Is anyone running this wide of a rim on their trucks? I am thinking about purchasing tires and wheels in the months ahead, and am considering a 33 x 12.50 x 16.5 tire BFG AT with either 16.5 x 9.75 or 16.5 x 12 wheels. I want to run all terrain tires since my truck sees mostly highway miles with only a little bit of off road use.

Though I know that either combo above is a vast improvement over the "tiny" 265x70x16/16 x 8 tire/wheel combo I now have, I'm leaning toward the wider 16.5 x 12 size wheel with some Bushwhacker Pocket flares. This is because I've had the 33x12.50x16.5/16.5x9.75 setup in the past, and I didn't think the truck had a wide enough stance. With the pocket flares rocks and debris shouldn't be any issue.

I know the cons of 33x12.50x16.5 tires with 16.5x12 rims is that I would only have 1/4" sidewall to protect the rims, and the wider wheel may play havoc with my front wheel bearings. I think they would look better however.

I'd appreciate any feedback and thoughts others may have about this.

Ted

 

IMHO i think you shpuld go with either a 16 or 17 inch rim. 16.5 inch tires are more expensive than 16's or 17's. not sure why that is, maybe because thay aren't as popular. i hada set of 17X10 and they stuck out pretty far, i only had one issue with them and that was fixed by the shop that i bought them from.

 

I think the 12's are too wide for that tire. The beads on the 16.5 rims aren't the same as your normal 16/17/18/20/etc. rim. The tires will come of the bead of the rim easier on the 16.5, and the wide wheel makes it worse. 65psi of air will help. I'd look for a 10" wide rim for a tire that size, and 9.75 is close enough in my books.

 

ive got 16.5x12 wheels with 33x14.5 tsl super swampers. IMHO i wouldnt go back with the 16.5x12 tires are too expensive plus wheels stick out way to far had to do a little trimming then tires got into the bumper and ripped off the plastic. now it has self tapping screws in it. also went through 4 hubs . so yea the 16.5x12's are huge and wish i woulda got 10's

 

Here is mine with 33/12-50/17 mounted on 10 inch wheels. I too think 12's would be too wide.

 

Well, being the relatively practical guy I am, I believe the list of cons for running 12" wide rims are too many. I will be going with either a 16 x10 or 16.5 x 9.75 rim size.

I wish someone made a floatation (non-metric) sized tire for the 16 inch diameter rims. It seems like if I go with 16" instead of 16.5" diameter rims, and if I want to run all terrain tires in the 33" inch range, I will need to run 305 70/16 tires.

So now that the rim width is more or less settled for me, the choice now is with rim diameters between 16", 16.5" or 17" and to a lesser extent, which fender flares to run.

It sounds like 16" rims may be better than 16.5" rims due to the increasing scarcity of tires made for 16.5" rims. I am leaning towards the 16s. I'll have to go through all my Four Wheeler and Diesel Power mags to see which of these rim sizes has the most tire choices available. I will consider 17" diameter rims, but I am hesitant to go any larger than this because personally the larger diameter rims just aren't appealing to me.

I guess the only other unsettled matter is whether to run the Bushwhacker extend-a-flare fender flares or the newer pocket style. Being the street runner that I am, I may go more conservative on my fender flare choice, we'll see.

Thanks for your input. It helped me make up my mind a lot faster.

Ted

 

16's have a larger and cheaper selection of tires than 17's. That being said, 17's aren't as bas as they used to be, now that every OEM vehicle seems to have 17's on it these days.

 

I have 16.5x9.75 Mickey Thompson MTII's on mine with 33x12.50 Swamper Radials on them. I would absolutely NOT go with 12" wide rims, they will stick way out. With my MT's the tires stick out about 2" front and 1" rear. Personally I hate the "bullfrog" look of tires hanging way out and what I've got now is about as far as I'd go. I had the same size rims on my 1997 years ago with 35x14.5 Swamper SSR's on them and they fit well too. IIRC, the reason I went with the MT's is they have the most backspacing of all the wheels with that design in that size. If you want some pics just let me know, I can snap a couple from the front and back for you.

John

 

If ya change your mind i have set of Mickey Thompson Classic II's 16.5x12 that are GREAT shape!!! I'd sell pretty cheap!!-Chris

 

I run 16x12 MT classic locks and they are great! Some of the 315-75-16's are 34" tall and would fit with just a leveling kit. I would NEVER buy 16.5 rims, I dont know why they continue to make them. Here are some pics of mine...

On 35x14.50x16 Pitbulls when new




Now on 315-75-16 BFG KM2

 

atc250r, please post up on this thread or pm me pics of your truck with the 33x12.50x16.5 tires and 16.5x9.75 wheels. I bet it looks really good.

Thanks,
Ted

 

JIT, your truck looks really good! Do you have any head-on pics of the truck? The 12" rims don't seem to extrude too much from under the fenders based on the pics you posted.

How are your wheel bearings in the front? Have you noticed any extra bearing wear since adding the 16 x 12's?

Ted

 

The only reason you should get 16.5 wheels is to run military tires. There are a lot more options out there for 16" or 17". I had 16.5x9.75 M/T classic II on my 98 w bfg a/t 33x12.50's on them and they stuck out 1 3/4" from the fender. i did it because i got the tires on clearance for $350 new because they couldnt sell them and the wheels were $120ea

 

Its dark out now. I'll try to get some for you tomorrow if I get home from work early enough. If not, I'll be home before dark on Sunday and snap a couple then.

John

 

No, I havent had any problems with wheel bearings and I run 4 wheel drive more than most would.

Heres a head on pic but these tires baloon out because they are 14.50 wide....