A Blank Canvas
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JK Newbie
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 1
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From: Savannah, GA
A Blank Canvas
First post! Woot Woot !
Just got my bran spankin new 2014 2 door Oscar Mike JK Jeep Wrangler. It's beautiful and I wouldn't change a thing.
So now that I've had it for a week, lets change some stuff! Thing is my wife made me promise not to red-neck it up like i did our older jeep that I used to have (it was AWESOME....so of course she hated it). So any upgrades need to be subtle and snuck in. So i wanted to start with bigger tires. I'd love 35's but honestly don't wanna fight that so i was going to go with 33's as they are very close to the stock 32's. When the wife points and screams, "Those are bigger!"...like i just murdered a puppy....I can't probably sneak it in by saying that "Nooooooo, they just LOOK bigger because they are wider." Which is a complete lie.
So anyways, i hear mixed stories like "yes you can run 33x12.5 without a lift, you'll just rub a little on full articulation, just need to make sure the wheels have 4.5 inch or less backspacing." and "No...thats I'mpossible without a lift, ya big dummy."
So my plan was to order 33x12.5 mud terrain tires and some alloy wheels with 4.5 backspacing or less. I'm still at the point that I don't know if I need a lift or not....too many differing opinions posted.
ON TO THE QUESTION ALREADY: with a 12.5 wide tire, how wide of a rim is recommended....8 or 9 inch? Would the look of the tire differ any with the difference of the rim width? Like would the 8 inch rim make the tire look kind of fat like a doghnut (which looks cool as hell IMO)? No....I will not be airing down my tires....ever. We don't have any rock climbing around here....just butt loads of mud.
ANOTHER QUESTION....REALLY: If I do end up needing some lift for the tires....that would be hard to 'sell' to the wife....A budget boost doesn't really affect the driveability of the jeep much...right? If it comes with longer shocks/springs, i would still have the factory 'flex' just maybe a stiffer ride? Or is it they come with just springs and you use the factory shocks....and looks some vertical travel in the process?
Thanks for any guidance.
Wood Butcher
Just got my bran spankin new 2014 2 door Oscar Mike JK Jeep Wrangler. It's beautiful and I wouldn't change a thing.
So now that I've had it for a week, lets change some stuff! Thing is my wife made me promise not to red-neck it up like i did our older jeep that I used to have (it was AWESOME....so of course she hated it). So any upgrades need to be subtle and snuck in. So i wanted to start with bigger tires. I'd love 35's but honestly don't wanna fight that so i was going to go with 33's as they are very close to the stock 32's. When the wife points and screams, "Those are bigger!"...like i just murdered a puppy....I can't probably sneak it in by saying that "Nooooooo, they just LOOK bigger because they are wider." Which is a complete lie.
So anyways, i hear mixed stories like "yes you can run 33x12.5 without a lift, you'll just rub a little on full articulation, just need to make sure the wheels have 4.5 inch or less backspacing." and "No...thats I'mpossible without a lift, ya big dummy."
So my plan was to order 33x12.5 mud terrain tires and some alloy wheels with 4.5 backspacing or less. I'm still at the point that I don't know if I need a lift or not....too many differing opinions posted.
ON TO THE QUESTION ALREADY: with a 12.5 wide tire, how wide of a rim is recommended....8 or 9 inch? Would the look of the tire differ any with the difference of the rim width? Like would the 8 inch rim make the tire look kind of fat like a doghnut (which looks cool as hell IMO)? No....I will not be airing down my tires....ever. We don't have any rock climbing around here....just butt loads of mud.
ANOTHER QUESTION....REALLY: If I do end up needing some lift for the tires....that would be hard to 'sell' to the wife....A budget boost doesn't really affect the driveability of the jeep much...right? If it comes with longer shocks/springs, i would still have the factory 'flex' just maybe a stiffer ride? Or is it they come with just springs and you use the factory shocks....and looks some vertical travel in the process?
Thanks for any guidance.
Wood Butcher
JK Jedi Master
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,800
Likes: 374
From: Midwest City, OK
Couple thoughts ... I used to have 33s and they were smaller than the OEM 32s. As you suggest, spacing the tires out will make a big difference in appearance without "rednecking" it. Your wife may not agree, LOL. A budget boost with shock extenders will leave the stock ride completely intact. To be more subtle (less "redneckey", LOL), install just a leveling kit. If your 33s are indeed bigger, your new wheel offset and maybe pulling the air dam (if you go in mud it will get ripped off anyway) should take care of rubbing.