Vudujoose

First off I need to identify that my truck is not a major offroad truck. It will see more road time than off road time. The truck is just my toy and when I want to drive it truck. I have a Nissan Xterra 2wd 4Cyl. manual for my daily.

With this said, the type of off-roading I will be doing is Hatteras Island (Beach for surf fishing / Surfing) and the occasional Uwharrie national forest camping trip with the wife and kids (once or twice a year).

I have Weld Racing 15" wheels that I really like, but I am on my last set of 36x15.50's for 15" wheels and will need to upgrade to 18" wheels to stay with a 15.50 wide tire. Power to push the tires or wheels is not an issue as my 1uz swap will be done before I swap wheels and tires. The reason I'm going with 15.50's is because it makes me feel safer with the 3" BL and the 4" IFS /coils lift.

What I would like to know is if anyone has any opinions on the Fuel brand and even more specific the Hostage wheels as seen in the link (ebay link).

Image of the wheels in question:


I will be wrapping them in 38x15.50 Nitto Mud Grapplers (any opinion on these as well would be nice)

I'm having a hard time giving the Welds up and would be PERFECTLY fine with going down to a 35x12.50 on the 15" wheels if I thought it were safe enough (The 3" BL and 4" IFS Lift scare me on skinny tires when it comes to my wife and kids)

I realize the quality of the wheel is not that of a Weld wheel but I would like to know if they are decent wheels.

I appreciate all of the opinions and feedback in advance.

-Vudu

rokblok

iTrader: (1)

Get rid of the BL, and just go with 35s. That's my suggestion.

In regards to wheel quality, I'm unsure of the Fuel brand. I will prob be getting some Mickeys since they are reputable, strong wheels. Any reviews on the Fuel wheels around the interweb?

Vudujoose

Not really an option, the 1UZ swap requires a BL and I'm not taking a perfectly good BL off to put another on, just to lose 1 inch of BL.

As for the Interwebs and reviews on the wheels, I have found a few consumer type reviews on sites that sell the wheels, but it's more about the feedback of the shipment / customer service of the site selling than it is about the wheels.

Was really hoping that someone reliable here would have some insight on the brand.

I could go with Mickey's or even another set of Welds, but I don't really like the style's they are putting out. I prefer a dish and haven't found many of the Cepeks, Mickey's or Welds that I like (design) with a dish.

Edit: On a side note, I don't really want to go any higher than 18" wheels and cant seem to find 15.50's for 17" wheels. If I could find 15.50's for 17" wheels I wouldn't mind going with the Weld T56's as they come in 17x12's .

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

From my experience the narrower tires would track better than 14.50's from a safety standpoint...
My truck handles way better on 8" wide rims than it did on 10" rims...

Vudujoose

I agree, but then you have to factor in the roll factor. The 15.50's give a much wider stance and from a saftey standpoint, I am more likely to roll over on 12.50's than I am on 15.50's with a larger pad.

The minimal loss in handling I'm not sure out weighs the roll factor.

rokblok

iTrader: (1)

Not to get off topic, but why does the 1uz require a BL? Intake/hood clearance?

Vudujoose

Yeah the plenum sits pretty high on the engine and with the engine bay being tiny as it is, the lower I can go with the engine the further back it can sit as well, allowing clearance for a larger radiator for the V8 and fans.

On Topic:

I'm just going to keep my wheels I have now and put 35x13.50's on them.

I finally rode in a buddies 4runner with the same setup as me (1uz already installed) and hes pulling off 15" wheels with 35x13.50's with no real difference in roll. I kind of made a stupid mistake thinking that the pad was larger so the center of gravity would change, not taking into consideration that my backspacing and offset which is what actually controls the balance and center of gravity.

Im such a noob.

Thanks for the opinions but I think I'm going to pass on the wheels.