Would someone please tell me what to put in the search box to find out what year 16" wheels will replace mine? I have a 1981 f-150 w/ 9" rear. I've been told 16" rims will fit right on but can't find out what year of truck. Currently I have 15" 5x5.5,. Trust me I have put everything I can think of in the search but with no success.

 

I'm no expert here, but it seems to me that any year 16" wheel should fit, as long as it is indeed 5x5.5. Ford did some funny things on the earlier trucks, maybe just the F100's, but I know I've wanted a set of bigger wheels but unfortunately my truck has the 5x4.5 bolt pattern...

 

Thank you for the info.

 

Dodge/Jeep wheels are a close fit, only real issue is 4WD hub size. The backspacing is even close. IIRC I dont think Ford made a 16" truck wheel in a 5x5.5, only the 8 luggers On aftermarket wheels you need to pay attention to the back spacing, too far off and you can kiss wheel bearings goodbye on a regular basis.

 

If your not looking to support hauling/towing weight you can look into 5x4.5 passenger car wheels.

 

Could you explain back spacing, and what I need to look for if I were to be interested in a 16" swap?

 

Backspacing is the distance from the mounting flange(hub) to the centerline of the wheel. If it is too far off from stock you can put undue stress on suspension components, especially the wheel bearings. Remember the Hondas back in the '90s that were going down the road with the wheels like this "/ \"? That is because the wheels stuck out so damn far and would kill the wheel bearings within a few thousand miles. A quick example I used to show customers is take 2 5lb bags of sugar and hold them down at your sides, one in each hand. Not so bad right? Now hold them out to your sides at arms length, see the difference? That's akin to putting extreme offset wheels on your vehicle. Stock backspacking is ~3.7" IIRC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offset_(wheel))

 

Thanks for the link. So, what is the typical offset for our trucks?

 

If you have a set of stock wheels without the tires on them you can measure them yourself. Just put it on the floor with the outside part up and measure from the floor up to the inside part of the wheel. That will tell you what spacing you need. I learned this when trying to get wheels for the hobby stock car and some wheels needed to be 3" offset while others are only 1"... If you don't have any bare wheels you may be able to guesstimate the distance by taking the rubber into account.

 

16" half ton rims?


Wasn't that only in 1980-81 they did that, to a special heavy duty 4x4 package or something? I've heard of it, but I don't think i've ever seen one.

 

Here is the diagram from the article for those who dont want to click through. ET is offset or backspacing, the distance between "C"(centerline) and "M"(mounting point or plane)

 

Thanks everyone for the help.