16" wheels

[vangremlin]

Anybody running 16" wheels on their Eagle?  Anybody see any issues with that size, other than making sure the wheel/tire combo fits?  Thanks

[wagonmaster]

yeah im running 16s. mine are from a ford ranger. the only issue i had was the hub size. i had to take a rotary tool to the wheels for about 30 seconds.

[vangremlin]

Thanks! What size tires do you have?

[wagonmaster]

i cant remember right off. i dont have my eagle right now. ill look later, but i think they are 215/65. unless im missing something wheel size should make no difference in what size tires you can run. i personally think 16 really looks good on an eagle. it fills the fenders better. i think  17 would be too big though.

[BenM]

I just found this, it might help: http://www.tiresizecalculator.info/

16 is pretty good, I've considered it and they look nice. Plenty of sidewall left for potholes too. Our stock tires have pretty high sidewalls when compared to newer cars.

I found this too: http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp

It'll help you figure out backspacing on your new wheels so that you don't rub.

[vangremlin]

Thanks. I like wagonmaster's suggestion to go with the 16" wheels, but there seems to be less of a selection in 16" wheels with a 7" width.  And from what I've read if you're going with an 8" width, minimum tire width is 225, preferably 235.  Any thoughts?

[el-camino]

16" looks good
i have also a question.
i can have a set of original Ford Mustang Rims 7,5x16" 5x4,5", i think the wheels comes from a 1995 Mustang
will this fit ? the boltcircle is ok, but the centerhole ?
the mustang have 70.3mm

thanks

[wagonmaster]

thats a great point casper. never thought about it thatway, but youre correct. thanks for the input.

[eaglefreek]

16" looks good
i have also a question.
i can have a set of original Ford Mustang Rims 7,5x16" 5x4,5", i think the wheels comes from a 1995 Mustang
will this fit ? the boltcircle is ok, but the centerhole ?
the mustang have 70.3mm

thanks

The offset on the Mustang wheels won't work on an Eagle without some huge spacers.

[GRONK]

I ise 16" wheels on Jeeps all the time.  One trick I've used taht works is if the vehicle is RWD, the backspacing is usually OK.  If FWD, you usually require spacers.

Using spacers is never a big deal as they are inexpensive and I personally like adjusting the back spacing w/ spacers so the rear wheels are even if not a hair wider than the front wheels.

A notw on the center hub not being big enough, I pirchased a simple bi-metal Greenly hole saw (roughly 3") and I use an old drill I have in the shop to "punch" out the centers.  I make 1 simple jig out of plywood and it takes no time at all to drill 4 wheels, enlarging the center hole.  I never keep the plywood jigs when I'm done, i just make a new one whenever needed,.

[vangremlin]

I'm reviving this thread because I'm looking more seriously at some new wheels.  Does anybody have a real life experience on the acceptable backspacing range on wheels that will fit on the Eagle?  I think I've read that generally they need to have 4" backspacing but not sure if that is the minimum, and a maximum would be ?  Thanks.

[carnuck]

I think it's max. I had some ZJ 16" alloys on my Comanche for a bit.

[vangremlin]

I did a little more research online, and the Grand Cherokee wheels that I have on the car now have a 5.25" backspacing.  That gives me a lot more flexibility in wheels.

Also, if you read the thread earlier in this section about Wheel Backspacing, the original wheels had a 4.5" backspacing.

[captspillane]

I scoff at talks of offset and backspacking. None of that helps you much. It is frustrating that those values are the industry standard. What we need to know is the opposite of backspacing. I've been calling it "frontspacing." What it comes down to is that you need to know how much the total width of your wheels will add up to when bolted to the constant WMS of our axles.

Nobody lists the front spacing because they figure you only need to know backspacing to determine if the wheel will clear the brakes and suspension. I've found that if you know what front spacing you have now, then you can compare it to a new rim and instantly know how much the tire will move in or out from where it is now. With one measurement I can instantly determine how much of a spacer I need or don't need. If you get the tires to be the same width apart you won't have to worry about backspacing at all unless you're also dramatically increasing the width of the rim and tire. Even then I'd rather know front spacing first for comparison.

To find backspacing I put the rim and tire face down on concrete. I then measure from the concrete to the wheel mounting surface. That is the total amount that wheel will add to the axle WMS. Measuring it is the only way to actually know. You can calculate it if you know the backspacing and the total rim width, but that's retarded. First of all most Eagle rims, I know the 5 spoke alloy sport rims with confidence, are 15"x6". That means the space between the beads of the rim is 6". The thickness of the bead itself plus the shape of the tire usually causes the entire wheel to end up about 2" wider than that value. Without the tire the rim is always at least an inch wider than the advertised width. Too many times I've actually seen 15x6 rims called 15x7 because the owner didn't know he was measuring them wrong.

When you go to XJ rims most of them are truly 15"x7" rims. That means there is 7" down in the trough between the beads. The whole rim is actually 8" wide.

If you know the front spacing I can tell you what works and doesn't work. The Eagle Sport alloy rims for instance are about 1-3/4" front spacing. They are hideously recessed into the front fender well and I always add a 1" spacer behind them. On the back axle it is much worse and for those I always add a 2" spacer. Even with the spacers the tire is still well within the fender flare.

My next favorite rim is the Jeep XJ 10 hole alloy rim. That one has about a 2-1/2" front spacing. Basically that means each tire sticks out 3/4" more than a sport rim would, so your total tire width is going to be 1-1/2 wider. For those I do not use a spacer in the front and I use a 1" or a 1.5" spacer in the back. That makes all of my Eagles look much better and gives them all the same total tire widths.

The limit is 4" front spacing. At that point the extreme outside of your front tires will be perfectly flush with the outside of the front fender flares. In the back your fender flares will still stick out past the tires by about an inch. The 15 spoke rims I sold to Phil have that exact front spacing. Those are 15x7" rims that have an extreme width of 8" and the wheel mounting surface is exactly in the middle, which is why the front spacing and the back spacing is exactly 4".

This picture shows Phil's SX4 with the 4" front spacing and no spacers added:



This picture shows my wife driving my Green SW. In that picture those rims have 1" spacers in the front and 1.5" spacers in the back.


This picture shows my Kammback with XJ wire type rims. With those rims you must have spacers or the front wheel will hit the caliper and not rotate. I think pictured you're looking at 2" in the back and 1.5" in the front. I eventually used 1" in the front to get it where I wanted it.







This picture shows 10 hole rims without any spacers and 235/75R15 tires. I had the fender flares on but don't have pictures of it.

[captspillane]

This 17" rim from a Mercury Mountainer has these specs. I've seen two full sets of these get crushed this month. I was tempted to use them because of how close they look to the Eagle Sport rims. I don't want 17" rims but some of you might.

5x4.5" lugs with 2.75" hub opening, 2-3/4" front spacing, 6.5" back spacing, 17"x7.5" rim, this one had roughly 29" tires 245/65 R17. It would fit great on an Eagle with a 1" spacer or no spacer on the front and a 1.5" spacer on the back.