So Im looking to modify my sons new jeep....Ive heard different feedback regarding tire sizes and additional modifications that you may have to do....So right new my son has 16 inch metal rims....I'd like to replace these with a set of Nitto tires and XD rims or Fuel rims....A guy i just saw told me he put 285/75/17 tires on his jeep with no additiopnal mods (no lift kit, no spacers, etc - sorry this stuff is all new to me). He said he could have went to 33 inch tires without having to mae any additional moifications...yet, some people mention gear size, lift kits, etc....Can anyone help me out here..What size tires can i put on this Jeep without doing the lift kit (yet)....its in the works...and do I need to worry ubout upgraing the gears. THANKS<

 

Often it's not the height that's the problem, it's the width. They might fit in a parking space or driving in a straight line, but once the wheels are moving up and down over bumps and turning left/right they will contact something.... Air Dam, swaybar. Etc. there are low cost modifications you could to do make it work though.

 

Good news, and bad news. Good news: The suspension and clearance on your Sport do indeed accommodate 32" tires such as the Rubicon 255/75R17 or a 235/85R16 which will fit on your current rims. Or any other combination of 16, 17, or 18 rims with final tire diameter around 32" - maybe even 33" if you trim the thin metal rocker panel seam, and live with some minor interior rubbing. Bad news: having the 16" steelies, means you very likely have the 3.21 gear differentials, which suffer some torque loss with larger tires. I actually am running 32"s on my 3.21 and manage - but I'm running "pizza cutter" 235/85R16 which are tall and skinny.

 

Yup, larger tire will look cool, but will def put a damper on power/acceleration. In most parts of the country, a regear will run ~$1500 give or take (including parts), sometimes a little more depending on what you're doing......just so you have an idea of that cost. If it's a jeep that will be in the family for a long time, it's usually worth the costs.

Since you're kinda starting at square one, also realize that there are a whole slew of lifts out there, all of which have various levels of completeness to them. You can get the looks of a lift with budget boost packages that reuse factory springs and shocks by using pucks and extensions to help "boost" it higher. That kind of thing can be done for ~$250 - $500 depending on if you don your own work. On the other end, you could spend upwards of couple grand doing a true suspension lift and achieving the same height. It all depends on what your vision and budget are.

It sounds like for now you're looking to just bump that tire size up a bit while keeping things budget friendly.

At the top of the modified section there are a couple "stickies" with a lot of information that will be useful to get you started down the path. Here is a link for convenience -

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/modi...bie-has-18617/

 

Another thing to remember is that there can be variances in both height and width between tire mfgs, even though they have the same size stamped on the sidewalls. An inch or more difference in height and/or width is not unheard of, so just because a 285/75 from mfg A fit on that guys jeep without rubbing, does not necessarily mean that a 285/75 from mfg B would have also fit without rubbing.

 

285/75-16 BFG KO2 on my stock suspension and sport wheels...fits like a glove.