[cbassillo]

Hey, guys. Sorry if I'm repeating anything. Bah. I keep trying to search, but the search button doesn't work for me. I looked through and browsed, but even when I came across backspacing info, I still don't get it. God, I feel dumb.

Anyways, that said: I have a 99 XJ and I want to put 33x12.5-15 Baja Claw Radials on it after I get my 4.5" lift on. However, I need wheels, too, obviously. What width of a wheel would go with it? I read on TirePackage the reccomended sizes were from 8.5" to 11.5" inch wheels, but I've heard people say a 15x10 or 15x8 will do okay, too.

Additionally, I know it's been asked about before, just like the question above. There's not a chance it hasn't, but: backspacing. Yeah... Backspacing. What would I be doing there? And for the bolt pattern: I've seen 5x5.5 and all of that jazz. I guess since I have a Cherokee it's going to be 5-- but what does the other number mean in regards to the tires I want?

Please helppp. Thanks a ton, guysss. Sorry for the idiocity!

[Wheelin98TJ]

Your bolt pattern is 5 on 4.5.

8.5"-11.5" is what the tire shops will recommend, but thats really not correct for what we use our Jeeps for. 8" works best with 12.50 wide tires if you ever plan on airing down. This is because you have less of a chance of a tire unseating from the wheel compared to a 10" wide wheel.

Backspacing is the measurement from the wheel mounting surface to the inner edge of the wheel. I borrowed this pic from someone here that shows this measurement being taken:



Basicaly you should figure out what your current backspacing is. If you have stock wheels, its probably in the 5-6" range.

So say you choose a wheel with 3.5" of backspacing and your current backspacing is 5.5". Then your tire/wheel would move outward by 2" compared to your old setup. Get it?

You might even want to post a question in the XJ forum and get those guys to help you. They'll tell you exactly how much backspacing you'll need for proper clearance for the new wider tires.

[cbassillo]

thank you thank you thank you =o]

[96JXJ]

I'm running 15x8 rims with 4" of backspacing. JIM.