My friend has a 1997 ford f150 2wd flair side. He is getting the 15x8 rockcrawler wheels on 33x12.50x15 mickey thompson mtz's. He wants the wheels and tires to stick out past the fender about 1-2". What would be the appropriate off-set for this?

 

Well, he can't fit 15's on his 97 because the brakes are too big. He needs a 16 inch or larger wheel. Also, most 10 inch wide wheels for our trucks have 4.5 inches of backspacing, which will put the edge of the tire/wheel just about even with the edge of the front fenders. If he really want's the lifted/off road look, this is what I'd suggest. If he installs a set of 3 inch lift spindles, they will increase the front track width a few inches, which will push the front wheels outward. That is why most people with lifted 4x2's run 8 inch wide wheels. I'd suggest that he install the spindles and then decide if he wants 8 or 10 inch wide wheels. I've seen a lot of lifted 4x2's with 8 inch wide wheels that stick out farther than my 10 inch wide wheels.

 

If he were to run 16's what is the furthest he could get them to stick out with the correct off-set? By the way he is going to run a 3" body lift instead of the spindle lift.

 

In that case, I'd suggest a 16x10 with 4.5 inches of backspacing and a 305/70-16 (33x12.50) tire.