WARNING: Long post with a lot of back story.

I’ve always wanted to run 37” tires on my F-350 because I like the way they look over 35’s, but I knew I’d have to combat the rubbing issue. Temporarily, I put 37x12.5 Nitto Ridge Grappler on some stock 20” machined wheels, and they rub. They rub a good bit prior to full lock, and they rub pretty bad. They are rubbing on the control arms and the sway bar on both sides. I knew there would be some rubbing with the set-up, but I thought I could live with it. I can’t. The rubbing drives me nuts.

Also part of my temporary solution was to have some custom 1/2” hub-centric spacers made and see if that eliminates the rub. The spacers fell short. The spacers eliminated all rub on a left turn, but I still get a slight rub at full lock on a right turn. The spacers also created shake in the steering wheel any time I go over 40mph, and the safety aspect of spacers also makes me uneasy. So the spacers are not a solution, but they gave me an idea of where I need the offset to be to eliminate rubbing.

I’m not set on sticking with stock wheels. I have been looking for my favorite aftermarket wheel for months, and the 37’s on stock wheels were a temporary thing for me. So, I know the solution for the rub is easy, get a wheel with more negative offset than the stock wheel. The problem is, I had a change of heart and now I want 22” wheels. I just like the look of 22” wheels wrapped in 37” tires. Not too much rubber, not too little rubber. I don’t like the 26” wheels in low-pro off-road tires, but 17” wheels inside 37’s isn’t my look either. So I felt like 22” wheels inside 37” tires strikes a good balance.

I don’t like the new “cool” look for truck wheels that have crazy negative offsets with the tires sticking 2ft. outside the fender. Like this:



It reminds me of our friends south of the border in the 1990’s that used to put 15” 100 spoke wheels on a Honda Civic with the tires poked out on all sides.



I want something the remains mostly inside the wheel-well, but a little bit of a slightly aggressive stance wouldn’t kill me. I wouldn't want any more offset than this:



Almost all of the 22” wheels out there have crazy negative offsets -25mm to -76mm. There have been a couple I’ve found that I like from Fuel and American Force that have a +0mm or +20mm offset. Here’s where my problem lies, since the wheels are wider on these 22” aftermarket wheels than the stock 20” wheels, even though the offset is less than stock, the backspacing is still about the same as stock and I’m worried that I will still rub.

Example: The OEM machined Ford wheels currently on my truck are 20”x8” with a +40mm offset leaving 6” of backspace. So I need less offset to push the wheels out and eliminate the rub. My experiment with the wheel spacers taught me that I need to go out more than 1/2” (12.7mm). So in theory +20mm offset should eliminate the rub, I think this has also been verified by some on this board.

The problem is the aftermarket 22” wheels I’m looking at are all wider than the OEM 20” wheels. The Fuel’s I looked at are 22x9.5 +20mm offset with 6” of backspace. The American Force’s are 22x11 +0mm offset with 6” of backspace. So while I’m getting more offset from the aftermarket wheels, they are also wider leaving me with the same backspacing as the OEM wheels. I’m worried that I will still have rubbing issues because the backspacing is the same.

Here’s where the wheels started turning in my head though. Even though the aftermarket wheels will be wider, the tires will still the same width (12.5”). So overall, the wheel/tire combo is the same size and the tires are what’s rubbing. So even though the backspacing is still 6” on the aftermarket wheels, can I eliminate the rub with the +0mm or +20mm offset because it will still push the wheel out further and the tire isn’t any wider?

Sorry for the long post, I’m just trying to iron out some details before I spend a ton on some custom made American Force wheels. I’d hate to spend $5k on a new set-up and still have rub. Then my only solution will be suicide.

 

This is my current set-up with 37" Ridge Grapplers on 20" OEM machined wheels. 100% stock suspension.

 

I have 37 x 13.5 tires on wheels with a -12mm offset. I get a little rubbing on one side on the rear of the fender well liner, and on the other side on the edge of the air dam. If the wheels were perfectly centered in the wheel well, I think they would clear; or if the tires were a 12.5 instead of a 13.5 they might clear. Ultimately, I'm going to err on the side of pushing the right side a bit forward and trim the air dam on both sides, but hope the information is useful to you.

BTW, I'm on a 4" BDS RA lift.

 

My truck is leveled 2.5. 20x10 fuel Mavericks with 37 12.50 20 Toyo rt. No rubbing 2wd valance and trimmed plastic on rear of fenders

 

Yeah, I know going with a negative offset will cure the rubbing issue. My predicament is that I don't want to go with a negative offset because I don't want my tires to stick out that far.

And I know if you go too negative you get rid of one rub (control arms), but create another rub (fenders) like you have gravedgr.

 

If you run 12.5" wide tires on any backspace less than ~5" you will be running outside the wells (stock back space is 5.8248"). My advice is to run a 20x9 with +10 to 0 offset. This will guarantee no rub.

Your only option to meet your criteria with a 22" wheel is to run a 22x9 and they will look terrible because the porportions will be off. Too much height not enough depth. Just my two cents.

 

American Force has a 22x11 with a +0mm offset with 6" of backspace. But whether I'm running a 9" wide wheel or 11" wide wheel, how will you know if they're both in a 12.5" tire? How will you be able to tell a difference?

 

A 12.5" wide tire is close to 12.5" unmounted. When mounted to 11" or 9" wide rim it will still be close to 12.5" wide. If this is your concern, you are planning on running too narrow tolerances.

How can an 11" wide rim have 6" of backspace AND 0 offset?? 0 offset = 11"/2 = 5.5" backspace... Unless AF has .25" wheel lips and they are measuring from inside the lip to mounting surface.

 

Are you saying you can't (or shouldn't) run an 11" wide wheel on a 12.5" wide tire? If running 11" wide wheels, should you go with 13.5" tires?

I'm not sure how its possible, you seem to be way more knowledgeable in this field than me, but that's their listed specs.

 

Generally, individual tire sizes will state what wheels they are compatible with - I think that's what you're saying in your second quote, and if your tire shows an 11" wheel as "in spec" you should be good to go. The amount of "balloon" of the tire outside the wheel will obviously vary. 9" seemed to be the sweet spot, based on anecdotal articles and videos, for my 13.5" tires and I wanted plenty of overhang to protect the wheels. If you don't want that fat tire/tall sidewall "off road" look, the wider wheel will help minimize that and create more a "squared off" tire appearance.

 

You need 5" of backspacing. Offset is sort of a stupid metric because it changes depending on the width of the wheel. 0 offset on a 9" wide rim is not the same as 0 offset on a 10' wide rim. But 5" backspace is 5" backspace no matter what.

I have 18x9 0 offset wheels which is 5" backspacing, no rubbing and I have plenty of clearance for 37's. I might move up to a 37 next time around, it definitely looks better on these trucks, but I dont know if I want to have a 37 for towing purposes.

 

17x8.5", 4.89" BS, Toyo OC MT 37 x 12.5" - Carli 2.5" spring lift with a .5" metal spacer under the lower spring perch. No lift in rear. 2.5" Fox Factory Edition DSC shocks. No trimming, no cutting, no rubbing. All that said, I do have Lewis built control arms and track bar which allows me to center my axle left to right and front to back.

 

Tricon, I hold your word in very high regard on this site because you are very knowledgeable when it comes to these Alumidutys. I know backspace should be the standard to go by, but I started thinking that no matter how wide the wheel is, its' still in a 12.5" tire. So, overall the width is the same whether I run a 9" wheel or 11" wheel right? So my overthinking flawed logic got me wondering since the overall width is the same, if I do a +0mm offset on the 22x11, shouldn't it still push the wheel/tire out more?

Carli says you need 5" of backspace to run 37's, or 5.5" if you use their radius arms. I'd spend the extra $$$ and buy their radius arms if it solved the rubbing issue. My fear is that I would spend $5k on wheels/tires then $1,400 for Carli radius arms and still have rub.

 

Wicked, I think you've achieved the perfect stance. You're set-up looks awesome, I just like more wheel.

 

First - I would not buy Carli arms, they are not adjustable. Look at PMF or Lewis built. You get the "rub clearance" but also adjust-ability for the same price or less. I can only speak for lewis arms since I have them and they are built to be thinner to avoid rubbing and also allow you to infinitely dial in caster along with centering your axle front to back i.e. center it in the wheel well.

Second, actual tire width of tires (mounted) will change pending on tire width. I know conceptually it doesn't sound right but it does.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret...jsp?techid=200