Proud new owner of a 2012 Unlimited Sahara. I have the 18" 7 spoke wheels and need some input for a set of offroad wheels and tires. I don't plan on lifting for now, so what's the best wheel / tire combo I should do? I'm mostly an in town driver, but do go up to the mountains in North Carolina frequently. I'd like to be able to pop on a set and hit the forest service roads or other trails here and there. Not really concerned with cosmetics, so black steel wheels would be fine for me. I'm more interested in the largest size tire I can fit without any additional modifications, although those will come soon enough I think

Thanks!

 

33s w/o lift...but i hear a lot of the people that get 33s state that they wish they would of saved funds and went straights for 35s....but i think you have to lift with 35s to prevent rub. in the same thought as you now, what to get....

 

You can go with a 33" tire without a lift, however I did this & ended up upgrading to 35" tires 6 months later. As far as wheels go thats a personel preferance, but I would suggest a heavy duty or XD wheel

 

I have 33's and before my lift they only rubbed a little on the air dam. For tires I would suggest Goodyear Duratracks. Their next on my list and I've heard nothing but good about them on or off road.

 

33's and keep stock should be fine.

I'm getting the Teraflex 2.5 lift with 35's and keeping stock rims. Let me know if you want any details on prices it cost me.

 

Ok. So I've pretty much made up my mind on the Duratracs. My 2012 Sahara has the Bridgestone 255/70-18's right now. I can get the 275/65-18's (plus zero according to DTD) and run them on my stock wheels (I think), but those tires are $270 each from DTD. The 33's are only $196 each:

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...yp=Truck%2FSUV

I may be crazy, but isn't there technically more tire for the 33's? Why would they be cheaper? My stock 18's are 32.06 inches in diameter. It seems like I'd be better off getting the 33's and MB72's:

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...yp=Truck%2FSUV

So the final question is, can I run the MB72's and Duratrac's from the above links on my stock 2012 Sahara with no rubbing? I plan to eventually get the AEV premium front bumper as well - any potential issues there? Any issues with backspacing on the package I'm thinking about?

Thanks guys.

 

It is less expensive for tires that go on smaller rims. The smaller you go (15" vs 16" vs 17") it gets less expensive. So you'll probably end up spending the same money trying to get 18" tires as you would getting 15" or 16" tires + new rims.

Pretty sure I've read the 15" MB72's will work on the 2012. I went with a 16" rim and 33's. Would've done 15" rims, but couldn't find a rim I liked that I could confirm would fit.

 

^^^This.

And the MB72's will clear your brake calipers just fine.

 

Why is it the bigger the wheel the more expensive the tire? Why isn't it the other way around since there's more rubber with smaller wheels? I've always wondered this

 

I had debated on going stock with 33's or lift and 35's. I am so glad i went with the later... I dont know why they put these wimpy tires on Jeeps because now with 35's on'er she looks like a Jeep should!

For very little cost you can get a budget lift (i went with 2.5" Teraflex) and installed it myself in the driveway in about 6 hrs (including getting all my stuff together and clean up). The kit with shocks was only about $500 bucks and well worth it even if you are only going with 33's on a pure street queen machine.

Tires are expensive, especially if you get smaller ones and wish you had gotten bigger ones and either change them early or have to ride out the 40k+ miles until its time to get new ones.