Wheel Backspacing for Long Travel: What Your Kit Allows

The short answer: your suspension kit sets your wheel backspacing, not your truck. Every Dirt King long-travel kit for a pre-2022 platform caps it between 4.5″ and 5″, and 4.75″ is the most common maximum. On a 17×8.5 wheel that’s 0 mm offset. The same 2007–2021 Tundra accepts 5.75″ on Dirt King’s mid-travel kit but only 4.75″ on its long-travel kit. Treat the kit’s published maximum as your target. Run less and you push the tire into the fender and cab mount for no benefit.

Why long travel lowers the number

Backspacing is the distance from the wheel’s mounting face to its inner edge. More backspacing tucks the wheel in toward the spindle, upper control arm and coilover; less pushes it out.

A long-travel kit puts bigger parts in that space and swings them through a longer arc. Dirt King’s 2007–2021 Tundra mid-travel kit keeps stock track width and allows 5.75″. Its long-travel kit for the same truck widens the track 3″ per side, adds travel to 14.5″, and drops the maximum to 4.75″. Dirt King’s race kits for the 2007–2018 Silverado and 2009–2018 Ram go to 4.25″ per side and 17.5″ of travel, and the limit drops again to 4.5″.

The inner edge is what hits. Dirt King sells spindle gussets designed specifically to allow “maximum wheel backspacing” — the reinforcement on the spindle is one of the parts the wheel has to clear.

Every kit’s published maximum

Dirt King published specifications, as listed October 2026. Dirt King prints a maximum backspacing on every kit page. Total Chaos lists the wheel it runs instead. On its upper control arms for pre-2024 Toyotas, that’s 16×8 at 4.5″ or 17×8.5 at 4.75″. Both are 0 mm offset, which lands right on Dirt King’s limits. For Camburg and anyone else, get the number from the kit’s spec sheet or install instructions before you buy wheels.

The 2024+ exception

The newest platforms run different numbers. Dirt King’s 2024–2025 Tacoma long-travel kit allows 5.75″, a full inch more than its 2005–2023 Tacoma long-travel kit. Mid-travel follows the same pattern: 4.75″ on the 2005–2023 Tacoma and 2003–2024 4Runner, 5.75″ on the 2024+ Tacoma and 2025+ 4Runner. Total Chaos lists a 17×8.5 at 6.2″ backspace with a 35×12.50R17 on its 2024+ Tacoma +3″ kit. Don’t carry the old “prerunner wheels are 4.5 inches” rule onto a new truck. A 0 mm wheel on a 2024 Tacoma sits a full inch further out than the kit needs it to.

Converting offset to backspacing

Wheels are sold by offset in millimetres; kits are spec’d in backspacing inches. The conversion:

Backspacing (in) = wheel width ÷ 2 + offset (mm) ÷ 25.4 + 0.5

The 0.5″ accounts for the bead flange. Method’s own listings check out against it:

• 17×8.5 at 0 mm = 4.75″ — matches a 4.75″ maximum exactly
• 17×9 at −12 mm = 4.5–4.6″ — fits under 4.75″
• 16×8 at 0 mm = 4.5″
• 17×8.5 at +25 mm = 5.7–5.8″ — the 2024+ Tacoma and 2022+ Tundra range, and too much for any older long-travel kit

Check the listed inches, not just the offset. Method’s 17×8.5 0 mm wheels list anywhere from 4.70″ to 4.80″ depending on the model. The ones listed at 4.80″ are over a 4.75″ maximum, even though the offset is the same.

Too little backspacing has a cost too

Less backspacing moves the tire outward, toward the fender opening and, at full lock, the cab mount. Dirt King’s own guidance on its +2″ Tacoma and 4Runner kits:

• Zero or positive offset with 33″ tires works with stock fenders.
• Zero or negative offset with 35″ tires needs flared fenders.

The kit already widened the track 2–4.25″ per side. Adding a deep negative-offset wheel on top buys stance you don’t need, and costs fender clearance. If the tire is hitting the back of the wheel well at full lock, read cab mount chop before you cut anything. For fender options, see the fiberglass fenders guide and the install walkthrough.

How to pick the wheel

1. Find your kit’s maximum backspacing on its spec sheet.
2. Pick the wheel width and diameter your tire needs. Dirt King’s minimum rim is 16″ on its pre-2024 Tacoma, 4Runner and Colorado long-travel kits and 17″ on the rest.
3. Choose the offset that lands at or just under that maximum. Confirm it against the wheel maker’s listed backspacing.
4. Cycle the suspension at full lock in both directions before driving it. That’s where the inner edge meets the arms, and the tire meets the cab mount. If the tire touches the upper arm, see tire rubbing the upper control arm.

Wheel backspacing FAQ

What backspacing do I need for a Tacoma long-travel kit?

For a 2005–2023 Tacoma, Dirt King’s long-travel kits allow a maximum of 4.75″. A 17×8.5 wheel at 0 mm offset is exactly 4.75″. The 2024–2025 Tacoma kit allows up to 5.75″.

Is more negative offset better on a prerunner?

Not on a long-travel truck. The kit already widens the track 3–4.25″ per side. Run the backspacing the kit allows. Going further negative pushes the tire into the fender, and Dirt King says negative offset with 35s needs flared fenders.

Can I use wheel spacers instead of new wheels?

A spacer reduces effective backspacing by its thickness, so it can bring a too-deep wheel under the limit. It doesn’t change the kit’s maximum, and it moves the tire outward just like a lower-offset wheel would.

Why does a mid-travel kit allow more backspacing than long travel?

Mid-travel kits keep stock track width. Long-travel kits widen it and move bigger components through a longer arc, so there’s less room inside the wheel. On the same 2007–2021 Tundra, Dirt King’s numbers are 5.75″ for mid-travel and 4.75″ for long travel.

More long-travel and wheel guides

• Prerunner wheels and tires
• Long-travel suspension explained
• Bump stops and limit straps
• Dirt King prerunner suspension
• Method Race Wheels for prerunners
• Toyota Tacoma prerunner build