15x8 vs 15x10, Room for Debate

[Roadwarrior]

So I found a set of wheels on CL that I have been looking for, American Outlaw I's, but they are 15x10's. This was at Midnight and now at 1:45 I am creating a thread about the discussion.. I have been reading for the past two hours trying to figure out what they would be like..

For all of you running 33x12.5x15 's out there, what would your preference be and why?

I know that with a wider rim, that you can lose the bead easier, that being said, I do not believe that I will EVER make it to airing down to less than 15 psi (Which is where I have been told and read, that below 15 is when you start to have problems). Some threads have been Jeep, some Ford, some Toyota, some Izuzu.. But there are mixed emotions on all of them. That being said, lets get some thoughts and ideas going here.

I also ask this because Tirerack.com has the manufacturers specs on all the tires, and all 33x12.5's call for a 8.5" wheel.. they all say 8.5-11, so would a 15x10 not be in the money zone?

I have also read TJTJ's post on a few threads, mainly CX, about how he can run 13.5's on a 16x7 OEM wheel.. So I get that point, but I want to know.. If I (or anyone else) don't plan on airing down to less that 10-15 PSI, then is there a true difference?

In reading, I have also learned (makes sense) that with the 15x10, you don't have to air AS FAR down to get the same contact point as you would with a 15x8.. Does this come in to play in a real life situation? Maybe, maybe not.

*PS I have read about people saying they lose a bead at 6PSI.. To me, someone who is a weekend warrior, who still drives his truck to work Mon-Fri.. That just seems absurd. Then again, if I had a dedicated trail rig, I would also be running beadlocks..

*PSS If I run the 15x10's, any thoughts on getting some beadlockers welded on? Would it be worth it? I know Oz did it on his rig..





Anyway, Lets discuss those extra 2 inches..

 

[Silver dude]

Most don't use the 15x10's because they are to wide. They cause a lot of rubbing up front. Do you know what the backspace is? Its hard to say they would work properly for your application. I wouldn't be that concerned about the tire bead breaking. Its still plenty wide in my mind. But, if your planning to weld beadlock rings I believe this would make your rim even wider as the tires would now bolt to the outside of the wheel on the rings. Of course you could go straun internal beadlocks.

If it were me I'd wait for a set of 15x8"s

 

[Macland]

I think the welded beadlock was the late night speaking

 

[Roadwarrior]

I think the welded beadlock was the late night speaking

Ehhhh maybe.. But I was also thinking interal beadlockers.

I just want to know why they are SO hated in the offroading world. It seems that everyone has their opinion and it is rather close to split on this topic

Sent from somewhere by something

 

[granitex]

A 10 inch wide wheel causes a bunch of issues, both up front and in the rear.Up front they rub all over the place, in the rear they will not want to stuff in the well, but will hit the lip of the wheel well. The same thing happens when people run a 33 with backspacing of only 4.75 and less.

 

[TJTJ]

For an off road rig, a narrower rim helps to keep the tire bead set.

For a street rig, the wider rim helps to keep the sidewalls more even with the bead.


OFF road, you want the bead inboard of the sidewall to allow compliance with the terrain.

ON road you want the bead even or only a little inboard of the sidewalls to prevent compliance/sidewall squirm.


So, on road handling tends to be a little better with a wider rim...and off road, as there's no "wiggle room", the terrain pops the bead off.


The rim width makes a larger difference on a car tire than on a truck tire ON road though....as truck sidewall heights are larger in general.


This means that, for a radial tire...a wider/narrower rim doesn't affect the tread contact pattern on a truck, but it does on a shorter side walled car tire.

So, the normal CAR-Based benefit of better handling with a wider rim is mostly negated on a truck tire...leaving the disadvantage for truck tires and wider rims.


The other thing to consider is that a 10" REQUIRES certain minimum width tires to seat properly....tire seat better on narrower rims, and the wider the rim, the harder it is to get a good bead set w/o using a much wider tire.


Generally, the "recommended rim width" charts you see from Tire Rack, the tire makers, etc...list a fairly honest MAXIMUM rim width value, but a very car-based MINIMUM rim width value.

So, you can generally go ~ 25% narrower than recommended for the MINIMUM RIM width for a given tire (SOME tires are more, or less, sensitive to this than others of course).

You generally do NOT go over the MAXIMUM RIM widths though.

So if a tire list the range of rims for it as 8.0" - 10", you could typically run a 6" - 10" rim for it, and so forth.

7-8" is a nice rim size for a 12.5" tire generally, and it works well. 9-10" rims are generally on the wide side.

Its also very hard to find a 10" rim with 5.5" of BS....as a 10" rim with 5.5" of BS would have zero off set.

 

[drbandkgb]

Road.. Im running a 8" wide rim Between that and the BS it rubs enough as is.. I can not imagine what a 10" rim would do..
If your not planning on wheeling it a lot look for some light alloy rims

 

[Deltaphi216]

they do that crazy wide rim look in hawaii a lot. they have to stretch the tires out to fit the rims. looks goofy to me, but it's popular out there.

 

[capt_lou]

Just so I can get this straight in my mind...

I should run a 33x12 tire on my stock rim if I want a wider stance.

 

[granitex]

It will not widen the stance, but the sidewalls will extend past the wheel lip to help protect thema bit better. The tire helps push the truck around the obstical. changing the back spacing, or adding spacers would change the stance.

 

[capt_lou]

I didn't want to go the whole spacer route. So it looks like I will be looking for new wheels also now.

 

[midget]

Just to add to this if you go 10" wheel DONT ADD BEADLOCKS!!! When you add a weld on a beadlock it basically adds and inch of width to the wheel and since the front is boted on you start having issues with the back bead. Id say go 8" with a beadlock which makes them roughly 9". As far as the 8vs 10 debate its really about personal preference I dont like them because its harder to seat the bead on tires when you mount them. If you take your tires to a shop to be mounted you'll never have this problem but if your like me hanging out in the garage with an air compressor and a cold 12 pack your going to prefer 8" wides just because they seat the bead so much faster and easier.

Also my inlaws run 15x10s on his blazer with 35x12.50s and no major issues but he runs at about 20psi. If you want a wider stance go 15x8 with like a 3" backspace but your going to have to clearence the firewall a bit with a large sledgehammer.