What makes a rim good for off road?

[smritte]

I run aluminum rims on everything. On my TJ i run 6-8 psi rock crawling. I'm not gentle. I have rock rash on the bead lock rings but that's about it. The rims are Walker Evans 17x9. Their real heavy rims. I have a few friends with desert race trucks and ultra 4 trucks. They all run aluminum. Ive seen a bunch of Method wheels out here in the desert. All i can say about the one posted is wow. Never saw one do that. Yes steel will bend and aluminum will break. I can say I have bent a few steel rims in my travels but I have never broken an aluminum rim.
I guess the bottom line is, what do you like and how hard to you run and most importantly, how much do you have to spend.
People will go back and forth with this and it still gets down to preference.

It has been proven the narrower tire tracks better in everything but soft stuff where you need to float on top. They get better mileage on the road and tend to form to the terrain where wider tend to bridge over things giving less bite.


Scott

 

[TrippinStfflr]

I have a full size rig thats used for towing everyday. Its hard to find a 17in tire with an E rating thats a good offroad tire too. They are out there,though. Im gonna have to stick with the stock 18s until I can get a set of 17s just for off road. I really like the look of a lot of meat (shut up!!)

 

[Thelgord]

I have a full size rig thats used for towing everyday. Its hard to find a 17in tire with an E rating thats a good offroad tire too. They are out there,though. Im gonna have to stick with the stock 18s until I can get a set of 17s just for off road. I really like the look of a lot of meat (shut up!!)

LOL!

 

[James Deaton]

So what are the pros and cons of narrow, and pros and cons of wide?

James

 

[Ron W.]

So what are the pros and cons of narrow, and pros and cons of wide?

James

Good question. I am interested in what people have to say.

 

[smritte]

What I read and have experienced on the difference is this.
Thinner tire: Less road resistance (better mileage), When tracking rocky terrain, will form better to the rocks and not bridge over them like a wide tire will. Will dig in and not float on top (good for some things, bad for others). Less unsprung weight (less the suspension has to deal with), Hard to find tall narrow tires, very limited selection.

Wide tire: Better flotation, better traction in soft terrain. Will tend to ride over the top of rocks not form around as well as narrow. Heavier (more unsprung weight), bigger selection of tires.

I'm sure if I think on it, there's a few more things. The reason I don't have narrow tires on my landcruiser is I got a smoking deal on the ones I have. My next tire will be thinner.

Scott