GoFastBroncos.com

Need some advice on wheels. I have a set of 35 12.50 r15 projects and need some wheels I'm trying to keep the classic bronco look and not go to flashy. I really like the American Racing ansen wheels but there only 8" wide. Is it a must that I go 10" wide? Any advice and wheel recommendations are great appreciated.

I'm also trying to stay away from methods since everyone intown has them now.

Many people have run 35x12.5 wide tires on stock 7.5" wide bronco wheels without problem and actually prefer this to wider wheels

Thanks FUFIMI, that's a little reassuring. 15" wheels are far few now a days. What offset is recommended also?

I am pretty sure that 3.75 backspace is stock and the norm to run

Right on I think I'll stick with original decision of the Ansen then. Thank you.

I have run 7.5 wide stock 3.75 bs with 35's and 8 wide with 4" bs, both work great. 10" wide rims make the rim easier to damage the bead lip and they just look bad in my opinion. And opinions are like farts, some stink and some don't. [WHITE SMILING FACE]

David...

I was running 35 b ko2s on 10" with good success. But like I said I score a set of projects and need wheels for them but there aren't many 15s to choose from. Either way I already ordered the Ansen so we'll see what happens.

Yup...had Goodyear Silent Armor 35x12.50R15's on my stock Ford 15x7.5" 10-hole ("riveted") aluminum wheels (Hollander H1701) for 7 years...just replacing them in August with General Grabber red letters in 35x12.50R15 on American Racing AR23's, in 15x8. No issues with either set-up.

Why is that AR-23 wheel not offered in a 17"??? Love that wheel!

The AR923 is close, just no rivets. It's a brand new wheel.

I'm running 15x8 with 35" grabbers, so far so good!

Many thousands of miles on 12.5 wide tires on 7.5" rims. Never an issue to report. With all the rock bashing I never had any rim damage because the sidewall protects the rim. I also have a rig with 10" rims and sure enough the rock damage is significant with gouges at the rims. They are just to wide. Handling whether off road or street is pretty much the same with either and least the way I drive- HA.
The thing to note is wide rims are for street or track to allow a straight or vertical sidewall which improves the performance when cornering. This is something that is useless for an off road rig. Narrow rims also are less susceptible to bead loss when airing down for rock/sand driving. Wide rims come for uninformed and uneducated tire shop help and they don't have a clue.
7.5 or 8" rim for 12.5" wide tire is considered the gold standard for any off road rig. For wider section tire increase the rim width accordingly. So for a 13.5" section width Krawler a 8.5- 9" would be the way to go.

My big Bronco used stock 7.5" Alcoas with 35x12.5s. My EB uses cheap cast 10" rims on 35x13.5s and is not a good choice. My Jeep runs 8" cast rims with 35x12.5. My Powerstroke uses stock 7.5" Alcoas and 295 tires (33s) - biggest that will fit with stock suspension and still have to stock load capacity.
Another note:
A popular mod uses Stock 7.5" Alcoas and convert them to beadlocks. Result is a 8.5" rim. Nice setup because they are as good as stock but have durable metal at the rim to take the abuse off road and they can be aired down to 4psi for those really tough obstacles or trails. Make your rig almost unstoppable for a reasonable price.

That AR923 just isn't the same for my lustful AR23 heart

I don't have a close up of the wheels on the Bronco but I did end up with the American Racing Ansen ar969 with 35" projects. So far about the next best thing to the ar23 imo.



My AR23S and 35s went to my dads build.

The AR969 is a 15"x8" btw. Ive had them for a month or so now with no issues. Thanks for the advice.