I understand backspacing and offset and the difference between them. I will reference backspacing here because those are the numbers I'm going off of, but if somebody here has info for me and it is in terms of offset, that'd be great, I can do the calculations to convert it to backspacing.

Please correct me on any of this:
I am getting 16" wheels for my 88' pickup, and will transfer them later to my 92' pickup (both 4wd). These both have the same stock backspacing of 4.5"... correct?
I believe I would want the same backspacing as stock, I don't want them to stick out any wider than stock, and am not worried about rubbing, as I've skinnied up from the 235/85r16 I used to run to the narrower 215/85r16 pizza cutters that will be on these rims.

It is my understanding that the 96' to 02' factory steelies (from Tacoma's, 4Runners, etc.) have that same backspacing of 4.5". but then after that, they started making them with the oval hole around the valve stem, which signifies later models and they have a larger backspacing of 5.25" moving them slightly more inward.

Questions: Is all this above correct so far? If so...
Am I correct to assume I'd want the same backspacing? (even using the none abtrusive tires I mentioned) and if so...
Am I safe getting any that do not have the oval valve stem hole? (I know how to read the serial number on the rim with the mfg date, but people rarely have photos of the serial number and never seem to want to send a photo of it).
And for the biggest question of all, is there any difference between the 16 hole and the 18 hole versions!!!??? I haven't even been able to find if they were from different years, or for different vehicles or different markets, etc. Is there any difference other than cosmetics? Can you run a mix of the two at the same time?

Thanks a bunch! I look forward to hearing from all the backspacing/offset experts

 

the backspacing on factory wheels should be searchable on google, but there might be bigger problems, because you might be talking about putting hub centric wheels on a lug centric truck: https://www.machinedesign.com/fasten...centric-wheels

many try to ignore that, and there have been some lively discussions as a result :-) i'd suggest researching it and make your own decision; i don't know if the '03 and up are still hub centric.

 

No, I’m putting hub centric wheels on a hub centric vehicle. That’s why I’m using oem factory wheels. But I still haven’t found what’s different from the 16 holes to the 18 holes. Same backspacing it seems, according to the internet, same everything else, but…

 

my '86 4runner is lug centric, i'd expect that '88 would be the same.

beyond that, you could also try asking that question about later model wheels on the later model forum.