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Should I get 5 wheels or 4?

7K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  maxgig 
#1 ·
Hello all,
Finally after a year of looking and picking everyone's brains I've decided on a set of wheels for my car. I was going to go with a staggered wheel 18x9.5 rear and 18x8.5 fronts with a 4.5in BS and 0 offset.

Because I like to lay down rubber I decided to go with 18x8.5 all around so I can rotate them for longer tire life and fun. I worked out a deal for center caps, and lugnuts that I'm comfortable with but I was wondering if I should get a 5th wheel for a spare.

One wheel with accessories costs about $300 but I'm sure I can get it cheaper. I'll work it into the rotation every year. What would you guys do? Just curious, thanks.
 
#3 ·
Thanks, I actually forgot that I'm changing from 15's to 18's so I'd really need a spare. Call it a quirk on my part but I hated to see guys at car shows showing off their trunk but not having a spare tire, or jack for that matter. I'm confident in my cars mechanically that I can drive them anywhere but you can't put a 15in spare on a car running 18's.
 
#5 ·
Those little spares they have nowadays are not the same diameter........your not supposed to go over 45 though. It's just supposed to get you limped into a station - so I say stick with the smallest one that will get you by. No point in spending $300 on a tire you wouldn't use -- unless you plan to include it in your rotations. Then you would want to of course.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I only bought four mostly because I run different sizes of both rims and tires front and back. I (at the time) restored a stock 14" rim real nice and put a Kumho radial on it that matched the diameter of my tires (both are ~26" in diameter) but that ended up being no good once I decided to upgrade to Cobra discs front and rear. I then bought a later model 'stang 17" space saver and it is both the right diameter and fits over the Cobra brakes as well.

P.S. 4.5" BS sounds a little on the low side for a 8.5" rim. Mine are 5.25" BS for 17 x 9. If you go my my example (which was based on measurements feeding calculations with a spreadsheet I made), you would want a 5" BS on an 8.5".

If you like, PM me your email and I will send you the excel.

Robert
 
#7 ·
Yea, with the cost of wheels to begin with, I cannot justify buying a 5th. I too run staggered rims 17s and 18s currently. I previously ran two different sets of staggered 14s and 15s . I've always carried the stock steel 14" spare until recently when I picked up a space saver from a later model Jeep. In the 33 years and nearly 100,000 miles that I've run custom wheels on the Hero, ask me how many times I've needed the spare....

ZERO.

Ditto for all my other custom sets of wheels on my other cars too.
 
#9 ·
Which does guarantee your spare would get renewed once in awhile. a 10 year old spare might not be to reliable.......just a thought
 
#11 ·
That 5th wheel is a good investment in the long run. It will save you money over time.

I can think of a few scenarios. You buy four new tires and have them for a couple of years. Put 10 or 20 thousand miles on them and have a flat. The flat is damaged and you have to buy another tire.

What happens if they don't sell that tire or size anymore? What happens if the new one stands out like a neon light. You may think it's time to buy a new set.
 
#14 ·
Get Seven.
 
#15 ·
Thanks all for the knowledge and 69xr7vert for the spreadsheet. I decided on getting 4 wheels since I already bought a full sized spare. I'm going with a 5.25in BS and 0 offset. I'll be placing the order the end of the month and having them delivered to my house in KS. Thanks again.
 
#16 ·
What rim width? I dunno for sure but that BS might be a lot for the front. Keep in mind my spreadsheet is for the back (fixe wheel). From my experience (alone, it's all I have to offer), I have 17 x 8 with 4.5" BS on the front and it works, barely. I have had evidence of the tire catching the wheel well opening molding at least once (suspension action while in a turn I figure). Not sure how much margin there is on the inside when the wheels are turned (which is where you will have more wheel/tire with a 5.25" BS vs. my 4.5" BS), maybe it will be fine but I could not say for sure.
 
#17 ·
I'm putting 18x8.5 on all four. I've asked a ton of questions of the rim guy and those are just 2 more to get clarification on. You say you sometimes have rubbing issues up front with a 4.5" BS. I didn't think of the fronts, so I'll ask about that and have him punch in the numbers and see what works best. To recap I was going to do 18x8.5 all around with a 5.25" BS and 0 offset. Based on new information I'll look into the previous numbers for the rear only and 18x8.5 up front with a 4.5" BS and 0 offset.
 
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