Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

16's or 17'S?

3K views 52 replies 21 participants last post by  Fargo 
#1 ·
I have a 2006 Wrangler TJ Rubicon, it came with 16"x 8" Rubicon wheels and a set of Goodrich 245/75/16 Mud Terrain AT's for off-roading, I also bought a set of new takeoffs from the dealership that are 17"x 8" Rubicon wheels with Adapters for the offset lugs, Goodyear Wrangler P255/75/17 for every day driving. I am planning to turn the JEEP into a Overland vehicle with a new suspension, lift, roof rack, etc. My plan is to go with Goodrich 35" x 12.5" tires. I understand that the 35 X 12.5" will work well with an 8" wide wheel.
1. Should I go with the 16'S and have more sidewall or 17"s with less sidewall. I want a comfortable ride but also a tire that will allow me to lower the pressure and still have tire that will not pop the bead. If I go with the 16's I do not need to use the adapters which will bring the tires 1" closer to the body.
2. Am it better to go with the 35"s or go with 33's. I want good clearance and driving stability.
 
#32 ·
I run studded LT245/75R16 in load range E as winter tires on my '01 TJ and I absolutely love them. I run 31x10.50 as summer tires in load range C only because that is the heaviest duty I can get in that size... If I could get a D or E rated tire in that size that is what I would be running for the durability on the rough roads I run. The E rated tires are proof against just about anything except for maybe a screw (which will eventually work its way in because the threads will cause it to be retained longer)... The C rated tires not so much and I have had to patch a few of them.
 
#10 ·
Thank you for your input one and all. I like the thought of having a large selection of tires that 15" & 17" rims offer, the max I can go with is 35" tires because my wife, who will be traveling with me for 2-4 week trips is only 5' 2" tall and 64 years old...not a high stepping gal, add a 2.5" lift and I will need a boom to get her into the rig. If I go with 15" I will have to buy another set of rims and sell the other 2 sets.
 
#16 ·
I have an 03 Rubicon. When I went to 33s, I went to 15s and run a 33x10.50. It has been mentioned about the load range and that is a good point. One thing many don't consider is weight. My 33s on steel wheels weigh no more than the 245/75x16 on aluminum it came with. Load range D and E tires are heavy.
Oh, and probably the only one, but I hate those factory TJ Rubicon wheels. They grind themselves into everything.
 
#21 ·
"My question is why 35s and a 2.5" lift?"
Good question, I don't know why except that I want good ground and tire clearance. It just seemed to me that that would work. I have very little experience with setting up a JEEP for what I want to do with this build, that is why I joined this site. Is 35" overkill for an overlander? I took out the rear seat which reduces weight, which will be replaced with camping gear and everything needed for extended stays off grid. I have Dana 44's front and rear with 4.11 Rear Axle Ratio also factory front/rear lockers which I like and do not want to change.
Boogieman...nice looking JEEP.

I am here to learn from the collective, if most people here that have TJ's find something that works better than something else, I am all ears. I want to do it right the first time, it is less aggravating and less expensive.
 
#22 ·
"My question is why 35s and a 2.5" lift?"
Good question, I don't know why except that I want good ground and tire clearance.
Without cutting up fenders, and if you like to go offroading, my recommendation for 33's is 4" of additional clearance and for 35's, 5" of additional clearance. You don't need quite that much, maybe an inch less, for a Jeep that only sees street use or VERY easy offroad trails. For those amounts of additional clearance, you can make 1" of that a body lift. Like a 3" suspension lift plus a 1" body lift for 33" tires, or a 4" suspension lift plus a 1" body lift for 35's. Again, all that is predicated on leaving the fenders as-is.

Just a word of caution that there's more to setting up a Jeep properly for bigger tires than just suspension and body lifts. There's axle gearing to compensate for the larger tire diameter, bump stop lengths to stop the tires from pushing up into the fenders too far, stronger steering components (especially for 35's), and better breaking (especially for 35's).

Definitely take care as mentioned above to notice the model of Jeep being discussed when listening to clearances needed for different tire sizes. As mentioned, JKs (2007 and newer) don't need as much additional clearance around bigger tires as our 1997 to 2006 TJs do.

And in closing, it's not inexpensive to get a TJ set up so it works well with 35's so closely examine your finances before deciding on 35's. :)
 
#23 ·
Buy a quality 4 in kit such as Currie or Savvy, do 33in tires, if ya wanna get your wife in with the least hassle, pony up the money for a set of Rock Slide Engineering power steps. That will take you everywhere you want to go.

There.. the majority or your problems will be covered with the least amount of headaches.
 
#26 ·
Thank you for your input one and all. I like the thought of having a large selection of tires that 15" & 17" rims offer, the max I can go with is 35" tires because my wife, who will be traveling with me for 2-4 week trips is only 5' 2" tall and 64 years old...not a high stepping gal, add a 2.5" lift and I will need a boom to get her into the rig. If I go with 15" I will have to buy another set of rims and sell the other 2 sets.
I have been noticing on different videos(trailrecon) where people talk about their JEEP lifts, when they do a 2.5" lift, it usually measures 3-3.5 taller than pre-lift height. This isn't going to be a rock crawler but trail runner that can get over the occasional rock bed or downed trees that fall across the trail without smashing the hitch...again.
In order to reliably run 35's on a TJ, you really need to spend a lot of money as you can see in this thread. I have 35 inch tires with relatively low lift (2 in. susp., 1 in. body, highline fenders) and my wife HATES getting in and out of the jeep. She's almost 30 years younger than your wife and three inches taller, so......

I recommend 33 inch tires (either 10.5 or 12.5 in. wide) with a "C" load range, for good flex offroad and for comfort. BFGoodrich makes the AT KO2 in both of those sizes (15 inch) and either would work very well for what you're planning on doing with your jeep.

Also, forget any lift. Use highline style fenders instead. With highline fenders, you won't have any worries of tires rubbing, even if using wheels that stick out further. If you don't want to have a project and raise your own fenders, many different companies make highline style fenders. You can always add a suspension or body lift later if you want.

David

Here's a picture (not mine) of an '05 Rubicon with stock suspension and AEV Highline Fenders (discontinued) and 33's:



Here is a pic of angrybear's jeep w/33's, no lift, and MetalCloak fenders:



More pics of jeeps with Highline Fenders: https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f59/lets-see-pics-jeeps-highline-fenders-1127902/
 
#28 ·
My last Jeep on 35s with around 4.5" of lift. My GF is short and has never had any problems getting in.

p.s. That's not her sitting on the bumper.:)
 

Attachments

#30 ·
Thank you all for taking the time to educate me on what my options are for this build. I believe that 33's on 15" rims is the better way to go for me...for now. As for the fenders, that will depend on which shocks, springs and suspension kit I install. Right now the front end is rock solid, a friend of mine that is a JEEP mechanic at a Dodge dealership needed work on his house AC system so we traded labor, he replaced the stabilizer shock and go over the entire car. all of the rubber and joints are still good and the previous owner upgraded the shocks but I could not tell what they are.
 
#35 ·
Did you say you have 17" wheels with the 255/75R17 tires? Is that the Rubicon wheel with the BFG Mud Terrain? If so that is a really nice 32" load range C tire. The narrow size also lets you run that tire without adding a bunch of lift. If you already have that tire and rim combo, I would recommend working with that setup to get a feel for what you really need. Don't rush into 35's just to be cool because everyone on the forum has 35s. Think about what YOUR needs are and build your Jeep for what you will be doing.



A couple things to think about:


A TJ with a 32" tire (255/75R17) would be a very capable Jeep. Not many guys are running this size, so lift height info is a bit limited. The TJ Rubicons came with a 31" tire, so it might even be possible to run that 32" tire with only a 1 1/4" body lift. That would let you keep all the suspension geometry stock and make it easy for your wife to get in. Yet it still gives you more clearance under the axle and a bigger rolling tire.



If you want to try that tire size with a cheap lift option, I think that size would work well with a 2" budget boost (BB). Which is basically a set of spacers under the springs. This would be a cheap way to get started with overlanding and to find out how much lift you really need.



Another option, and maybe the best route, would be a quality 2"-3" spring kit. Something by OME or Savvy comes to mind. This option is then a good starting point for a 33" tire. You just add a body lift to the Jeep when you are ready to move up to a 33" tire.

Also note:

The new JL Rubicon comes with a 33" tire in a load range C on a 17" rim (285/70R17). So if you keep the 17" rim and want to run a 33" tire, there will be a TON of load range C tire options in that size since it is the stock tire on the JL Rubicons.

In short my recommendation is to use the 17" rims. They will be better for overlanding (vs rock crawling) and 33" load range C tires will be readily available since that is the stock tire on the new JL Rubicons.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PRayn 1877
#52 ·
17s.
Get a skinny 33" tire on there if your young bride has friggin fibromialgia or whatever you're not going to be wheeling anywhere you NEED a 35" tire.
Get a front locker a belly skid and some headphones.

A TJ with a 32" tire (255/75R17) would be a very capable Jeep. Not many guys are running this size, so lift height info is a bit limited.
At this point the Jeep had 1" of body lift, 255/75r17 on dodge magnum steel wheels, UCF ultra high clearance skid, and a spartan front locker.
Even with stock 4.10 gearing (manual 2.5L) it was amazingly capable.

 
#40 ·
Fargo: quote "Did you say you have 17" wheels with the 255/75R17 tires? Is that the Rubicon wheel with the BFG Mud Terrain?"

I do have a set of 17"s but the tires are Wrangler street tires. They are takeoffs that I bought at a JEEP dealership. I paid $700.00 for five new mounted tires plus the extra cost of 3 sets of adapters because the lug spacing for my TJ is 4.5" , the new JEEP's are 5" spacing between lugs.
 
#42 ·
Agreed. You can find sets of factory JK wheels with good tires on them cheap in classifieds like craigslist or facebook marketplace. I paid maybe $100 for 5 wheels with 1/2 tread left on the tires.

Interested in exactly what "3 sets of adapters" they sold you? I run 1.75" thick hubcentric spacer/adapters on mine to push the wheels out and change the bolt pattern.
 
#44 ·
I tried for three weeks to find 16" rims to mount street tires on before we were to head for the Blue Ridge Parkway, no success on Craigslist, found a couple sets of rims but the sellers would not respond, so out of desperation I called the local JEEP dealer, he wanted $900.00 for 5 brand new takeoffs (zero miles) until we found that I needed adapters, he dropped the price to $700, so I am going to keep them and sell the 16" Rubicon wheels with the Goodrich 245/75/16 Mud Terrain TA's so I can get new rims and tires.
I bought G2 wheel spacers that are 1.5" thick.
 
#48 ·
The 16's are going to be sold, the 17's will probably be kept for local travel, I will be buying 15's for the build. Everything is fluid at this time, if the new tires rub on the fenders I will modify or buy new fenders. New parts are going to be weighed so I can buy a suspension that will be properly sized and tires rated for the load it will carry especially because I went from stock bumpers to Smittybilt XRC front and rear bumpers, winch and swing out tire carrier.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top