Rim width and backspace

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Richard McLaughlin

Richard McLaughlin

1974 Duster 340
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Hey guys.
I am looking into getting these rims for my 1974 Duster.
I am getting 17" which I assume fits.
What width should I go with? Same on all four corners? Or wider in rear?Comes in 7", 8", or 9" width.

What about backspacing? And bolt pattern?

All the specs for this rim are here:

American Racing : Wheel Specs

Any help would be great.
Thanks!
 
7 or 8" wide is safe backspace for unmolested rear is between 3 1/2-4 1/8" bolt circle is 5 on 4 1/2"
 
Not a lot of good choices there really. 17x8's with 4.5" of backspace (0 offset) are a waste of rim in the front. Not enough backspace to run a tire wide enough to need an 8" wide rim. The 17x7's would be a better choice but again with a 0 offset rim you'd only be looking at like a 215/50/17 in the front. A 225/50/17 on a 17x7" with 4" of backspace would stick out further than the 275/35/18's I have on 18x9's up front on my Duster, you'd be pushing your luck for sure as I don't have any extra room to the fenders on my car.

In the back it depends on your rear axle. Being a '74 I'd guess you have a 7.25 or 8.25 BBP rear axle?

If that's the case a 17x8" with 4.5" of backspace would work, you could run up to a 255/45/17 on that pretty easily. You could also run the 255/45/17 on a 17x9 with a 5" backspace, should work ok. If you wanted to run the 17x9 with a 5" backspace with a 275/40/17 you'd probably need a small spacer to make that work, the BBP 7.25/8.25 rear axles are narrower than the A-body 8 3/4's. I test fit 17x9's with 5" of backspace and 275/40/17's on my '74 Duster when it still had the 7.25" in it and I needed a 1/4" spacer to clear the springs. Whole different ball game with an A-body 8 3/4 and BBP axles.
 
72bluNblu said:
Not a lot of good choices there really. 17x8's with 4.5" of backspace (0 offset) are a waste of rim in the front. Not enough backspace to run a tire wide enough to need an 8" wide rim. The 17x7's would be a better choice but again with a 0 offset rim you'd only be looking at like a 215/50/17 in the front. A 225/50/17 on a 17x7" with 4" of backspace would stick out further than the 275/35/18's I have on 18x9's up front on my Duster, you'd be pushing your luck for sure as I don't have any extra room to the fenders on my car.

In the back it depends on your rear axle. Being a '74 I'd guess you have a 7.25 or 8.25 BBP rear axle?

If that's the case a 17x8" with 4.5" of backspace would work, you could run up to a 255/45/17 on that pretty easily. You could also run the 255/45/17 on a 17x9 with a 5" backspace, should work ok. If you wanted to run the 17x9 with a 5" backspace with a 275/40/17 you'd probably need a small spacer to make that work, the BBP 7.25/8.25 rear axles are narrower than the A-body 8 3/4's. I test fit 17x9's with 5" of backspace and 275/40/17's on my '74 Duster when it still had the 7.25" in it and I needed a 1/4" spacer to clear the springs. Whole different ball game with an A-body 8 3/4 and BBP axles.
Click to expand...
Same width on all four?
 
i like the same all the way around for a cornering car.. wider in the rear won't look bad either though.
 
Richard McLaughlin said:
Same width on all four?
Click to expand...

Well with those rims you're stuck with 17x7's on the front, so if you want to run the same width all the way around it'll be 17x7's. Same for the tires. The widest I'd recommend going is a 215/50/17 in the front, so if you want to run the same size all the way around that's what it has to be. You'd be much better off picking a different rim no matter what you want to do, unless you really want to run 215's in the front.

What rear axle do you have?
 
****. That's to bad. I liked this rim. I don't mind the skinny tires in the front however. And 9" in the rear. Would look cool no?

72bluNblu said:
Well with those rims you're stuck with 17x7's on the front, so if you want to run the same width all the way around it'll be 17x7's. Same for the tires. The widest I'd recommend going is a 215/50/17 in the front, so if you want to run the same size all the way around that's what it has to be. You'd be much better off picking a different rim no matter what you want to do, unless you really want to run 215's in the front.

What rear axle do you have?
Click to expand...
 
How do I determine what rear axle I have?
72bluNblu said:
Well with those rims you're stuck with 17x7's on the front, so if you want to run the same width all the way around it'll be 17x7's. Same for the tires. The widest I'd recommend going is a 215/50/17 in the front, so if you want to run the same size all the way around that's what it has to be. You'd be much better off picking a different rim no matter what you want to do, unless you really want to run 215's in the front.

What rear axle do you have?
Click to expand...
 
72bluNblu said:
Well with those rims you're stuck with 17x7's on the front, so if you want to run the same width all the way around it'll be 17x7's. Same for the tires. The widest I'd recommend going is a 215/50/17 in the front, so if you want to run the same size all the way around that's what it has to be. You'd be much better off picking a different rim no matter what you want to do, unless you really want to run 215's in the front.

What rear axle do you have?
Click to expand...
So your saying that another rim would let me run a bigger tire? Can you give an example or such a rim?
Thanks!!
 
Richard McLaughlin said:
So your saying that another rim would let me run a bigger tire? Can you give an example or such a rim?
Thanks!!
Click to expand...

Um, there are LOTS. It just depends on how big a tire you want to run. Most 17's are limited by the clearance on the outer tie rod end, but you can still safely run as much as 5.6" of backspace on most 17's. A 17x8 with 5.6" of backspace and you could run 255/45/17's up front.

In the back with stock spring locations and uncut quarter lips you can run a 275 on 17x9's. But, like I said earlier I'd need to know what axle you have to make that recommendation because they aren't all the same width.

The problem with A-bodies is that running the same backspace front and rear starts to limit your tire choices pretty quick if you have a stock width rear axle.
 
72bluNblu said:
Um, there are LOTS. It just depends on how big a tire you want to run. Most 17's are limited by the clearance on the outer tie rod end, but you can still safely run as much as 5.6" of backspace on most 17's. A 17x8 with 5.6" of backspace and you could run 255/45/17's up front.

In the back with stock spring locations and uncut quarter lips you can run a 275 on 17x9's. But, like I said earlier I'd need to know what axle you have to make that recommendation because they aren't all the same width.

The problem with A-bodies is that running the same backspace front and rear starts to limit your tire choices pretty quick if you have a stock width rear axle.
Click to expand...
Ok! What about the Weld draglight in black? Max size is 15" but may have more options with backspacing etc... what do you think? Better option?

http://weldwheels.com/shop/street-strip/sport-forged-wheels/black-draglite.html
 
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