I've been spending waaaaaay too much time looking at wheels and tires, so I thought I'd share my conclusions (for what they are worth) with everybody and hopefully save some brain damage for others. Most of this is probably available elsewhere so you may have read it before....
From what I can figure out, wheels for our Eagles are quite unique and very limited. Yes, there are a number of Jeep wheels that will work, but in terms of after market wheels, especially larger sizes, its tough to find many choices. I think its because of the way the Eagle was adapted from the original 2WD cars, that the axles stick out farther than the originals, thus the reason for the fender trim. So the Eagle's needed a wheel with mid-high backspacing, because the mounting surface was relatively far out in the wheel well.
I'm currently using Jeep Grand Cherokee wheels, 15x7 with a 5.25 backspace (+30 offset), 215/75-15 Goodyear Wrangler tires. I am not having any rubbing problems. I like the wheels, but the clear coat is coming off of them, and so I will need to have them rehab'ed if I'm going to keep them. I also need new tires, so I thought now would be the time to really figure out if I want to go with new wheels. I think a larger size would look good on an Eagle, without going to extremes.
Problems I'm finding with aftermarket wheels:
- Most of the 15x7 have a small backspace (negative offset) which will push the wheel and tire to the outside, increasing the likelihood of rubbing. It also leads to a lot of spray on the car. This is also due to the fact that the sides of the Eagles curve in as you go lower
Car with current wheels, note spray pattern behind the wheels
Note how the fender curves in, unlike the 97 Ford Expedition behind it. If you go with wheels with a smaller backspace, the tires will stick out even more, and spray will be worse
- If you want to go with a bigger wheel, its even harder to find a 7" wheel width. And when you go to an 8" wheel, you should be using a wider tire, like a 225. Increases the chances of rubbing. And its still hard to find a wheel with sufficient backspacing.
- You have to be careful of too much backspacing. Here is a picture of the back of my wheel, and you can see how close it gets to the spindle. It looks like I have about 1/2-3/4" of clearance. One nice thing about the larger wheels is that I'll have more clearance as the wheel will be higher in relation to the spindle.
- There are lots of front wheel drive wheels that may fit, but probably wouldn't look very good on an Eagle.
So, given all that, I'm currently leaning towards an American Racing AR895. Its available in 7" width for both 15 and 16" diameter. Backspacing on the 16" is 4.57", about 0.30" more than on my current wheels. Its got the right bolt pattern. Its also available in 17x7.5 with a 6.02 backspacing. Its readily available over the internet, but I'm going to try and find a local tire shop that will order it in so I can test fit it. It's got a semi-modern look, but not too much like a totally modern wheel.
Let me know what you think....
Topic: Need help chosing the right rims and tires... (Read 25875 times)