mikeysentra Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 So I have a 97 Pathy and want to put 31-10.50-15 BFG AT KO's on it. will these tires clear everything with the stock 6 spoke 15" Steel wheels? if not would they with the SE Alloys? Since I finaly sold my eclipse I am going to start working in stages on the pathy. I am going to do the tires, Warn Hubs, exhaust and the AC Lift, in that order. I just want to get tires first as they are about the 2nd most expensive thing to do next to the lift + I want to get the hubs before I do the lift so I dont have cv joint issues. Is this a good course of attack or am I missing somthing? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 With the stock 15x6.5 steel wheels, they'll be a pretty tight fit and you may have rubbing issues. The 15x7 SE alloys fit 31's without problems. Will you ever want to run larger than 31" tires? If so, get an inexpensive set of 15x8 wheels with 3.75 or 4" backspacing. They will accomodate up to 32x11.50R15 tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeysentra Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 With the stock 15x6.5 steel wheels, they'll be a pretty tight fit and you may have rubbing issues. The 15x7 SE alloys fit 31's without problems. Will you ever want to run larger than 31" tires? If so, get an inexpensive set of 15x8 wheels with 3.75 or 4" backspacing. They will accomodate up to 32x11.50R15 tires. No 31's are the biggest I plan to run on it. I dont take it off road much. so its mainly a highway cruiser and daily driver and I dont want to kill the fuel economy that much. I am kinda hopeing that by doing the manual hubs it will kinda offset the decrease in fuel economy by going to the bigger tires. I am currently getting about 15.5-17 MPG now so If I can keep it in the 14 range around town and not kill the auto trans I will be happy. I will also keep my eye out for a set of SE wheels before I buy tires so I wont have any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWC5S2 Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 You might have to trim a little of the excess plastic from inside the wheel wells. It is nothing that will alter the outside appearance of the car at all. Just see where the tire is rubbing and trim it off. It's only excess overhang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeysentra Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 You might have to trim a little of the excess plastic from inside the wheel wells. It is nothing that will alter the outside appearance of the car at all. Just see where the tire is rubbing and trim it off. It's only excess overhang. Is that with the stock steel wheels or the SE Wheels? I really dont want to have to buy wheels but if I have to I will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWC5S2 Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 (edited) Is that with the stock steel wheels or the SE Wheels? I really dont want to have to buy wheels but if I have to I will. I really did not have much of a rubbing problem with the stock 6 spoke alloy type 16" SE wheels and 31" tires unless I really got into a big off-camber hill or rut. Even then the only rubbing was to the inner wheel well and did no damage. The biggest thing is to make sure the tires are clear of the front struts. As long as they do not touch when installed they will never touch the strut mount. I later switched to 15" steel rims with 33x9.5 tires and had to trim off quite a bit of excess plastic in the wheel wells. It was no big deal and did no structural or comestic damage at all. When these wear out I will be looking for some 32x11.5 just to have a better off road foot print. Edited July 16, 2007 by RWC5S2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Since fuel economy is a factor in your decision-making, you should be aware that going from your stock 235/70R15 tire size to 31" tires will significantly affect your speedometer/odometer (will read 10% slower than actual). Therefore, bigger tires will make your fuel economy seem 10% lower than it actually is. Take that into account when calculating your fuel economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkpath96 Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Also make sure you have 15x7 stock wheels (have them measured) and not 15x6.5's. I don't think you can put 31's on 15x6.5 wheels safely but since you aren't off-roading it might not be a big deal. I have a '96 with 15x7's and have minor rubbing at full lock both directions, forward and reverse, even with the OME coil springs. Makes tight parallel parking a bit noisy but who cares, the tires look much better. It might be possible to heat the inner wheel wells at the rub spots and bend them away from the tire instead of trimming - I saw that on here somewhere but am not sure it was for R50's... Good call on the gas mileage, xPLORx4. When I first calculated mine after new tires I was a bit disappointed, but never considered the effect on the odometer - only the speedo. duh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orangetang Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 What size tires are you running dkpath? I'm soon thinking about buying some steel 15x8 wheels for my 02' Chilkoot, which came with narrower factory tires than most models. I havn't isntalled it yet, but I do have an OME lift. I'd like to clear 32" MT tires without rubbing. Which backspacing woudl you recommend and how does this effect the tire sticking out from under the fender? Currently the tires are sitting a fair bit inside the fender. I'd rather have them come out flush or stick out a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90seven Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Well, my 31s finally busted up my wheel well. I say when you get the tires you want mounted, drive around a bit and find out where they rub and then trim as soon as possible. I'm trimming mine this weekend. [i've been seaching for Pezzy's (I think its hers) pics when she had her fenders trimmed so i can cut mine the same way. Any help..] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkpath96 Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 I have the stock 15x7 chrome wheels. The 31's are just inside the wheel wells (almost flush). Here's a pic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeysentra Posted July 21, 2007 Author Share Posted July 21, 2007 I got the 31'sinstalled today on the factory steel wheels. They look great really fill the wheel well. I also instaled my Warn manual hubs and a set of front brake pads last night. I went with a firestone destination AT as tirerack rated them great and they were inexpensive. now I need to get the lift but that is going to have to wait tell end of august or early september to build some funds back up so I dont drain the bank account. I will post pics up soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now