Tire Size & Horizontal Clearance to Flares

I've tried searching for some information on this, but all I can find are threads about how much lift you need for what tire size and vertical clearance, trimming, etc.

Heres my questions - I'm moving on up to bigger tires soon, but I can't find any state laws (washington, dc) about tires vs fenders. I know the laws in PA are pretty strict so I want to find local laws before I drop the dough. Right now I have 31x10.5x16's on rubicon rims (5" backspacing). They stick about 1" past my flares. I'm not sure if I want to run spacers or get new wheels, so heres my two options the way I figure:

I've heard 3.75" is ideal for 33" tires. So 33x12.5x15's with 3.75" backspacing will stick out 3.25" from my front flares (1" now+1.25" bs+1" tire).

If I keep the wheels & get 285x75x16's (32.8x11.2x16) and spacers, theyll stick 2.75" out from my front flares (1" now+1.25 spacer+0.6).

But when I look at pictures that have been posted around here, it looks like the tires sit just about flush with the flares in both of these cases. What am I missing here??

Anybody? Distance from the outside of your fender flares to the outside of your 33?

33x10.50 on 15x8 AR767 rims with 4" backspacing - the tire sits about 1/2" inside the outer lip of the flare. You do the math for anything different. ;-)

Jim www.yuccaman.com