Track width help

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Larry221

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hey all hope you can help me de stress on this situation I’m going bonkers. My scrub radius is out of control up front.

The Jeep has a Rubicon Dana 44 w/ Warn big hub 5x5.5 kit and wheel spacers, the rear is an Explorer 8.8 with 2” wheel adapters.

I’m having handling issues, turning at low speeds and the tires wear on the outside to middle edge. So I would like to remove the front spacers to narrow the track width in the front.
What do I need to run in the rear for adapters if the front is narrowed? I am not certain of the back space of the current wheels I could measure if changing the wheels would help.

Thank you.

3EC1307D-3F18-49E3-88EE-59499F4B3737.jpeg


28ADADB5-18C2-48FC-B5D7-2C4B2ADDA86C.jpeg
 
Whats the front spacer thickness?

What is the current track widths?

Subtract front spacers from front track width,subtract that width from rear track width,divide by 2 and its how much you remove from each back spacer assuming the track widths are the same

Going to 8" wide wheels will also help if those are 10's
 
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Ideal for a 12.5" wide tire is an 8" wide wheel with 3.75-4" of effective backspacing (actual backspacing minus spacer/adapter thickness).

The 8.8 is narrower than the stock rear axle, though I don't recall how much, so if you want to maintain the stock front vs rear relationship you may want to make up the difference with spacer thickness. Or, if it doesn't look funny and the tires don't rub the upper spring perches, you can just match the effective backspacing you have up front.
 
It has 1.75” adapters in the rear and 1.25” spacers in the front. I am not sure what width wheels I have or back spacing.
Front is 63” not physical measurement as the wheel is on. I’m not sure how much the warn kit adds
Rear 63.1”
 
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Larry221 said:
It has 1.75” adapters in the rear and 1.25” spacers in the front. I am not sure what width wheels I have or back spacing.
Front is 63” not physical measurement as the wheel is on. I’m not sure how much the warn kit adds
Rear 63.1”
Click to expand...

The 5x5.5 hub kit keeps the stock width.

From the photo, your wheels really look like they're 10" wide based on the lack of sidewalk bulge from the bead.

Unfortunately you're about to discover how narrow the wheel selection is that results in reasonable scrub radius with a hub kit. You're looking at 5x5.5 wheels with a 3.75-4" backspacing with 1" adapters out back, or jump up to 5"+ backspacing paired with the spacers and adapters you currently have. Hint: there's hardly any of the latter.
 
freedom_in_4low said:
The 5x5.5 hub kit keeps the stock width.
Click to expand...
I'm not so sure about that.

He doesn't need to know the actual wms to wms though. Just the width difference when the front spacers come off and which thickness adapters are available for the rear to get it close to the front.

Just measuring across the top of the tires is close enough for what hes doing.
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
The 5x5.5 hub kit keeps the stock width.

From the photo, your wheels really look like they're 10" wide based on the lack of sidewalk bulge from the bead.

Unfortunately you're about to discover how narrow the wheel selection is that results in reasonable scrub radius with a hub kit. You're looking at 5x5.5 wheels with a 3.75-4" backspacing with 1" adapters out back, or jump up to 5"+ backspacing paired with the spacers and adapters you currently have. Hint: there's hardly any of the latter.
Click to expand...

OK so go to a 15x8 1'' adapters in the rear. I have found 15x8 in 3.75-4" back spacing what are the cons ?
 
Rickyd said:
I'm not so sure about that.

He doesn't need to know the actual wms to wms though. Just the width difference when the front spacers come off and which thickness adapters are available for the rear to get it close to the front.

Just measuring across the top of the tires is close enough for what hes doing.
Click to expand...

I don't have one but that's been the knowledge repeated ad nauseum around here regarding specifically the 5x5.5 kit. The 5x4.5 kit adds somewhere around 3/4-1" per side depending on when you bought your kit and whether you had early or late rotors and hubs to start with.

I agree he doesn't need to know the actual WMS dimension but the fact that he asked implies that he's interested in narrowing it up some, and what he's working with comes into play for us to advise a correct combination of backspacing and spacer to get away from the roller skate look but also keep the tires out of all the potential things they tend to touch without adequate track width.
 
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Larry221 said:
OK so go to a 15x8 1'' adapters in the rear. I have found 15x8 in 3.75-4" back spacing what are the cons ?
Click to expand...

that would be my move in your position.

One possible con is that though you can typically bury a lug nut inside a 1" adapter, you'll likely need to find shorter studs for your rear axles, or shorten them yourself. There's a good chance they'll stick out somewhere between 0 and a hair under 1/4" from a 1" adapter.
 
Larry221 said:
OK so go to a 15x8 1'' adapters in the rear. I have found 15x8 in 3.75-4" back spacing what are the cons ?
Click to expand...

The tire will move in compared to your current wheels and could possibly rub the lower control arm at full lock depending on tire size(35s?).not an issue.rear will be 1/2" wider than the front but you get to throw away spacers in front

freedom_in_4low said:
I agree he doesn't need to know the actual WMS dimension but the fact that he asked implies that he's interested in narrowing it up some
Click to expand...
it is his goal in starting the thread.lol

63-2.5= 60.5. Front tire width(?)

63.1-3.5"= 59.6 rear

Close enough to say the 5.5 kit is factory since there is .950 difference on an 8.8 vs tj.

3/4-1" rear spacers will work but make it slightly wider in the rear 1/4"-1/2".

1" spacers in front and 1.25" adapters in the rear with the 5" backspace wheels will make it very close to stock.

We're saying the same thing.8" rims and less spacer. I just asked him to verify first by getting a track width measurement.and hoped he'd do this math for himself 😂
 
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Rickyd said:
The tire will move in compared to your current wheels and could possibly rub the lower control arm at full lock depending on tire size(35s?).not an issue.rear will be 1/2" wider than the front but you get to throw away spacers in front

it is his goal in starting the thread.lol

63-2.5= 60.5. Front tire width(?)

63.1-3.5"= 59.6 rear

Close enough to say the 5.5 kit is factory since there is .950 difference on an 8.8 vs tj.

3/4-1" rear spacers will work but make it slightly wider in the rear 1/4"-1/2".

1" spacers in front and 1.25" adapters in the rear with the 5" backspace wheels will make it very close to stock.

We're saying the same thing.8" rims and less spacer. I just asked him to verify first by getting a track width measurement.and hoped he'd do this math for himself 😂
Click to expand...

thank you for the help, I did the math and I’m lost in backspacing and offset. 1” adapters in the rear, 15x8 wheel. backspacing I don’t need it to be flush like a stock tj but to have the right clearances in the rear.

Thank you. Learning as I go!
 
Larry221 said:
thank you for the help, I did the math and I’m lost in backspacing and offset. 1” adapters in the rear, 15x8 wheel. backspacing I don’t need it to be flush like a stock tj but to have the right clearances in the rear.

Thank you. Learning as I go!
Click to expand...

if i were you, i'd measure:

current wheel width
current wheel backspace
current wheel spacers
current interference measurements at full lock (control arms, sway bars etc.)

then you can do the math. it's all guessing at this point until you put a ruler on your rig.
 
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Larry221 said:
thank you for the help, I did the math and I’m lost in backspacing and offset. 1” adapters in the rear, 15x8 wheel. backspacing I don’t need it to be flush like a stock tj but to have the right clearances in the rear.

Thank you. Learning as I go!
Click to expand...

Don't pay any attention to offset.

As a point of comparison, mine has the Warn small hub kit, which adds about an inch of "spacer" compared to stock. I ended up running JK wheels with 6" of backspacing with a 1" thick adapter. This gives me the equivalent of a 4" backspace.
 
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Larry221 said:
hey all hope you can help me de stress on this situation I’m going bonkers. My scrub radius is out of control up front.

The Jeep has a Rubicon Dana 44 w/ Warn big hub 5x5.5 kit and wheel spacers, the rear is an Explorer 8.8 with 2” wheel adapters.

I’m having handling issues, turning at low speeds and the tires wear on the outside to middle edge. So I would like to remove the front spacers to narrow the track width in the front.
What do I need to run in the rear for adapters if the front is narrowed? I am not certain of the back space of the current wheels I could measure if changing the wheels would help.

Thank you.

View attachment 411426

View attachment 411427
Click to expand...

Check your toe. You may be toed in too far. 1/8" toe in on a 24" bar.

Check your air pressure. You should be running 25psi.

Both are related to tire wear patterns. These are easy and free checks.
 
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Larry221 said:
thank you for the help, I did the math and I’m lost in backspacing and offset. 1” adapters in the rear, 15x8 wheel. backspacing I don’t need it to be flush like a stock tj but to have the right clearances in the rear.

Thank you. Learning as I go!
Click to expand...

Think of backspacing as how far the inner bead of the wheel sticks inward.forget offset like jjvw said,and arm yourself with more measurements like ocho said.

Hey and keep asking questions til you understand,its what the forum is for!
 
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To keep things somewhat easy, the goal should be to pull the wheels inboard as much as possible to get the steering axis inclination as centered over the tire contact patch as is reasonably possible. For most with bigger tires on stock axles, that means about 4" of backspacing; which isn't enough because our axles aren't really wide enough for what we often do.
 
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Ocho said:
if i were you, i'd measure:

current wheel width
current wheel backspace
current wheel spacers
current interference measurements at full lock (control arms, sway bars etc.)

then you can do the math. it's all guessing at this point until you put a ruler on your rig.
Click to expand...

Current wheel width 10”
Current backspace 5”
Current wheel spacers Rear1.75”, Front 1.25”
Current interferces: maybe the lower long arm at lock


JMT said:
Check your toe. You may be toed in too far. 1/8" toe in on a 24" bar.

Check your air pressure. You should be running 25psi.

Both are related to tire wear patterns. These are easy and free checks.
Click to expand...

Alignment in 3 weeks when new tires go on. Taped it and it’s that close, not alignment Rec specs.
Rickyd said:
Think of backspacing as how far the inner bead of the wheel sticks inward.forget offset like jjvw said,and arm yourself with more measurements like ocho said.

Hey and keep asking questions til you understand,its what the forum is for!
Click to expand...

Yes thank you, that’s why I’m here I couldn’t figure out why the PO did spacers and have the tires out so far. I don’t go off road much, kinda just need it to be legal.
 
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Larry221 said:
Current wheel width 10”
Current backspace 5”
Current wheel spacers Rear1.75”, Front 1.25”




Alignment in 3 weeks when new tires go on. Taped it and it’s that close, not alignment Rec specs.


Yes thank you, that’s why I’m here I couldn’t figure out why the PO did spacers and have the tires out so far. I don’t go off road much, kinda just need it to be legal.
Click to expand...

If you measured backspace like this-
images (2).jpeg

And got 5" it helps explain why it has such wide spacers.
3.75-4" fits well on a tj with bigger tires.it needs an extra inch of spacers for 5" backspacing.
 
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