After reviewing my order I found out that the "c" upgrade option available on the X comes with those HORRIBLE looking stock rims. Needless to say thats going to be the first thing I upgrade. But I had a couple questions.

the 5 on 5 lug pattern... I know the first 5 is the number of lugs, but was curious as the the second 5. Im guessing that its with width of the bolts but not sure. 5mm??

What about bead lock rims? Whats the major purpose of these? Is it just ease of being able to fit a new tire on it yourself?

Backspacing... Whats the number and how is it measured? I think its from the fitting part on the rim and to the inside wall (if the wheel were laying flat on the ground) Is it in cm's? and what is the standard backspacing?

also rim width... What would the best width be? What width would I be able to find the widest variety of tires to fit it (namely Interco's)

Rim size... What would be the best size in yall's opinion to go with? The standard 15? or 16, 17in rims? Or is it a mear looks thing...

Sorry about all the questions here. Hopefully yall can give me somewhat of a clearer picture of what I'd want in new wheels.

Thanks!

 

5 lugs - 5 inches across from each other. This is actually a really odd pattern. Older Jeeps like the CJ came with 5x5.5 and the TJ's came with 5x4.5 and both were pretty easy to find replacements. These new 5x5's leave us with slim pickins.

True beadlocks allow you to air down your tires to virtually nothing and still keep your bead on the wheel. With out them, you would run the risk of busting or rolling your tire bead right off the wheel in some off road conditions. Having said that, a lot of bead locks are not DOT approved and so you will see a lot of "street locks" or wheels that "look" like beadlocks but aren't really.

Backspacing is the distance between the inside mounting surface of your wheel (where your wheel makes contact with the axle) to the outside edge of it. TJ's came with 5.5" of backspacing and would be willing to bet that the JK's will be too. Most aftermarket wheels come with 3.75" of backspacing and this will cause your tires to stick out further beyond the flares. However, this is needed if you plan on running wider tires. Wider tires on stock backspacing can be problematic as you run the risk of rubbing your inside sidewalls on suspension components.

Typically, the best width I have found for off roading is 8". This will allow you enough width to install wider tires and yet be narrow enough to keep you from busting a bead on the trial when aired down.

Well, I think Full Traction has proven that a 15" will work and the benefits of it is that it is a very common size. Tires for it are readily available and are usually a bit cheaper than their larger metric friends. However, a smaller wheel means you will have a lot more sidewall flex on the trail - larger can offer a greater sense of stability.

Hope that helps you out a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

HUGE help! Thanks a lot. Now I have a pretty damn good idea of what im looking for.

 

If I intend on getting a 3" Lift for my 4-door JK Rubicon, will this allow for 35" tires? Can I go any bigger without rubbing? What would be the best wheel size to include backspacing? Will I be forced to put on new flares?

Someone should invent a tire/wheel size calculator for jeeps.

 

If you ordered a JK RUBI. then it comes with 17" wheels.

I myself am looking for wheels to fit my 35"'s.

I thought that Spidertrax wheel spacers would take care of the stock backspacing issues and prevent the tires from rubbing on the suspension components.

Am I wrong to assume this will work?????

 

Yes, a 3" lift will clear 35's but I think you'd be pushing your luck with anything bigger. Maybe if you installed a 1" body lift and had the proper bumpstop extensions you could go 37's. But then, you had be ready to address new gears and most likely new drive line and axles.

Regarding the best wheel size to go with, I think a 17x8 ought to do well with this set up but I'm not 100% sure what backspacing to go with yet. On the TJ's with their 5.5" of BS, the widest tire you could safely run was 10.50 as anything wider would have resulted in the rear tire sidewalls rubbing the upper spring perch. This may be different on the JK and you might even be able to get away with more but I won't know for sure until I've had a chance to give it another look and take some measurements.

As far as needing new flares go, that all depends on how wide of a tire you can run on stock BS.

 

IF there are any rubbing issues, yes, a set of wheel spacers should push out your wheels enough to allow you to run wider tires.

 

Also remember that actual tire diameter is often not what the manufacturer spec says it is (usually smaller). I'm running 17x9 MT Sidebiters that have a 4.5" backspace which extends my tires outside the flares by about 1.5".

 

For example 285/70/17 are called 33's. They actually measure in at 32.8

 

Are you running GY Silent Armors in that size? I ask because that's the exact spec for that size tire. I'm running those GYs in that size and mine measure around 32.1 - no extra weight, stock bumbers... Had I known the size was going to be so off, I would have gone with 315s...