Morning, I'm going to need a new set of rubber in the fall. I will be going with the GY Duratracs again primarily because the are fantastic in the snow and with good rotation I have already gotten 59,000 miles and they are not worn out yet.

A new set of 4 will be around 1,250.00 for the 285/70-17 but I am starting to think of going with 15" rim size, I think that I can get into a wheel/tire combo for about the same 1,250.00.

When the Jeep is paid off in the late summer of 2014 I will put on a 2.5" or 3" lift.
Right now when i stuff the tires into the fenders they just barely rub, I am running 1.25" Spydertrax spacers.

Here are the questions.....

the stock wheel is a 7.5" x17" with a 4.5" backspace, is a 8" or 10" wide rim better suited with a 33x12.5x15 tire? Yes I do air down to about 13psi when in Moab.

Does a 3.75" back space set the tire out further from the Jeep, if so then I should be fine on clearance on the inside but I will need to hocky-puck the bump stops so I don't stuff the tire into the fender untill I get the lift on.

Other than looks is there any advantage to an aluminum wheel over a steel wheel, I think that I will be looking at something like the black Soft 8's or simmilar look.

I would like to find a wheel that has enough "open" spaces so I can spray the snow and crap out easly on the inside of the rim.


Any pictures of 33's on 15's would be helpful, thank you.

 

An 8" wheel will be better for airing down. Steel vs alloy can be debated to death. Steel is cheaper, heavier but will bend...alloy wheels are the opposite. Check out the MB72 wheels, they're not expensive and will fit with zero rubbing. Steel 15s will be more likely to rub slightly. There's a whole thread dedicated to 15" wheels in the show and tell section.

 

Thank you, well the steel rubbing is the nail in the coffin for them. I have lifetime everything warentee so grinding down the calipers is out of the question. I will check into the MB's. I did read everything that I could find on the 15" wheels, I love search almost as much as spell check

 

Any other low cost rim opinions? 100$ or less is the target.

 

I went with MB TKOs and left off the stupid center caps. 3.75 backspacing is perfect for my 35 x12.50x15s.

Great wheel for less than 100 via DTD on a package tire deal.

 

OK my thinking ,I think, was off. If it's a "lesser" backspace then it will move the tire towards the centerline. So if I change to a 3.75 it will move the tire 3/4" closer to the anti-sway bar and then if I add the additional width of a 12.5" , from a 285 which is 10.5 section width, I will defininatly be rubbing on the bar again.

doing math. right now there is a 1" space but with the 12.5's I will be rubbing by a -3/4" space.

 

Lesser sticks out more. Factory wheels are 6" so 1-1/2 spacer makes 4.5. 3.75 with stick out another 3/4. My 17's are 4" discount sold me 5" and they rub control are but they fixed me right up

 

Ion Alloys are another option. I got the 171 style but there is another style that look like fake beadlocks that probably fit the same. I think they are around $90 a piece. 33x12.5x15 GY Duratracs.

 

I like the look on your Jeep, you are right I was backwards thinking again, the lesser the back space the more it moves out so a 3.75" back space would move it out an additional 3/4" so I now would have 1.75" space but when I put on a 12.5" I would loose an inch which would give me a net space of 3/4" between the tire and anti-sway bar. But this also means that instead of just barely rubbing the fender I would now contact it with a full 3/4" of the outside of the tire, I will loose some flex-ay-shun.

man that hurt my brain...

 

33x12.5-15 falken wild peaks on 15x8 MB TKO with MB Chaos center caps. As said above the caps that come with the TKO are god awful.