wayoflife

Okay, I've noticed there's been a lot of confusion regarding the factory JK wheels and it is my hope that this thread will help clear things up a bit:

X Standard
Painted Steel - Size 16 x 7.0

X Optional
Painted Cast-Aluminum - Size 16 x 7.0

Sahara Standard
Painted Cast-Aluminum - Size 17 x 7.5

Sahara Optional
Painted Cast-Aluminum - Size 18 x 7.5

Rubicon Standard
Machined Cast-Aluminum - Size 17 x 7.5

All the wheels come with a 5x5 bolt patten (5 bolts - 5" apart from each other) and to the best of my knowledge, they will have 6.25" of back spacing with 50.8mm of offset.

As you can see in the diagram below, back spacing is the distance between the Mounting Pad (surface that makes contact with your axle) and the outside edge of your wheel.



The offset and back spacing on the factory JK wheels are designed to keep your tires underneath your fender flares and keep you legal in most states. The only problem is, installing wider tires on factory back spaced wheels usually results in the rubbing your tires side walls on suspension components, which as you can imagine is not good. This is why most Jeepers choose to install new wheels with common less back spacing such as 3.75", 4" or sometimes even 4.5". Less back spacing will move wider tires outward and away from any potential rubbing problems.

Can 15" wheels be run on a Jeep JK? I think it all depends on the make of the wheel. Clearly, Full Traction has shown us that 15" wheels fit on their Jeeps but then, they are black steel wheels and things may not work as well with some brands of aluminum wheels.

Another thing to consider is the 7 or 7.5 inch wide wheels. Typically, when installing a 12.50 wide tire, you would use a 10" wide wheel. However, when it comes to off-roading, most people choose to go with 8" wheels in an effort to maintain their tire bead when aired down for the trail. Need I say, 7" is a bit narrow for anything more than 10.50 wide tires and if you're planning to go wider, you may want to consider a set of new wheels.

I hope this helps you out. I'll try to add to this thread if I can think of anything that I might have missed. And, if anyone else would like to add to it, by all means, please do

ericdewayne

hehe sorry if i caused the wheel monkey to be let out of the bag!

blkngld

Quadratec is selling some wheels for the JK. One of them are American Racing FUEL. They are 5x5 with 5" BS and a 25mm offset. To the best of your knowledge, would these clear 35's or would you think I would need spacers if I bought these wheels.

wayoflife

Actually, according to Quadratec, the wheels have 5.5" of backspacing (which is what TJ wheels have now) but the 25mm offset is about half that of stock. Will they clear 35", sure, but the real question you need to be asking is if they will clear a 12.50" wide tire. And, that would be hard for me to say for sure without doing some kind of test fit or at least taking some measurements.

Man, I sure wish I had my JK in my driveway already so that I can examine things more carefully, whenever I want and as long as I want.

Nozz

3" lift, 35x12.50 on 16x8 wheels, with 4.5 or less backspacing will work? What about the spare tire mount, how big do you think that will hold? Thanks for the help and patients. I was also wondering what kit would be better.

wayoflife

Yes, a 16x8 wheel with 4.5" of BS should work. I have a feeling that we might be able to get away with more BS like 5" or maybe even 5.5" but until I can get a better look at another JK and take some measurments, it's impossible to know for sure. I'll try to stop by Don-A-Vee tomorrow and see what I can find out.

As far as the spare tire mount goes, I have no doubt that it'll hold at least a 33 but anything more than that is probably asking for trouble even if you can physically mount it. The real problem is weight and the ill effects of it on the tire mount and tailgate hinges.

ejbrokermel

will i have to buy new bumpers to fit 35" tires with a 3" lift?

wayoflife

I don't think so but I do know that you'll most likely have to trim the plastic air dam or remove it all together.

bLITZ

i think new bumpers would be one of my first mods along with a left and tires. Those stock bumpers just don't do it... the stubby rock bumpers in one of the other threads look so amazing.

luna95

Not to throw a little more confusion into the calculation, but the stock Sahara wheels (17x7.5, painted) are available as an option on the X package, IF you opt for the S group (which I did, perhaps mistakenly thinking that I'm gonna fit BFG T/As 285/70 17s with a 2" lift...ugh)

(oh yeah, just got word from my father in law that my X is in...unbelieveable; they told me it could be 3 months, and it was barely 3 weeks. I didn't want the car note until I NEEDED 4WD, i.e., snow)