I bought a 98 4WD Blazer LT a few months ago.
It needs wheels and tires.

As I understand; stock wheel is 15x7 5x4.75 6" backspace.

I can't find a cheep wheel in this configuration. I'm not going
off road 4wd or rock crawling, but I do live in north central Iowa
so we do get some snow.

I did find a Pro Comp steel powder coated wheel # 52-5762 for
about $56. The backspace on this wheel is 4.5". Looks like the
wheel wells are no problem with stock 235/75/15.

My only concern is; Will the 1.5" difference in backspace change
the load on the bearings and effect the steering/handling ?

 

Yes. Amoung other negatives.

 

if you're replacing wheels AND tires, why not try looking for a set of 16" wheels and tires that are roughly the same overall width and height as factory? 15" truck and SUV tires are getting phased out it seems and are getting harder to find...

 

If someone knows of a 16" wheel with 6" back spacking....let me know as I could not find anything when I was looking about 1.5 years ago.

 

gotta stick with steel???

 

4.5" bs will work fine, lots of ppl run them. will they accelerate wear on items, yes, a bit. will you be replacing wheel bearings on a yearly basis because of them, no.

 

+1. What he said.

 

Steel is half the price of aluminum (I want to keep costs down) and
considering I park outside year around, steel would be easier to maintain.
With all the salt & chemicals used here in the winter, plus dogs pissing
on the wheel, aluminum doesn't seem to last.

As far as wearing things out, I drive in town mostly with maybe hitting
the highway a few times a year (300 miles round trip).