Finally got cleared to post over here. Alright, a little bit of info about me. Just bought my first Jeep about 2 months ago! Its a 2007 4-door with 32's, 2" BB lift and a few little extra's inside. I haven't gotten to mod it yet but planning on doing so once i get the cash! lol. Now to my question. I'm looking ahead to when I need tires and beyond the difference in price, what would the benefit be by going from a 17" wheel to a 15" wheel and upgrading to 35's ? I would say I'd do light/moderate crawling and light/moderate muddin when I can so a couple times a year at this point. It is my daily driver and I'd say I put around 25-35 miles a day on it. Any help would be appreciated and welcome!

 

save a ton of cash if you go with 15 or 16 inch wheels over the life of the Jeep. Tire prices go up quite a bit for 17, 18 inch

 

Why is that? There's a lot less rubber and material in a 17" than a 15"? Look at all that rubber and belt material in a 15" 33x12.5??

 

I've wondered that myself? Seems like hogwash to me.

 

Honestly? Because larger diameter wheels are "in style" now. The manufacturer's charge more because people will pay more to be "in style"

 

I have and chose 15x10s because I wanted a 35x13.50 tire and that size isn't available from the tire manufacturers that I was considering in a 17. In addition I preferred the "old school" look of 15s on a Jeep. The large size of the brakes and tie rods on the JK left me with some concern but the research I conducted left me feeling comfortable with my choice.

The first mounting and balance was done by a national chain outlet and I lost some of the weights immediately. Later I went to an industrial tire shop and the tech came up with a better way to mount the weights and I haven't lost any.

I truly enjoy having 15" wheels and the tire size they permit me to have. I also love the look and the cost of the wheels and tires. BUT I recommend to JK owners who are curious about 15s to stick with 17s unless they absolutely feel they need the smaller wheel to meet a certain purpose. Your Jeep came equipped with 16s or 17s because the design of other components required such a size.

 

Rubber is probably one of the cheaper materials in a tire. With a larger diameter rim, you need more steel cord at the bead. The textiles (polyesters containing a steel mesh) that give the sidewall strength need to be increased for a tire with a larger rim, since the shorter sidewall has less area to absorb impacts.

So a larger diameter rim requires less rubber, but more of the expensive stuff.

 

BTW, welcome to the forum! This topic has been covered before with opinions from both sides being well expressed so you may want to search past threads.

 

I would stick with 17s. I ran 15s on my cherokees and the 17s provide a much nicer and less flighty ride on freeways. The reason the tires are more expensive is that the construction has to be made stronger to hold the equal amount of weight with less rubber.

 

It really depends on what you want. Either will work great off-road for the moderate off-roading you plan to do. Both work great for a Jeep on road as well. Let us know if we can help you, we guarantee the lowest delivered price and would love to earn your business.

Welcome to the forum!