Something that has been piquing my curiosity.... When you have wheels that stick out past the fenders, does that necessarily mean they are going to travel vertically upwards when they are stuffed... I ask because I am curious, is it possible (and this will show my complete utter lack of physics/engineering education) that wheels that stick out a little bit travel on more of a / (that symbol means diagonal ) plain as they travel upwards when flexed?

This would obviously lead to a decision regarding the backspacing of a wheel, and if you can get your tire stuffed into the flare even though at normal ride height it sticks out beyond the flare.... common sense would say not possible, but at looking at a lot of the flexed up pictures, it seems like people have wheels that on the ground are beyond the flares, but seem to stuff up when the wheel is crunched on a rock...


clear as mud?

 

So, stock flares, perfect backspacing, when you flex, the tires stuff up into the wheel well nice and clean, but... what happens when you turn that steering wheel???

Look into flats and/or extended stops to keep from ripping the flares off.

 

It is a combination of backspacing, tire size, and bumpstops. The tires do move in an arc as you stated when articulating so thy will tuck into the fender even if they stick out past the flare when the jeep is sitting level. If your bumpstops are the right length, they will prevent the tires from hitting the fenders when bottoming out both ends of the axle at the same time. As stated previously, you have to have enough room to also turn the wheels without rubbing also. My tires stick past the fenders about 3/4" while level but stuff into the fenders with no fender rubbing even at full lock. It is very close though.

 

Im on 315x75x16s with 4.25" backspacing and 2.5" OME lift. My tires stick out about 1.5" from the rear fenders, and only rub at MAX stuff way up high in the wheel well. I dont actually hit the outer fender. Same in the front.

Not too good of pic...

 

Not disco'd, correct?



This is a bit over 3" of lift, 295/75/16's (32" actual measured height), 4.5" BS, stock flares, stock bumpstops, disconnected. Notice how the sidewall is rubbing the flare lip slightly. Turning the wheel = bad...



And here is the same setup, but with 2" front lower bumpstops. Still rubbing very slightly, but no danger of ripping the flare off.

 

So maybe just sticking with a BS that keeps the wheel flush with the fender or closer, + leveling kit, will stuff and not rub when turning .

 

It depends on how big of a tire you run. With 5" backspacing on a 9" wide wheel, I had to do a little grinding on the lip of my front spring perch to keep the inside of my 35-12.5s from rubbing at full articulation. It is one of those give and take situations. There in no way I could get away with a wider or taller tire and not have serious rubbing on the inside. Now a narrower tire would be no problem at all.

 

So if I wanted my tires to sick out more do I need a rim with 3.75 or a 5" BS? And if I want them to be tucked under the fender more... What size bs?

 

Higher BS = pulled further into the wheel well
Lower BS = pushed further out of the wheel well

Stock is 6.25" or thereabouts, so:
A 5 bs would stick out 1.25" further on both sides
A 3.75 bs would stick out 2.5" further on both sides

 

You also have to consider the width of the wheel when looking at the backspacing. 5" backspacing on a 9" wheel would be the same as 4.5" backspacing on a 8" wheel. As you change the wheel width, you change the center line of the tire. This is something you have to look at when comparing different wheels. It is helpfull to look at the wheel offset. No mater what width of wheel you look at, the same offset puts the tire centerline in the same location from the mounting hub.

check out this site:

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