Does anyone know what is the best wheel/backspace combo for a sidekick? is it 5x5.5. i want to use a 15x8 wheel, but i want it to fit the vehicle right.

5 x 5.5 is a bolt pattern.  you would need to run a 15x7 or 15x8 (don't want to put too much stress on the CV's.  tire size is dependent on lift.  how tall are ya?

i have a 3 inch body lift, with alot of fender trimming.
it currently has worn out 30x9.50 on 15x8 chrome 5 stars. i hate the wheels (they came with vehicle) so i plan on getting some of the black "rock crawler" wheels
but i want the correct backspacing. i have a new set of 31x10.50 muds to put on the soon to be ordered wheels.

So, your looking for 2.75 inch backspacing on 15x8 rims

I must be a skinny rim guy, I think I
would get 7" rims for a 31 tire, I'm going
to put some street 33s on a 7" rim, and
get the backspace at about half the rim
width, so it will not stick out too far.

my 33 Swampers are mounted to a set of 2.5
backspace black Rock Crawlers, and they stick
out about 4" at the rubber knobs on the set
of LTB Swampers.

Wild

i know absolutely nothing about backspacing. i'd prefer that the wheel not stick out alot past the body, but i do want the wheel to have a lip. someone said i should go 15x8 but i'm open to whatever looks best and works best on a sidekick. does anyone have any pics with
2.5 backspacing on a 15x7 wheel? does anyone know who has the best deals on black "rock crawler" style wheel?

OK, simply stated .....
Back Spacing is the distance from
the wheel mounting surface to the
tire mounting surface (bead) so a
low # like 2.5" back space on an 8"
wheel would mean 5.5" of rim stick
out from the wheel mount surface.
I have these for the Swampers.

If you have a 7" wide rim, and back
space of say 3.5" them you would have
3.5" of rim sticking out from the wheel
mount surface, and if it were 4" then 3"
would stick out.

Stock wheels are 5.5 with 4 or 4.5 back
space, I don't remember now, I measured
this all out 2 1/2 years ago so I think I'm
doing good to get this much written  

SO I like thinner rims cause they don't
stick out as much. Also I had the 33x13.5
Swampers down to almost 0 PSI (guage wouldn't
read that low) and I had no problems with
bead unseating or any adverse problems of
any kind, so do what you will, this is just my
2 cent's worth.  Ohh  4wheelparts.com had
the best price I found here in Cal, about $40

Wild

ok, so if i want the wheel/tire to not stick out that far from vehicle it would be best to get a 15x7 with a 3.5 backspacing,that would keep everything tucked in nice and pretty.

I'm going to get a set of 33s for street
and put them on 7" rims, but you need to
decide how much tire sticking out is too
much for you and back space the wheels
to that, and if you can get the wheels in
the back space you want too. You might
have to compromise  

Wild

wild,
i just checked alliedwheel.com and looked up the 51 black daytona and it says the 15x7 wheel has 3 3/4
backspacing with a -6 offset and the 15x8 wheel has
3 3/4 backspacing with a -19 offset. That is the only 2 sizes they offer in that wheel in 5-5.5 bolt pattern.
So in your opinion the 15x7 wheel would be best to use with the 31x10.50 size tire. Do you think the 3 3/4 backspacing on the 15x7 wheel would keep things tucked in nice as you described above?

Sounds good to me, chech the wheels
on the trucklet before you buy them
if you can, I wish I could remember
what offset is, I'm drawing a blank

Wild

Offset is the distance from the center of the wheel, (inner - outer)
Like This;

Well i'm going to purchase the 15x7 with 3 3/4 backspacing tommorow (5-27-04). if anyone has any other suggestions or pics of this paticular combo (15x7 with 31x10.50 mudders) please send 2-night. hahaha

Here's mine on the 31 with 3 3/4 backspacing
(along time ago )
                                                                               

Stock wheels off my 1990 Kick are 4" backspace. I have 33x12.5x15 on 15x8xw/ 3.5 backspace.  I wouldn't be worried about how much they stick out as to if they will rub on the inside of the wheel well and when turning or flexing. You can get wheel spacers if they are too close to the inside.  JMO.
Grant
http://www.rocky-road.com/kickspace.html