7" or 8" TT II's on the front.

[Hertzdaddy]

I'm trying to decide if I should get a set of 17" TT II's in either 7" or 8" wide for the front of my 73 Jimmy 2wd. I have 6.5" van rallys on it now with a 4.5/6 drop. Its not low enough to tuck yet but one day I want to get down there. Has anybody bought either the 7" or the 8" and wished they hadn't? Also, thinking about 4" backspace for the 7" and 5" bs for the 8", correct? I have some 17x9.5" with 5.5" bs for the rear already.

I'm going for a basic hotrod theme on the truck. Here's a current pic.



Thoughts?

[Jabes1]

Skinny ladies in the front, fatties in the back for traction... Bad joke :/

[lolife99]

I would run 17x8's with a 5" BS.

I had a '81 2wd blazer with 17x8's (5" BS) and 17x9.5's (4.5" BS)
A 5" BS would really be ideal for those rear 9.5" wide rear wheels.

[Hertzdaddy]

Originally Posted by lolife99

I would run 17x8's with a 5" BS.

I had a '81 2wd blazer with 17x8's (5" BS) and 17x9.5's (4.5" BS)
A 5" BS would really be ideal for those rear 9.5" wide rear wheels.

The deal I got on the 9.5" was "idealer" .

Its tubbed so maybe one day I'll go wider still with the ideal bs. Its hard to find a super wide 17" street tire these days though. It seems like all of the wide street performance tires are 18" or bigger and all of the wide 17" tires are off-road treads.

What kind of drop did you have on the '81?

[lolife99]

It was about a 4/6 drop.
I went 8's up front because of tire choice.
255/50's and 275 50's.

No pics with those wheels,... but here it is with 7 and 8 inch rally wheels.

[bluex]

Heres mine on 235/55/17 on a 17x8 with 5" backspacing up front and 275/60/17 on a 17x9.5 with 5.5" backspacing out back. 2.5" drop spindles up front with one coil cut and a flip kit out back.





The 8" wides up front fit fine, I see no need for a 7" unless you just want to run a really skinny tire?

[Hertzdaddy]

Thanks Paul. Your thread on the "Leroy's" has been my guide for this wheel update.

The reason I'm asking about the 7 vs. 8" is to find out if there are any clearance issues at more extreme drops than what you or I are currently running. I don't know if I'll ever get down that far but I don't like to buy twice if I don't have to. Then again, I don't want it to look silly now in anticipation of future mods.

Funny, I'm running a 235 width tire on my van rallys right now. They don't look as stretched on your 8" rims as I thought they would.

Thanks for the input.

[D13]

Originally Posted by bluex

Heres mine on 235/55/17 on a 17x8 with 5" backspacing up front and 275/60/17 on a 17x9.5 with 5.5" backspacing out back. 2.5" drop spindles up front with one coil cut and a flip kit out back.

How much drop did you get with the flip kit? I love the stance and the wheel selection. Already planning the spindles and coils.

[bluex]

Originally Posted by D13

How much drop did you get with the flip kit? I love the stance and the wheel selection. Already planning the spindles and coils.

Thanks I do too. I got an additional 3" over the shackle/hanger setup that was on it. So total from stock should be 7" if my math is correct. I originally lowered it in 98 so I'm unsure what the measurements were on it stock. It is a heavy half with the thicker leaf pack and a 12 bolt as well. All the springs are in the pack still including the overload.

[bluex]

Originally Posted by Hertzdaddy

Thanks Paul. Your thread on the "Leroy's" has been my guide for this wheel update.

The reason I'm asking about the 7 vs. 8" is to find out if there are any clearance issues at more extreme drops than what you or I are currently running. I don't know if I'll ever get down that far but I don't like to buy twice if I don't have to. Then again, I don't want it to look silly now in anticipation of future mods.

Funny, I'm running a 235 width tire on my van rallys right now. They don't look as stretched on your 8" rims as I thought they would.

Thanks for the input.

No problem, at full lock I think they are rubbing the LCA a bit but I haven't been able to check yet. Nothing a little trimming won't fix though. I also have a set of rallies I want to be able to run to change up the look sometimes so the trimming will have to be done for those anyway.

The rubbing was before my alignment though which was off from the front end rebuild so it might be OK now. I need to give it a once over anyhow since I've been driving it some....