Went in to the tire store today with a slow leaking tire. Turns out to be a cracked rim. I bought a used set of oe rims a while back so I have some spares, but with 3 rims with cracks I dont think what I have is going to last much longer. So I have done alot of looking this evening and while there are a lot of wheels out there I find very few that have the same off set and backspace as the OE. From my research and doing some measuring of the OE rims it would appear I need a 43mm off set and 6.2" back space. Not sure why you need the 2 measurements. It would seem to me the they are 2 different ways to measure the same thing. Almost everything I saw had a 0mm off set. Not sure I want the wheels sticking out another 1 3/4" from where they are now. 

 

I guess what I need to know is if I am reading these measurements right? I did not have this trouble with my trailer wheels, they were marked and I had plenty of choices. What are some of you all running?

Yes it looks like you're reading the measurements right. I'm running mid 90's superduty wheels made by Alcoa. They move the tire out about an inch, maybe 1 1/2". I have noticed some more rock chips on my doors than normal but my new tires tend to pick up a lot of rocks so I don't know which to blame for that. If you ever make it up to northern MN I have a set of stock wheels you can have for a case of beer.

4th gens here.  400 bucks of Craigslist.   If you're lucky you can find the 18 inch wheels.  Tires are much cheaper and better than the 17s.

I'm running 4th gens like @CSM. I've never heard of your issue before..... maybe a bad batch got out! Sorry I'm no help when it comes to reading the sizes.

mine did that to, sotck wheels and all 4 had cracks and 1 slow leak. I scrap the mags and got use MT wheels... no problems!!!    seems like bad casting

95-97 Ford Rims here. Made by Alcoa. Out by about an inch or so.

 

Way I understand it these are the only years Ford had Alcoa forged rims put on the pickups. You can tell cause there are no brake cooling holes in line with the lug holes. Also another way is to look at the concrete mixer trucks front wheels. They are identicle to the Alcoa Ford rims only larger.

 

I think the aluminum color on a forged wheel versus cast wheel looks better too.

Edited May 8, 20168 yr by JAG1

I'm also running a generic 16" wheel and tires hang out just about a inch from the fenders. I also lost my factory wheels to the same issue few years back where 3 of the 4 wheels where cracked and not leaking quite yet. Personally if I had the fund I would get a nicer set of wheels with proper offset being I'm getting tired of the mud flung my the tires all up the side of the truck and also sprays the RV behind me rather well right to the roof. I might not update to 17" or 18" for the sole reason I like to run a bit softer tire pressure when I'm out cutting firewood. Much easier on the truck and me not to get beat to death with the wash board roads and potholes. Where getting 17" and 18" the side profile gets shorter and shorter becomes easier to damage wheels now.

anything like these?https://asheville.craigslist.org/wto/5535351061.html Here is one other I foundhttps://columbia.craigslist.org/wto/5567830809.html

I looked at some 3rd gens a few years back and it seemed the tire cost more than the 16". Have not priced any lately.

The first and second set are not the Alcoas. Stay with 95-97 8 lug ford rims. that is the only years for forged wheels with the good metallurgy. The process for a forged wheel is so expensive Ford quit doing it after 97. You can still buy them new for $280 ea. wheel but many folks don't know what they are so usually around 200 bucks on Craiglist. I bought 3 sets ranging from 75- 200 for a set of 4.

Edited May 8, 20168 yr by JAG1

The first looked like the Acoas in my mind, at least ones I have seen. The second set looked just like a set of American Racing wheels I saw last nighthttp://www.autoanything.com/wheels-rims/american-racing-ar23-wheels?kc=GOOGADW&k_clickid=1d98e7e1-942e-4423-8dbd-936ecbbccbc7&adgroupid=209349&k_trackingid=139x2058245&gclid=CPbui5-6ycwCFZM6gQodk9QEYw. I did like them. The craigs list ones are only 6.5" wide and not sure I want to go that route. I looked at so many freaking wheels last night that I am not sure I will look at any more for a while..Every thing I liked only came in 0 off set.. Matter of fact almost everything came in a 0 off set.

 

I got some time, the spare set I have seem to be ok but I would suspect they might be cracking soon themselves. The weird thing is the first wheel that I noticed was cracked. I had a fender bender about 2 years ago and the only damage I got was one of my wheels got scarred up pretty good when the center cap got torn off. When I bought my last set of tires I retired that rim and it had 7 cracks in it and lost no air. The cracks I am seeing are radial from the outside of the rim towards the middle.

6 hours ago, dripley said:

anything like these?https://asheville.craigslist.org/wto/5535351061.html Here is one other I foundhttps://columbia.craigslist.org/wto/5567830809.html

I looked at some 3rd gens a few years back and it seemed the tire cost more than the 16". Have not priced any lately.

The first listing for superduty wheels won't fit, that generation has a different lug spacing. The only Ford wheels that fit are pre 97 I believe. 

The second set should fit. The 8x6.5" he's referencing is 8 lug with a 6.5" lug stud spacing. 

You are correct Buzzin he needs to stay pre 97 so they fit. They are standard rather than metric. That's good anyhow since 95-97 Ford is the only Alcoa made wheels for ford.

Shame you aren't in CO. 

 

http://cosprings.craigslist.org/wto/5545846264.html

 

http://cosprings.craigslist.org/wto/5540777444.html

I think if you look closely you can see the Alcoa sticker on the 2nd set. Where are your rims cracking?

1 hour ago, Buzzinhalfdozen said:

The first listing for superduty wheels won't fit, that generation has a different lug spacing. The only Ford wheels that fit are pre 97 I believe. 

The second set should fit. The 8x6.5" he's referencing is 8 lug with a 6.5" lug stud spacing. 

You are probably right on the second set. I might have read that wrong and associated the 6.5  with the rim size

 

20 minutes ago, CSM said:

Shame you aren't in CO. 

 

http://cosprings.craigslist.org/wto/5545846264.html

 

http://cosprings.craigslist.org/wto/5540777444.html

I have seen a couple of sets of 4th gen around here but in the wrong direction for me. I will do some more digging when I get up that way next week.

 

16 hours ago, Buzzinhalfdozen said:

Yes it looks like you're reading the measurements right. I'm running mid 90's superduty wheels made by Alcoa. They move the tire out about an inch, maybe 1 1/2". I have noticed some more rock chips on my doors than normal but my new tires tend to pick up a lot of rocks so I don't know which to blame for that. If you ever make it up to northern MN I have a set of stock wheels you can have for a case of beer.

Got the beer just no time for that long of a trip. But thanks anyway.

 

8 hours ago, JAG1 said:

95-97 Ford Rims here. Made by Alcoa. Out by about an inch or so.

 

Way I understand it these are the only years Ford had Alcoa forged rims put on the pickups. You can tell cause there are no brake cooling holes in line with the lug holes. Also another way is to look at the concrete mixer trucks front wheels. They are identicle to the Alcoa Ford rims only larger.

 

I think the aluminum color on a forged wheel versus cast wheel looks better too.

I see the center caps even work. I am partial to those caps.

8 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

I'm also running a generic 16" wheel and tires hang out just about a inch from the fenders. I also lost my factory wheels to the same issue few years back where 3 of the 4 wheels where cracked and not leaking quite yet. Personally if I had the fund I would get a nicer set of wheels with proper offset being I'm getting tired of the mud flung my the tires all up the side of the truck and also sprays the RV behind me rather well right to the roof. I might not update to 17" or 18" for the sole reason I like to run a bit softer tire pressure when I'm out cutting firewood. Much easier on the truck and me not to get beat to death with the wash board roads and potholes. Where getting 17" and 18" the side profile gets shorter and shorter becomes easier to damage wheels now.

I remember your cracking. I as I remember yours were cracking around the rim, Mine cracked from the outside of the rim towards the center and only on the back side. I think for what I use my truck for the 17's to the 18's might be beneficial since I am not off in the wilderness like you are. Last time I checked the tire were pricier than the 16's and I dont like that at all.

 

54 minutes ago, Royal Squire said:

I think if you look closely you can see the Alcoa sticker on the 2nd set. Where are your rims cracking?

I see what you are seeing and you might be right. Then I see they are south of me and I have to go north, I do like them however. As far as the cracking is concerned, they are cracking from the out side of the inner rim towards the center. 

I have been doing some searching and have found some 18" Dodge take offs for decent prices. The thing that bugs me is the tires are about $30 apiece more than the 16". That just pisses me off. I quit buying Michelin's when the crossed $1000 a set and now they are near $1300 a set. The ATP's are now up to $1000 a set. This was at Discount Tire. The local guy I used to buy my tires from told me about 3 months ago he could put into a set of AT3's for $800. Might have to take that to Discount tire and see if they would match it or just buy from my old tire man. I swapped from the local guy due to being on the road so much. Easier to get service when I have a problem. 

Another thing to consider is typically the bigger the wheel the less tread depth a tire comes with. So more money and less tread, part of the reason I'm sticking with 16"

Really?  Why is that?

I knew the sidewalls would be shorter and thought that would be more stable for towing down the highway which would probably suit me. I assumed the tread depth would be the same but did not have them pull on e down to look. That would be something I would have to check out before making a swap to the 18's. But like RS I am curious as to why they would shorten the tread depth. The 18's have the same mileage warranty as the 16's. 

 

The biggest thing that kept me in the 16's was the cost of the tires for the larger wheels.

I'm not sure as to the reason why it's just something I noticed back in my tire tech days. 

A typical 16" AT tire would come with about 16/32nds tread. Same overall height tire in an 18" would have 13 or 14/32nds. Now bump up to a 20" wheel and they'd only have 11 or 12/32nds. 

As a disclaimer I never looked into if the the tires were going the same miles. Just common sense in my head said less tread=less mileage. Maybe it's a harder compound on the bigger wheels?  

I always measure the tread depth on new tires and on both my rigs with 17" rims they have always been 16/32" when new.