Why a 8x15 rim is better than a 10x15 with 35x12,5

[whriteme]

Hallo

I have a Question about American Eagle 589.
Why a 8x15 ET-28mm rim is better than a 10x15 ET-46mm with 35x12,5 R15 on Explorer ? A 10x15 ET-46 stands max 1" further outward or outside than 8x15 ET-28 ! 10" looks like more better. Why many people recommend the 8x15 ? greetings from Germany

 

[james t]

Two reasons- less rubbing on fenders and more protection to the bead area of the wheel offroad.

The 15x8 will fit inside the wheelwells better, and thus allow you to run a taller tire with less lift..... the same tire on a 15x8 will tuck up into the fenderwell during articulation offroad while it may stick out and rubb fenders on a 15x10.

The 15x8 will let the 35x12.50 balloon out a bit past the wheel, giving more protection offroad. The sidewall of the tire will take the brunt of the abuse offroad, and the wheel lip will have less of a chance being damaged when you scrape the side of a tire against a rock.

Ideally, a 35x12.50 works best on a 15x10 wheel, but most use 15x8's in offroad applications for the reasons i have mentioned.

 

[DeRocha]

As usual James has good information... In the pic below you can see the differences between the stock setup the 15x8, and 15x10 rims. The biggest problem with the 10" rim is that if positions the tire about an 1 inch further outside the fender than the 8" rim. This extra inch will cause issues when turning as the tire will likely (unless you run a 6"+ Lift) rub the lower rear part of the fender. IMO a 15x10 rim would be better with a 4.0 - 4.25" BackSpacing as it would position the tire more closely to that of the 15x8 rim as well as help re-center the load.

 

[whriteme]

I hope I understand. Where do you get the picture from?

 

[DeRocha]

I made the picture with specs from American Racing and BFG tires... The tire in the pic is a BFG AT Ko... You should note the actual width of a tire will vary with the size of the rim. So even though the tire is the same (33x12.5) it will be 0.8" narrower on the 15x8 rim as compared to a 15x10 rim.