7" or 8" wide rims for 285's?

[rocket]

A lot of you with 285/75/16 tires have them mounted on factory 7" wide rims but according to all the tire manufactures, an 8" wide rim is recommended.

What do you guys think?
I can't find black steelies with the backspacing that i want unless i get a 7" wide rim.
Will an 8" wide rim be any better for tire wear, holding a bead, etc?

[ecchamberlin]

You are corect about the "spec's" of a 285/75R16 and the 8" rim requirement.

MarcP here is running 33/12.50's on a 7" rim and airs down to around 12 psi. A 285 is around 11.50 in width. I think it is totally acceptable to run a 285 on a 7" rim and still air down without any worries.

Ony reason I went to an 8" rim with my 285's was for backspacing and not rim width after a bad experiance with wheel spacers. THe limited style flares are huge and the stock rim backspacing looks odd with them. Just worked out that way with the Land Cruiser 80 rims.

[d0ubledown]

you should be fine with em. i think its tire dependent...with some MT's being a bit wider and having to use .25" spacer. what kinda BS are you looking for on your steelies? i think most of em should have enough for clearance issues.

theoretically narrower tires hold beads better. rule of thumb is generally no less than 4.5" difference in tire/wheel width. of course YMMV. i run 12.5's on an 8" rim, and regularly air down to 12-15 with no issues.