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I had the chance today to really pick the brains of my tire people and I apparently misunderstood how offset and backspacing work, but the news I got isn't good. Apparently if FSRBiker is correct in his maeasurements, the Xterra is a red-headed step-child. The offset and backspacing measurements he gave is just shy of a front wheel drive car.
Since most wheel manufacturers use standard offsets, any common 15 X 8 wheel you put on an X will have problems. It would appear to me that in order to run the larger tires you would have to increase the rim-to-frame clearance by about 1/4 to 1/2". you would have to do this by reducing the offset and subsequently reducing the backspacing. But keep in mind that you are gaining 1 1/4 to 1 1/2" on the outside since you are going from a 7" wide wheel to an 8" wide wheel. So what effect will this have? I won't know until I actually put my truck on the ramps and measure.
So what does this mean to an X owner? Well, I guess it is custom wheels. My tire people indicated that Centerline will make custom wheels to your specifications. But the bad side is, you only have one shot at this so you better get it right the first time. This is where I am at. It is going to be almost as much fun as the dual battery project.
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