I have the 2" lift on... rim question. Pics too.

[Finkle]

I will be doing 20"s with 31" or 32" tires. I need to know if anyone else has done this and has tire sizes that work. I'm going for the classy adult, but maybe i can get muddy look.

Can you order rims anywhere online and specify backspacing. Does alot of backspacing look bad?

[Finkle]

285/50r20 or 275/60r50 ?????

[Towncivilian]

I'm not familiar at all with suspension or tire components. Perhaps you would have better luck registering and posting your question on the Nissan Pathfinder Off Road Association forums.

[shelby500krz]

I've read 31s will fit the best. Some have gotten by on 33s with some trimming/rubbing. Are you getting the AC or OME lift springs?

[Finkle]

I just ordered the 4x4 parts complete suspension package for the 2" lift. springs, shocks and camber bolts. I also ordered a stainless brush guard last week. I'm going to keep my stock wheels (they are the platimun edition) and prob put 265/65/17 tires on. What do you think?

[miamiheat3332]

For some reason i remember the lift threads people made (not a 100% sure on this) , but that you needed a rim with 3 inch backspacing.

[fueler]

i would go with a 31" tire.... i had 32" BFG's at one point (class D BFG's, instead of class C) and they were heavy, they negatively affected handling, acceleration, and braking...

the 265 65 17 should be light and nimble... thats just about 31"

[Finkle]

Now that i have my lift on, all I can think about is new tires and rims. Can i order rims online and specify a 3.5" negative backspacing? I have been looking with no luck. i want a 20" rim still and a 32" set of all terrain tires.

[miamiheat3332]

20's with a lift? That basically serves no purpose and its going to be one of those mall crawler lifted trucks.

At the most do 18s and beefier tires.

Are you even going to offroad with it??

[Finkle]

I'm sure I'll go off road a time or two. But that's not all I focus on. I like good looks and functionality.
Sooo, with that being said. I like 20's better than 18's and they still make all terrain tires in 20" rim sizes. Hell, they make them in 26" rim sizes.
I guess you get real upset when you see a lifted Cadillac or Honda Civic with big rims. They should be off roading too.

I'm just bustin your chops. I just like the look of the bigger rim better. As long as the tread touching the ground is the same, it doesn't matter what size rim it is on. I just can't justify spending money on rims to only go up one inch in size.

[01silvapathy]

I'm sure I'll go off road a time or two. But that's not all I focus on. I like good looks and functionality.
Sooo, with that being said. I like 20's better than 18's and they still make all terrain tires in 20" rim sizes. Hell, they make them in 26" rim sizes.
I guess you get real upset when you see a lifted Cadillac or Honda Civic with big rims. They should be off roading too.

As long as the tread touching the ground is the same, it doesn't matter what size rim it is on.

They may make off road tires for up to a 26in rim but those are designed for trucks that can fit MUCH bigger tires than a 31 or 32. The difference between your pathy and a "lifted" civic or cadillac is that your pathfinder was designed to be and is a pretty good off road machine. Have fun paying out your a** for a tiny tire made for a huge rim. The first time you go through mud or rocks or anything your wheels will get scratched...its the nature of the beast. Which is why I chose to not spend money on rims...its not worth it.

Andd the whole part about as long as long as the tread touching the ground is the same deal that is not at all true. Half of your traction off road comes from the proper tires aired down to the proper psi....good luck airing down a 31in tire on a 20in rim to 15psi....if you do get it that low you will mess up your expensive rims by either scratching the hell out of them, bending them or popping a bead I have seen it happen a few times. There is sidewall flex with off road tires, a reason why many off roaders choose to run 15in wheels with 38+in tires a bigger footprint at lower psi= more traction and better off road performance. Here are some pics of my truck on 32in mt's aired down to 15psi on a 16in rim...the sidewall flex on some of the shots is pretty amazing all the tread of the tire is in contact with the ground even the sidewall lugs...thats the point. You can see where an extra 3in of rim would limit you.





And my fav pic...what my rims look like. The outer edge is missing a ton of paint..they are dented and chipped to hell. Those three big smudge lookig things on the bottom are not smudges but rather places where a rock hit them when moving and took a few chunks of aluminum with it. But hey goes to show I use my truck for what it was built for.

[Finkle]

Oh well, you can see how much I off road. I'll leave that to my yamaha. I just don't think I would beat up my pathy like that. I need it to last me a while. I always worry about treating my cars like babies.
Maybe I'll keep the factory 17's just in case and I'll find a good set of tires for them too.then I can have the best of both worlds. Looks, or functionality.
Sorry if what I said sounded rude, but I felt like Miamiheat was trying to dog me a lil. I just come on here for information and ideas, not to be judged by what I like.
Thank you for clearing it up for me so I know the difference now.

[esy]

uhh, i don't believe AT tires are made for 20" wheels in a 32" application. i'd have to double check when i'm at work tomorrow, but i doubt it.

what 01silvapathy said was pretty much spot on. the whole point of having a ton of sidewall is to be able to properly air down the tire so that the footprint becomes significantly larger and you can make use of the tread on the shoulder of the tires.

[Finkle]

But like I said, if I ever go, it'll be once or twice. I'm not big into going off roading. If there isn't a 32" tire for a 20" rim, then there has to be something close. Like a 275 55 20. Those are all over eBay http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... Categories
and are 31.91" in diameter according to www.tiresizecalculator.info

[esy]

no AT tires available from Costco (that's where i work and you're obviously not limited to just Costco) in a 275/55/20. in a 275/60/20, there's the Michelin LTX AT2, but again, it's silly to put an AT tire on a tire with that kind of sidewall. you may not do a lot of extreme stuff like 01silvapathy does, but i wouldn't go off road in any kind of capacity with 20" wheels. that's just me.

if i were you, i'd just get some different 17" wheels and use a 265/65/17 or a 265/70/17. at least you'll have many more options in those two size and can still go off road pretty comfortably.

plus, some different 17" wheels should allow you to get some manual locking hubs and save your CV boots some wear and tear, and some MPG too. your current wheels won't allow the hubs to squeeze through.

[miamiheat3332]

Your right i was trying to dog you on it. You also said "But that's not all I focus on. I like good looks and functionality. ". Im just wondering why you would lift it if your not even going to use it offroad and you talk about being functionality? You can do whatever you want with your ride everyone has that freedom, but lifting it, putting on big tires, your only gonna cause more wear and tear if you dont get manual hubs, and also burn alot more gas/less efficient all around. If you want looks and functionality i would have kept it stock height or dropped it like mine, and then went with a bigger wheel. I see functionality in that especially same for you since i never take my car offroad and you said you really aren't either so in my mind the functionality would be to go with stock height or drop and bigger wheels.

But hey thats just me. I do like the car with the lift,platinum wheels and brush guard. It would look pretty dope if you put some A/T Tires on those rims, put on spacers for a wider stance, and went out to baja with it.

[Finkle]

I lifted it because i feel like it is pointless to drop an suv, but the first time I saw yours I didn't dog you on it, because it's yours. I don't judge you for that.

Second I don't have to have a point to do anything to it... Because it's mine!

I like the look of a lifted truck or suv with bigger rims and off road tires. You obviously like what you have going there too. Don't dog me on what I want. I never said I was going off road with it. The worst situation I might encounter is a ditch in someone's front yard. So I don't need big tires, just a nice looking ride, to me. Maybe I will be a mall crawler, so what.

If you go back and read my first post I didn't ask for your opinion on what I should do to my Pathy, I just asked for tire sizes that work on 20's and if anyone had used them before. Luckily for me there is google, and I found it.

Thanks everyone.

[patqx4]

The path looks great with the lift finkle! Personally I think it looks perfect right now as is, but 20s might look good. Just don't go bigger than 20... Imo the r50 can't pull off any bigger. I'd like to see some more pics of your ride too, some different angles.

-Pat

[Finkle]

I have started to think about the factory Infiniti QX56 18" rims in chrome.

I am going to clean her up this weekend and take some pics for here. I still need a four wheel alignment. My front rims are angled in on the bottom, but i need new tires soon anyways so I'm not worried. I work this weekend and it'll be 2 weeks before i can get that done. I ordered the camber alignement bolts when i got the lift just need them to be put on. I have no idea or i'd do it myself before i went.
Thanks Pat! I

[01silvapathy]

You can only do a 2 wheel alignment on these trucks.....since the rear is a solid axle and has fixed mounts. The r51's can get a 4 wheel alignment cause of the irs

[Finkle]

Thanx 01silvapathy. Thats awesome. The back rims look straight, and now i know why.

Anyone have pics of where the camber bolts are? I will put them in myself and eyeball it.

[01silvapathy]

Camber bolts connect the bottom of the strut to your knuckle...it can be quite a pain in the a** to install them esp with that cam on the bolt it needs to be very precise. If your mechanically inclined you can do it in your driveway with hand tools, a jack and jack stands....but air tool help ALOT. Better off taking it to a shop and have them do it and do a computerized alignment as well.

They are the two bolts on the bottom of the strut (silver thing in the pictue) that go through the knuckle (black part inbetween the silver part)