Tire and Rim Options

[enaberif]

I just recently picked up a 74 K10 4x4 and it has the God awful 5" rims on the truck running 7.5R16 on the fronts and 235/85/16 on the rears. I recently found a set of the aluminum slot rims but they are 15" not 16" like my current rims.

My question is would you run the nice 15" aluminum rims or run 16" rims? I also have a new set of 246/75/16 tires that need a home too so I was thinking maybe sell all the current tires and rims for the 15" or maybe just stick with the 16s?

I won't have anymore than 4" of lift on the truck

[jumpkickyergunt]

I'm going to assume that you want wider rims too since 5" is ridiculous in this day and age. So before you do anything you'll have to learn about backspace and offset. On the GM heritage site you can find the offset used for your 5" wide rims and then calculate what you will need to make sure you clear the calipers or tie rod on whatever width rim you decide to go with. 8" wide is very normal these days. Just know that when you go wider you will need more negative offset. I had this problem with my 79 K10. I trusted all the stupid rim dealer website fitment guides and it was such a hassle getting the rims returned. Screw American Racing! You guys stink! Anyways...I can't remember off the top of my head but I believe mine were 6" wide stock with zero offset and I calculated a little over -17mm offset when going up to the normal 8" wide. I found a decent looking 8" wide rim with a -22mm offset from Mickey Thompson and of course it fit great.

As far as diameter, go for whatever you think looks better. Both sizes have lots of tire options. 15's have many more, but I have no problem getting exactly what I want on my 16's. The extra inch actually makes the rims look more fit to the size of the truck. It's all a matter of how you want it to look versus how much you care about the cost of anything else you might need. Performance will hardly change. Its up to you man!!! I hope this input helps you. If you need help determining your current offset then let us know and someone here will try to help you.

[roundhouse]

Here's a pic of stock rally's with 33x12.50x15 tires
No lift
No rubbing

[roundhouse]

[fitz]

   When I read your title "tire and rim option" I immediately thought, is there really any other option than aluminum slots for our trucks? Then I read your post, you already have the aluminum slots, great minds think alike. How wide are the slotted rims you have? If they are 15 x 8 or 15 x 10,  I would run some 33x12.50R15's with the 4" lift that you mentioned. In my mind' that would be the perfect look for a k10.
   Just curious,  Any idea what type of truck your 16" rims came off of? I've  never seen a 16 x 5  6  lug rim on our trucks before.