I've been reading around the forum, and came across some neato info, that ended up raising as many questions as it answered lol

Apparently, the 2wd rims have different back spacing than the 4wd rims. thus moving the tires outfrom the midline about 2 inches. This sounds good to me, as I'd like to have that wider stance, and eliminates the need for spacers.

I am also planning on running 30 inch tires, which is about as big as I can go with a stock height on my 97 4dr 4wd.

My questions to the blazer geniuses are:

With the 2wd rims, will I still be able to fit the 30 inch tires without rubbing? if not, how big can I go?

and what width can I go with the 2wd rims, again, without rubbing? will the wider stance allow for wider tires than the 9.5s?

Thanks all you mad scientists! lol

 

By moving the tire out two inches out in the front it travels
an arc that will go farther forward and farthur back. As opposed to a scrub radius directly under the tire pivoting close to center. Prolly bang the fenders at full lock. At least it did with 29" and 2"more offset

 

I'd guess that with 2wd rims (4.5" backspacing) and 30x9.5x15 tires on a stock 4x4 Blazer you may rub on the back of the front fender. I believe that some people have done this without rubbing, but I wouldn't count on it. You might be able to get away with it. You could also look at trimming the fender in that spot (not hard to do) or go with a suspension lift or body lift.

 

What about going from stock 235/r15's to 265/75r16's? I was given some pretty good rims and tires for my 95 4x4 Blazer just wanted to know if those would work.

 

265/75/16's would be approximately 31.5" tall and about 10.4" wide, so you'd be even more likely to rub on a stock height Blazer. It also depends a lot on the backspacing of the rims you have. If they're stock 6" backspacing then you'll likely rub on the frame and sway bar as well as the back of the front fender. If they have less than 6" backspacing you probably won't rub on the frame, but you'll definitely rub on the fender.

 

I had 2wd rims with 235/75/15 Goodyear Wrangler ATs on my 2door 4x4. When I'd bottom out off-roading, the tires hit the top of the rear fender and actually creased my body panel. The stock back-spacing allows the tire to tuck inside the wheel well at full compression. I put 30x9.5 with stock 4x4 wheels, and they tick nicely and don't hit the body any where. I have add-a-leaf and t-bar crank 1.5".

 

I just put 235/75r15 falken wildpeak a/t (29.5 tall) on my 96 4wd 4 door. I have the t-bars turned up an inch. They rub the inner fender liner at 3/4 to full turn along the bottom rear. Just took a bfg and hammered the bottoms back half an inch and now have no rubbing. Oh, I put them on z28 wheels.

 

Wow! Lots of information! Lots to think about! Thank you everyone! Pics would help me decide- who's got em?!!!

 

Ok so my understanding, 2wd have less backspacing therefore sticking out farther (around 2 inches), but I have seen comments about 2wd wheels being bad for your 4x4 front end. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Also, if this is true: would camaro wheels also be bad for your 4x4 blazer?(I wonder since so many people seem to favor them)

I have these questions since I really want a wider stance on my 97 4x4 and I put 2" wheel spacers on back but I'm afraid of the things that can go wrong with them so I just want wheels that will do the job.
Thanks for any answers

 

I'll take a stab at explaining this. If my answer isn't clear use the search. This question has gone around a few times and there's probably a better explaination out there. The reason having less backspacing is bad for your hubs is that it places more stress on the bearings. With stock backspacing it keeps the weight of the vehicle centered more directly over the axle bearing. With less backspacing it adds more torque perpendicular to the rotation of the bearing. This can cause the bearings to wear out faster. This is also much more noticeable on the front hubs than the rear because the front is also involved in steering so there's more varying directional forces working on the bearing.

All that being said, there's tons of people who use different rims or spacers without any real problems. You just need to be aware that it will likely (somewhat) accelerate the wear on the bearings and you may have to replace them. If you use quality bearings you shouldn't have any problems at all.