast 99]

A good tire shop will spend the time to find something that fits, and you like.

We had a couple people on the counter that could suggest what combinations would work on almost anything without looking it up. Even knew bolt patterns, backspacing, center cap sizes and correct lug nuts. That wasn't my job. So, I know actually very little about that aspect.

 

[Grit dog]

Thanks for the input fellas. I kind of don't want to use spacers now. Is there any other way to get a wider stance without buying new wheels????

Hey bud. I’d suggest reading up on and learning about wheel width/offset/backspacing.
Then figure out what you have, how much clearance you have and what other options would work.
You haven’t provided enough info for us to give any recommendations, like lift, tire size and current rim width and offset or backspacing.
But I can tell you 0 offset wheels are in general about closest to stock on these trucks. Whereas most all newer trucks have a healthy positive offset. Usually +40mm or maybe more. IE they don’t stick out as far.
Regarding new wheels, you don’t gotta buy new, if you can find used. Buy some, sell yours, maybe get off cheap for what you want

 

[justhorns]

Don't use wheel spacers on a real truck that carries heavy loads.

 

[JamesSam]

Thanks fellas. I have decided not to use spacers. I'm not going to use spacers. What I currently have on the truck are LT 275/75 R18 tires. The truck is lifted. Not certain but I was told it's factory hight with this V10 model. The front wheels rub a little if you turn all the way in either direction( because the wheels are 18 in now instead of what came with it.) I just was trying to get some info and see if it would be achievable to change it up without breaking the bank. I am happy with the truck as is and stock style is what I would prefer anyway. Maybe I can ask a good tire shop about a different profile. Sending a few up close pics that might help...?

 

[Grit dog]

It doesn’t look lifted. If the front springs are flat with more than 2 leafs or smiling it’s lifted. If they’re 2 leaf flat or frowning it’s not lifted.

Also Rim diameter is basically not part of the equation. But yes you could put lower profile tires on those rims. Also the rims look to have a slight positive offset. But you gotta know that if you want to know how to buy better fitting rims and tires.
On the upside they look pretty good IMO on that sharp looking truck!

 

[JamesSam]

Thanks for the info! This is why I posted. I don't know so all this helps.
Would lower profile tires rub the wells more or less or just as much?

 

[JamesSam]

Ok, not lifted but I found GM had the V10's 3 inches higher than the R10's. I suppose that is commonplace with 2WD vs. 4WD.