[raphie]

hey guys,

i recently got a pretty good deal and recieved some steel wheels for cheap from a friend. i was thinking of replacing the ones i have on my trooper, because they would fit it, as far as i know.

as much as i can obtain, steels are stronger and heavier.
my question to you guys is:

would getting these steels reduce my top heavy trooper's ability to tip over?
and from getting these new wheels, will i be able to get bigger tires? i've heard that 265/75/R16s go best with stock. is that a wheel situation? or just a matter of lift only?

as you already know, these questions are mere child's jibberish to you. im not an avid off roader. i just go from place to place and am a student at a local university. so making my trooper a pumped up machine is something i would rather do without.

the only trails i hit with my vehicle are just mild off road trails. i only do it whenever i go camping to take my mountain bike also on my roof.
pretty much, it is a question of safety. if the heavier wheels decrease chances of tip-over, its more power to me. plus bigger tires alway look cool.

those are my questions and it would be pretty cool if i got any info you could help me out with.

thanks again,

raph

 

[raphie]

here are some pictures via camera phone:

fyi: those are 265s on it right now. i also want to reduce the odds of giving my trooper a lift. it's pretty tall on its own, even with old tires. and a lift would nt be the best thing to do if i have to stretch to put a bike on my roof rack.

ouch :shock:

 

[Russell89]

looks nice. why change it?

 

[raphie]

thanks, man

but i just figured that in the long run, steels will come in handy. they seem to perform the best because of how much capacity they can withstand. i'm a guy who likes quality, and that's why, just like you, i purchased an isuzu.

 

[Russell89]

not unless you are going to be hauling a whole lot, then its not really nessesairy. then the thing you would have to worry about is your springs sagging a lot after a while.

 

[raphie]

you obviously know a lot more about this then i do
so you mean that if i nix my 16" alloys and switch to 15" steels, that over time it will wear down my springs?

sorry if i sound slow, but it's been a rather long day

 

[BigSwede]

Steel wheels are a little heavier, but not enough to make a difference if she is going over. Just drive it sensibly, not like a sports car. Troopers are only middle of the pack for rollovers per 100,000 miles, so don't worry about it too much...just be aware you are driving a high center of gravity vehicle.

The offset of the wheels can affect track width, which might affect stability some. If they are standard 3.75" offset or so they will stick out from the wheelwells a little more than the stock wheels, making for a wider track.

Your ability to fit bigger tires on the steel wheels will depend on the width of the wheels. Stock width is 7", an 8" or 10" rim can handle basically anything you might ever want to put on a lifted Trooper, let alone a stock one. On the stock wheels without lift you can go to 265/75s (about 32"), with a modest lift you can go to 285/75 (33"). Keep in mind that acceration and braking are affected when changing tire size, about 7% for the 265s and 11% for 285s compared to stock.

 

[raphie]

thanks, bigswede for your input.

were you referring to the offset by the steel wheels?
if it increases it to a wider track, does that mean there is better traction itself?

the steels said earlier are 15" x 7"

i heard that 15" rims have more choices as far as tires go. i hope that switching from 16" to 15" wont affect anything else on the trooper.

 

[BigSwede]

Offset is how far the tire sits outboard, relative to the plane of the wheel mount. The stock wheels have a relatively large offset, meaning the tires are recessed into the wheel wells. A typical steel rock crawler wheel has less offset, which means the tire will be sitting further outboard, roughly an inch or so IIRC. This means your wheel track will be a couple of inches wider, which is a little more stable laterally.

Having said that, I would not switch wheels soley for this purpose, not worth the effort.

the steels said earlier are 15" x 7"

I can't find where it was mentioned, but whatever. So, same width as stock. The only potential problem with a 15" wheel is if it cannot clear the brake calipers...I haven't heard of this being a problem on Troopers, but cannot say for sure.

And in general, a tire on a 15" wheel will have more sidewall area than a same diameter tire on a 16" wheel. This will affect handling a little, more scrub on cornering and such. This will result in greater understeer, which BTW might in some circumstances reduce the propensity to roll over.

 

[raphie]

thanks man for being so knowledgeble and giving me a hand with what goes down in my situation.

sorry, i meant the wheels are 15" x 7" but i forgot to mention it. that's why i said the measurements.

but, judging by what you said, i think i will go ahead with the steelies. see, i am changing both wheels and tires, so it's no problem. i won't be doing it myself (believe me, if i had the time and equipment, i would) but i guess i'll just take it into a sears or something. ask them to replace the wheels when they change the tires.

you mentioned, that they do make it more stable laterally. heck yeah, i'll need that more than anything. you said i will have to adjust to the new handling because the sidewalls are more larger, with the tires having the same diameter as 16". it shouldnt be too bad to adjust. plus you mentioned that this will also indirectly reduce the the propensity to roll over. hey...i'd say that's a mission accomplished.

you rock, man. thanks again.

 

[Russell89]

i dont see why you would need that strong of rims, i would be more concerned about the suspension. you most likely arent going to bend a rim. unless you get a flat and try to drive it on the rim. be sure you have the brake clearance before you get the rims. the only advantage of a 15" rim is the tires are cheaper and easier to find. good luck with your decision.

 

[raphie]

thanks rodeoholic,

your info has influenced me to go and research a heckload about this. i will also go to the tire stores nearby as well as guys i know that are very knowledgeable about replacing rims and whether or not its worth it.

all your help was very much appreciated. thanks again!