WHEEL dIFFERENCES
There are some decient buys on ebay of take off wheels in the 18-20" range. what is required to use the newer rims on the 99-04 trucks?
There are some decient buys on ebay of take off wheels in the 18-20" range. what is required to use the newer rims on the 99-04 trucks?
Wheel size- 16" will fit pre-05, but not post-05 because of brake caliper changes.
Backspacing- pre-05 was spaced to not contact the leaf springs on 4wd truck, post-05 the coil spring front ends allowed a "tighter fitting" wheel since coils allow the tire to turn further. Later wheels won't work on earlier trucks, early wheels >16" will fit later trucks. 2wd trucks is a realm I don't play in, but I assume since the twin I-Beam is based on a coil sprung beam, later wheels work on earlier 2wd trucks.
Hub bore- many aftermarket wheels are lug centric, while factory rims are hub centric. Not a huge issue usually, but some people complain of vibration and steering problems from lug centric wheels, specifically when either under a diesel engine, or under a heavy bed load. Spacers can be made to use late model aftermarket rims on earlier model trucks, but they can be expensive.
Lug pattern- all SDs with SRW should use the 8 on 170mm pattern. No wheels prior to 99.5 MY trucks will work on a SD. If I recall off the top of my head correctly, pre-99.5 Heavy Duty Powerstrokes used standard lug patterns.










