Sunday I brought home my new 08 2dr X.
I love it.
I've been driving nothing but Wranglers since 1992, this my 4th and is fast becoming my favorite but I've just noticed this scary sheet metal spike not 2 inches from the rear tire.

On my 2 previous TJ's I've stuffed a tire up into the rear wheel wells plenty of times, so much so that I ended up damaging the plastic cowling that was up in there (on both of them).

I wonder what will give first, the sheet metal or a tire?

I look at this and my first thought is "I hate changing tires for no good reason" and my second is "sawzall? or bend it in somehow?"

If you've not yet noticed this go out and take a look at your rear wheel wells, if you wheel your Jeep , you can't like it.

Has anyone experienced any issues with slamming a tire into this factory provided tire puncture feature? .

 

that's a new 'feature' to prevent u from stuffing 35s in there!

get a saws-all!

 

i did the cave man approach... was on a trail, saw my 35" getting way to close for comfort, found a rock, beat the end of it till it curled over...

 

I think you got a defective JK there. Mine doesn't have that.

Just kidding.

It won't bother your stock tire though. I've done enough rear tire stuffing to say it's a non issue for stock.

I will cut it back before I leave the road when I get my bigger tires.

 

That's just what I was imagining.
Out in the boonies of Baja, 50 miles from nowhere, banging on it so as to not destroy the spare that I just changed.

Thanks for the comments and I figure I will be modding it before I do anything else.

Sawzall or bend it?
....decisions.
I think I'll bend it out of the way.

 

dang! I got my 08 last week, I gotta take a look at that and see if its there on mine... If so I'll be wackin with rubber mallet, to clear my 35's

 

Rubber mallet isn't going to bend it. You need a pretty good sized hammer.

 

Yeah I noticed that on mine, what the hell is it?

 

fine regular hammer!!! It looks to be welded togeather, so I think cutting it would be bad.

 

thats been on jeeps since my 99. you wont hurt your tire uless you disconnect the rear swaybar no matter what tire size you go with. and most dont reccomend to disconnect the rear swaybar. the tire will rub the fender before it ever comes close the the body "corner".