Tire size / Wheel Spacers

[IZRL]

Question 1: Ok, I know this question has been answered but I'm about to invest good money on tires I might not like the look of. The tire I want for my 85 720 is a 30x9.5x15. But so far what I've read is that even 29's rub while on bumpy turns. I have the stockie wheels and a set of 15x7 wheels with -6 mm offset. I'm pretty sure the torsion bars are cranked all the way up already. So with the torsion bars cranked up and the -6 mm offset how bad will the 30s rub? I've heard people say on here that the 30s don't rub on their trucks and I've heard others say they do? Also where exactly do the tires rub, is it on the suspension?

 

Question 2: If I have to go with 235/75/15s. I'm going to run them on the stockies. The only thing is the offset on the wheels makes it so that the wheels sit way too deep in the wheel well for my liking. I borrowed some spacers from my brother in laws 82 Toy Pickup. but the wheel studs on the nissan are wider than the toyotas so I could get the lug nut in by hand but there isn't any room for a socket to tighten them. So I'm looking for recommendations on what spacers fit on the nissan thanks.

[wayno]

In my opinion spacers make a truck a car, I would never haul weight with spacers installed on the rear axle of a truck.

 

I have a set of spacers I had made for my 1980 Datsun 720 truck so I could put Nissan dually rims on the H190 axle it has, my truck is a diesel and the mileage option 720 has 3.30 gears, they barely work RPM wise, anyway I would never haul weight with that truck because of the spacers, I have towed other vehicles behind that truck, I hauled my 1966 Datsun 520 home behind it as dually trucks tow well, anyway the lug nuts came loose and the truck started vibrating, I was within 10 miles of being home so I finished getting home, the next day I lifted the back of the truck up and the right set of dually wheels were loose, the adapter lug nuts came loose, I was lucky that side did not come off the truck, I shook the truck a couple times when I pulled over but nothing felt loose so I continued home thinking it might be a U joint, adapters held on by their own lug nuts are landmines waiting to go off, since then I have watched them adapters closely, that was the only time they ever came loose, the adapters were only a year old at that time.

 

I also bought 4" adapters made to hold custom dually wheels/rims on all 4 corners, I put aftermarket dually rims on the adapters, I used them once on the rear axle, they made the truck look a lot better, but a 4" spacer was a bit much in my mind.

 

You can put longer lug nuts on your axles, but it is the same as what I did, longer lug nuts are weaker, in my opinion they make a truck a car, but I have seen a Toyota 4wd off road truck with 6" adapters, I did not ask the guy if they had ever broken on him, but it was an off road truck, I bought the adapters from him, they used them adapters on early mobile homes, and them are driven on the roads/freeways, so maybe I err on the side of safety.

[datzenmike]

 The fronts will rub the inner wheel well on tight turns is my guess. On tight turns the tire is outside the fender so if bumpy it will come down on the taller tire. 

 

A 30" tire will alter your over all differential ratio, go with the 235/75R15 which is almost 29" and barely 1 inch larger diameter than stock... 1/2" all the way round. If stock rims then they fit and no worries about off set. You don't need, and shouldn't use any spacers.

[IZRL]

3 hours ago, datzenmike said:

The fronts will rub the inner wheel well on tight turns is my guess. On tight turns the tire is outside the fender so if bumpy it will come down on the taller tire. 

 

A 30" tire will alter your over all differential ratio, go with the 235/75R15 which is almost 29" and barely 1 inch larger diameter than stock... 1/2" all the way round. If stock rims then they fit and no worries about off set. You don't need, and shouldn't use any spacers.

Here are some pictures of the stock wheels with and without a spacer. I'm not sure if you can tell by looking at the pictures but the wheels on my truck appear to sit further in the wheel wells than other 720's photos I've seen online. The stance is too narrow. I would like the wheels to be flush with the fenders, not sticking in or out.

The truck is sitting on regular 235s already and they looking wimpy hahaha. Maybe the A/T tires will look better.

 

As far as gear ratio. The truck has 4.62 gear ratio. So I'm thinking 30s should be fine in that sense.

 

WITH 1.25" spacer:

 

WITHOUT spacer:

 

 

[None_zero]

This is what Betty looked like when I first got her. The tires were bald as could be and it was a testament to how lucky I am, that i survived riding on them for almost a month. When I went to the tire shop to replace them they said the wheels were too rusted to remount and the only thing they had was some trailer wheels that matched the lug pattern. So $900 later I'm sitting on 4 brand spanking new tires with new wheels... but now she has narrow wheels that sit into the fender and I don't like the look much at all

She's back in black now and I've been thinking about trying a wider wheel again also. .... she spent time as a white truck also 

But I think she looks her best in black 

Edited December 24, 2023 by None_zero

[datzenmike]

4.625s?  Nice! Early 720 long boxes had them and early WD21 Pathfinders. Stock '83 and up 720 3wd were sad 4.11s

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Wheel adapters are just about as strong as it gets. They have studs pressed into them so you're not really using spacers at all. Now there are massive downsides to using wheel adapters (or spacers) but if you keep them in the 1.5" to 2" range, and use them to fit wheels with a different offset with not much gain in track width, then the dangers are minimal.

 

Look up "6 on 5.5 wheel adapters" and see what you can find.

[IZRL]

9 hours ago, None_zero said:

So $900 later I'm sitting on 4 brand spanking new tires with new wheels... but now she has narrow wheels that sit into the fender and I don't like the look much at all

I feel you, spending a good chunk of change for something you're not 100% happy with ain't fun.

 

17 hours ago, wayno said:

You can put longer lug nuts on your axles, but it is the same as what I did, longer lug nuts are weaker, in my opinion they make a truck a car, but I have seen a Toyota 4wd off road truck with 6" adapters, I did not ask the guy if they had ever broken on him, but it was an off road truck, I bought the adapters from him, they used them adapters on early mobile homes, and them are driven on the roads/freeways, so maybe I err on the side of safety.

The adapters I borrowed from my brother in law are only 1.25" thick and have both the holes to mount them to the truck's wheel studs, and the spacers have their own wheel studs to attach the wheels to them. So they don't need longer wheel studs to be mounted. These toyota spacers need to have wider holes tho, to fit the nissan's slightly wider wheel studs/lug nuts. I haven't found spacers specifically made for 720's.

 

3 hours ago, datzenmike said:

4.625s?  Nice! Early 720 long boxes had them and early WD21 Pathfinders. Stock '83 and up 720 3wd were sad 4.11s

And also the 85 4WD 4door/Krew Cab 720's. It seems they Frankensteined these with older 720 parts from the factory. they also originally came with a z22 and 4 speed in 85. Mine was swapped for a Z24 with a 5 speed by one of the previous owners.

Another thing I should mention is that I'm not planning on doing any kind of serious off roading. Don't want to risk damaging any body panels or the rear doors as its going to be near impossible to find replacement body parts for this truck. It'll only be cruising to fishing spots that even my Accord could make it to and also the occasional home depot run. Which I also won't be able to fit much more than what I could fit in my accord. The bed is tiny on these.

So Mike, with the gear ratio being 4.62 and the fact that it's just going to be a cruiser. You're vote is still 235/75/15 A/T tires then.

 

[datzenmike]

U.... must be double cab

M... is Z22

(L missing) signifies right hand drive.

Y... 4x4

 

So this is an import from the Middle East or something?

 

The 235s and stock rims will fit. The 30s are probably a fit so I err on the side of caution is all.

[IZRL]

1 hour ago, datzenmike said:

U.... must be double cab

M... is Z22

(L missing) signifies right hand drive.

Y... 4x4

 

So this is an import from the Middle East or something?

 

Yes, a friends grandfather imported it from somewhere in the middle east to California back when he was with the military. My friend inherited it when he passed and I purchased it from him earlier this year. It is a left hand drive thankfully. I don't like my business floating around on the inter-web which is why I haven't posted a photo. Other than the front view I guess ha. It's almost road worthy, maybe a week or two 😀.

 

This is what the truck looks like only it doesn't have a fresh coat of paint like this one does.

 

 

 

[datzenmike]

Excellent info that fills in a few gaps.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

On 12/24/2023 at 9:22 AM, IZRL said:

I feel you, spending a good chunk of change for something you're not 100% happy with ain't fun.

 

The adapters I borrowed from my brother in law are only 1.25" thick and have both the holes to mount them to the truck's wheel studs, and the spacers have their own wheel studs to attach the wheels to them. So they don't need longer wheel studs to be mounted. These toyota spacers need to have wider holes tho, to fit the nissan's slightly wider wheel studs/lug nuts. I haven't found spacers specifically made for 720's.

 

 

 

What do you mean "wider holes" ? Do you mean that the socket won't fit? Or the lug nut itself won't fit? The spacers themselves are completely generic, though the thread pitch used by Nissan is different than the thread pitch used by Toyota. Maybe you just need a different set of nuts to fit inside the holes in the spacers.

 

Will these work?

 

[IZRL]

On 12/24/2023 at 2:05 PM, datzenmike said:

Excellent info that fills in a few gaps

Thanks, I'm going to go with the Thunderer Ranger A/TR 235/75R15 109T ,stock wheels and 1" spacers. They're cheap and look decent.

 

5 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

What do you mean "wider holes" ? Do you mean that the socket won't fit? Or the lug nut itself won't fit? The spacers themselves are completely generic, though the thread pitch used by Nissan is different than the thread pitch used by Toyota. Maybe you just need a different set of nuts to fit inside the holes in the spacers.

 

I used some open wheel nuts that I had laying around. I was able to tighten them by hand but I couldn't get a socket on them. I'm going to measure the nuts I used and see if they sell smaller ones that I can put a socket on. Thanks

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

14 hours ago, IZRL said:

Thanks, I'm going to go with the Thunderer Ranger A/TR 235/75R15 109T ,stock wheels and 1" spacers. They're cheap and look decent.

 

 

I used some open wheel nuts that I had laying around. I was able to tighten them by hand but I couldn't get a socket on them. I'm going to measure the nuts I used and see if they sell smaller ones that I can put a socket on. Thanks

 

The ones I pictured above use a 19mm socket. I think most OEM Nissan lug nuts us a 21mm socket.