digger70

I'm buying a 2014 Wrangler Sport with stock rims and tires and want to put bigger tires on as everyone seems to do, haha. I was looking at General Grabber with the red letters but am now leaning towards Duratracs because of their better handling in ice and snow as well as street. I'm not an off-roader. I'd like to get black alloy wheels. I want to get LT285/75R16 Duratracs. What size wheels do I need? Would 16x8 suffice or do I need 16x9? What about backspacing? I live in PA where I allegedly can't have tires that stick too far out from the fenders and I want to be able to make sharp turns without rubbing. I was going to get 33x12.50R-15LT and 15x8 rims but read that 15" rims would make it stick out more from the fenders. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.

Edit: I'd still like to get the 33x12.50R-15LT but do I need 15x10 rims? Would these work: http://www.4wd.com/Jeep-Wheels-Jeep-...=BRW9625851240

mostlystock

If you're looking for a nice setup for a Sport model, black alloy rims, and bigger tires, I can recommend:

- Prom Comp 7089
Pro Comp 7089 Series - Pro Comp 7089 Cast-Blast Wheels - Xtreme Alloy Cast Wheels Pro Comp Wheels

- Cepek 265/75R16 FC-II
https://www.dickcepek.com/tires.php?item=FunCountry
Yes "Fun Country" sounds a little um, odd... but once you get beyond that... it's a great middle-of-the-road between an all terrain and a mud terrain. Great street tire which also has nice ability to handle mild trails. Unfortunately this is an "E" load range tire which means it's pretty stiff, so I recommend airing it down a little bit to avoid a really harsh ride.

Great combo. I ran with this combo and enjoyed it.

I also tried the 285/75R16 and on a Sport JK, I found that size (33") to be a little too big for the Sport's axle gear ratio. I don't recommend it. If you've got 3.73 gears in your Sport, I'd stick with the 265 not the 285. Proportions also look good IMHO. No spacers needed, no nothing. Absolutely minimal stick-out from fenders too, which is nice. Right on the edge, but I'd be real surprised if anyone gave you grief about it.

Pic of my 2010 Sport (pretty much same as 2014 Sport, except you'll have the Pentastar which improves HP and torque over my '10 3.8L) with this setup. Can't recall whether or not I had the TeraFlex spacer leveling kit install in this pic - I think I did though. With or without it though, no rubbing.

digger70

Thanks, I've liked the Dick Cepek tires for quite a few years. I never thought about the gears though so thanks for bringing that up. Maybe instead of 33's, I'll go to 31's. Your Jeep looks great!

digger70

Mine will have the 3.21 gear ratio.

mostlystock

Thanks... Yes, be aware of the axle gear ratio. It's very important when it comes to upping your tire size. If you have 3.21 as you say, then I really really really recommend not going to 33" - in fact, not sure that 32 would even be a good idea. If you're in a manual transmission, you'll end up winding up 1st gear for a very long time before shifting, same with 2nd gear, etc.... and forget 6th, you'll never even use it. And all the while, it will feel like your Jeep is underpowered.

31 should be fine even if you have 3.21 gears. Nothing wrong with 31s on a Jeep.

If you have 3.21 gears, that will be your limiting factor. Your first decision is do you want to keep your axle gears and upsize your tires to a lesser degree, or do you want to go for a bigger tire (32 to 35) AND at the same time upgrade your axle gears.

If you want to up your tire size beyond that, first thing to consider is the axle gear ratio. If you want to do 33's, consider getting 4.10 or 4.88 axle gears (I think mine were $800 per axle at a local shop, $1600 total). 4.56 seems to be meh, might as well go for 4.88 which should cover you from 33 to 35-inch tires.

digger70

After you told me that, I found a thread on the JK Forums that also suggested that 33's would not be good so I'll probably go with 31's instead. Mine is going to be an automatic, but I can drive stick but prefer the auto. I have a tendency to ride the clutch. I thought about a manual to lower my payments. Thanks for the advice!

mostlystock

Auto sport with 31s and alloys will be fine and a highly capable rig and a great "phase 1" setup.

digger70

I'm pretty much sold on the Duratracs. I've read reviews and they're great for snow and ice and I need that where I live. And on the street too. I even read one review from someone in PA who said they were great tires. I like the BFG KM2's too. I was going to get the red letter Grabbers but they didn't review well for ice and snow. Now I'm checking 15" vs. 16" price-wise. I could get them in 15's with the same 15x8 MB Wheels Razors I like.

mostlystock

Duratrac seems to be a real decent tire. They're also siped, which will be a bonus in snow.

Consider:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....TOWL&tab=Specs

digger70

Haha I was just checking those out on that site.