74 K5 Wheel Upgrade
 

Time for wheels.…
I was running 15x 9 ish American Racing Wheels ... yeah 30 years old ... with 35 12.50 s.

As I price around for possible 17 inchers I’m running into some fear an uncertainty on fitment.

I get it .. the current wheels have about 4” backspace and they are right on the tie rod...
Most the 17 s I’m finding are 4.5 or more ... Rhino Shrapnel was one example ....
I think the added diameter allows for it to clear ...

I am wondering if anyone else has done a test fit .... which is obviously next .... or if there is some obvious reason I’m not going to find a suitable 17?

The wife says I could use a little more diameter.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/blazerf...1c47b1c56.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/blazerf...bb31b930f.jpeg

I'm pretty sure 17s would give you enough room to clear the TRE, but maybe this is an excuse for you to get 18s instead. 18s are like the new 15s these days.

It’s not like I’ll be climbing Black Bear Pass with it ... but it will see offroad in Colorado .... I’m a little unclear what the max wheel / tire diameter ratio is to still maintain some rockability ... considering 35” rubber.

I run 37s on 15" rims and the rims still get gouged by rocks. But if you don't do any crazy rock crawling and you don't air down too much, I think you'd be ok.

Thanks for the advice.....!

Well after some fun and games with the wrong offset getting ordered .... I did a test fit on this Black Rhino Shrapnel model.
It's a 9.5 width .... the -18 offset gives it a 4.54" backspace ... the old wheel had 4" ... but the extra diameter helped clear the tie rod ends.
I had trouble with the lug holes on the old wheels wallowing out, never had hub rings on them, not sure if that can relieve some stress .. of course that doesn't help me on the rear (drums).
Maybe I should spritz the brake shield with some fresh paint.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/blazerf...fb04478d07.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/blazerf...5967b753a6.jpg

Those look good. Post some more pictures when you get some tires on them.

Looks good, are you going to add some body color to them? Or are they staying black?

I think I'll keep 'em black haha. I gotta enough to do. I'll continue to post on the Build thread.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/blazerf...c0906ed136.jpg