Good Idea? / Bad Idea?

This last weekend while on a local run, I hit a rock on the inside lip of my oem alum. wheel. I heard a "plink" accompanied by a small puff of dust. Well, to make a long story short. I lost about 5" off the inside. the local wrecking yards are wanting $75 for a matching wheel. I'm sure that if I invest enough time, I could pick one up cheaper. $75 will buy a couple of the black steel AR's.
My thinking was to buy one now to mount the spare on, and pick up the other in a couple of months. If I happen to break another of the oem's before then I would still have the much needed spare, and a good excuse to buy the rest of the set.
The question is is that the backspacing would be about 1" less. Might this cause a problem on the trip home at hwy. speeds? Also, the width would be 8" vs. the 7" at he other three corners. Would this be an issue on the trail w/ a 231 tc. would this create too much of a differance in dia. since the tire would be a little more squat on the rim. The tire for the spare is the same mfg. & model, but @ 1/2 the tread.
Best would be to just buy the five wheels now, but the day before the run i emptied the cookie jar on a K&N FIPK.

Good plan? Bad plan? I need to act before sat. morning, going back to see about that excuse.


ps. diffs open F & R


TIA,
Alum. won't BENT

The only "real" affect would be a possible "pull" or "heavy steering" do to the "imbalance" of the steering "axis".Off-road you wouldnt even know it!

What's the long range plan -- to eventually migrate to all ARs? Or to eventually get back to all OEM alloys?

Between the difference in width and the difference in offset, I think you will feel some pull as you drive on the road. Nothing serious, but I think you will know something is different.

If the long range plan is to migrate to ARs all around, I think I'd go for two now and carry the OEM rim as the spare. That way, if you meet that same rock again you only trash a $35 buy-it-anywhere rim rather than a $75 hard-to-find rim.

If all you can afford is one, use it for the spare on the road and change it onto the most vulnerable location when you get to the trail.

I agree, we need to know what the plan is for the future. I like eagles idea of buying two and useing the stock as a spare. Since you have a 2001 they might be more difficut to get but usually stock rims are very inexpensive used, even in a complet set of 4. You could always get a older set complete and have a set of trail rims. Just adding to the confusion, go with the two AR's and keep them front or back , not mixed.

Michael

The plan is to have the AR's all the way around. I'm running 31x10.5 right now @ ~5" lift. Next time I get new rubber will most likely be 33's. I would like the extra track width that I don't get with the oem's.

If you can afford it, I think you should buy two ARs now. If one is the limit, I think you should keep it for the spare on the street, but put it on the ground when you hit the trailhead just so you don't trash another expensive OEM alloy.