I'm finally adding a 2.5" lift and 35" tires to my Unlimited Sahara (4.10 gears). I REALLY like the look of the stock wheels (go figure), and would like to keep them. I've done my homework and found a few good options for tires that will fit the stock 18" wheels (dang they're expensive), but before I pull the trigger I wanted to get some feedback.

I'm still new to the trails, mainly doing level 4's and just starting on level 5's. Having a ton of fun, I'm excited that the lift and tires will not only look good, but should perform well too.

And that's my question... 18" wheels don't seem to be very popular off road, and so I'm wondering how well they'll perform. Any comments, gotchas, or other feedback is appreciated.

Thanks! Backup plan a) is to buy 17 inch wheels.

 

The main reason from what I've heard is that you want double the tire Diameter then your wheel size (so you'd almost want a 36" tire) I don't think you'll run into that much problem though it just helps when you want to air down. Another reason is like what you said....The bigger the wheel the more expensive the tire is. My 35's on a 16" rim were like 75 dollars more a then the same tire in a 15" rim.

 

more sidewall means less damage to the rims (sits higher off the rocks).

I know this by experience.

 

you'll be fine if you want to keep your 18" rims with 35s. while everything said above is true, me and my friends have been wheeling with the same set up for years, not that much of a difference damaging rims of any size. (I have never damaged a rim, while my friend with 15" messes them up all the time) a lot of it has to do with the way you wheel. 35s are plenty big to air down on 18s.