Tire/wheel information

[Droopy]

I realize I don't really know much about tires/wheels. It's been a long time since I did anything but stock sizing and that was with a lot of help and guidance. Long story short my temporary 2003 KJ got replaced with a 2015 JKU and I decided to keep the 17" Rocky Mountain Edition rims (well OK I took everything of potential value that didn't make it a paperweight when the KJ went in). Reason I kept the wheels is I had this idea that the mud terrains on the JKU are nice, but I do plan on a...

Please login to view full content. Log in or register now.

 

[Kunker]

I realize I don't really know much about tires/wheels. It's been a long time since I did anything but stock sizing and that was with a lot of help and guidance. Long story short my temporary 2003 KJ got replaced with a 2015 JKU and I decided to keep the 17" Rocky Mountain Edition rims (well OK I took everything of potential value that didn't make it a paperweight when the KJ went in). Reason I kept the wheels is I had this idea that the mud terrains on the JKU are nice, but I do plan on a lift soon and maybe going up to 35's on new rims (but that whole path is one of the reasons I'm hoping to gain some knowledge from this group), so with the Willys wheels and the KJ wheels I could have options for staying reasonable for gas on my DD but having other options on my 35's. I guess in my head I had 35's for wheeling, and two sets of 32's one for winter one for highway (KJ and stock rims in those cases).

Wow, OK longer intro than expected. I'm looking for a good link or ten to help me better understand what I can and can't do with wheels and such.

P.S. Coming from a KJ I'm actually not disappointed in gas mileage with the new fella, so maybe I'm beating a dead horse on this.

Paging [MENTION=272]2Greys[/MENTION], but I wouldn't have thought the KJ was the same 5x5 bolt pattern as the JK.

I think you need at least a 2" budget boost on the JK to fit 35s, although [MENTION=3]Twinkie[/MENTION] (and a few others) would know better than me.

 

[Droopy]

Paging [MENTION=272]2Greys[/MENTION], but I wouldn't have thought the KJ was the same 5x5 bolt pattern as the JK.

I think you need at least a 2" budget boost on the JK to fit 35s, although [MENTION=3]Twinkie[/MENTION] (and a few others) would know better than me.

Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that 35's would be with a lift.

That's some of the answers I was looking for in fact, after going to 35's can I return to 32's. But also bolt patterns, etc. I'm looking for a couple resources to give me the basic education so I can ask intelligent questions :-/

 

[2Greys]

It's not, the KJ is 5x4.5 and the JK is 5x5. If it did I would have a set of 16" winter tires for sale (although we are starting to steer towards buying a JK so I just need to get a new set of rims as the ones I have are 16" and I can keep the winters (course they are like 29's)
Regarding changing tire size, yes you can but you would need to adjust your speedo which I believe with the JKs can be done electronically. On my TJ I went from 33 summer to 31s winters and just had to change a speedo gear.
That said if you get it regeared for 35's you may want to go a bit bigger for winters like 33's

 

[Droopy]

It's not, the KJ is 5x4.5 and the JK is 5x5. If it did I would have a set of 16" winter tires for sale (although we are starting to steer towards buying a JK so I just need to get a new set of rims as the ones I have are 16" and I can keep the winters (course they are like 29's)
Regarding changing tire size, yes you can but you would need to adjust your speedo which I believe with the JKs can be done electronically. On my TJ I went from 33 summer to 31s winters and just had to change a speedo gear.
That said if you get it regeared for 35's you may want to go a bit bigger for winters like 33's

Electronic speedo adjustment is a given. Now this gearing business... What are the decision points to determine if I need to regear?

 

[2Greys]

How much money you got? Basically the cost for parts for new ring and pinion and master install for both axles together are around $600, then you need to find someone to do it and it takes a while. It is not something for the feint of heart and require specialized tools.

The key thing is if you haven't regeared you will find the engine doesn't put as much power to the wheels.

That all said I am sure you can find oodles of people with JKs who went and threw 35's under,didn't regear and live with it.

 

[Twinkie]

Sorry for the late response...

35's can fit with no lift, if you want to keep your center of gravity low, you just need to trim your fenders.

DO NOT go with a budget boost, I'm starting to *not* like mine more & more every day. LoL Save for a decent lift that replaces springs and shocks at a minimum. I'm still favoring the AEV 2.5" lift for price & performance.

As for regearing. If it's a Rubi, it already has 4.10's, so stepping to 35's you wouldn't notice it as bad compared to a X or whatnot. They either have 3.73's or 2.5 something (I know, really short gear, must fly on the highway!). I plan to go 35's once these 32's are done, and with the wear I have due to whatever front end issue that is causing the scalping on the tires, it'll be sooner rather than later.

And any of the cheaper programmers ($150 range) can change speedo to match tire size, among other things. I use my AEV programmer to move DRL's to the fog lights (so it doesn't burn out the expensive H4 bulbs in a year) and for extended idle speed settings for winching (or charging the battery after someone leaves the key on all night!).