Wheel options

I am looking at options for my gen 1 explorer. I love the gen one wheels and would love to keep. But I want to acheive the off road stance that aftermarket wheels have as well as running a 11.5 inch wide tire. Here the issue I am looking at wheel that are 16x8 but cant find on with 3.5 inch backspacing , anyone have any suggestions. Is there any advantage to running a 16x8 over a 15x8 wheel ? I am currently running a 31x10.50x15 looking to go to a 32ish size.

 

[DeRocha]

A 16" rim is 1" wider than a 15' (Obviously) but this means a 32" tire will have less side wall (better for on-road performance corner etc).. but not as good off-road as a tire's side wall cushions the ride.. You'd need to price out tires and wheels to see what sizes are available and at what $$$.. There should be lots of topics in the tire and wheels threads to gain info..

 

[BryanB]

2 or 4 wheel drive? the biggest obstacle with the first gen. was the hubs (if 4x4) So not only are you faced with finding a RWD 16x8 wheel with the proper offset, you have to find one that fits over the hubs. Try to find one with a push-through style cap. I have Weld Draglite XP (discontinued) with 4.5 backspacing that would work fine.