17" vs 15" wheels?

like the others have said.
not many choices for 17's in C class range the E's are way to much for a TJ, there are a few more choices in D range but that's still a little stiff for off road.
 
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LT265/70R17 (32X10.50R17LT)22810010121/118QROWLE/1019.0/32"8.007.00 - 8.5011.131.93195@802910@8059.97
These are the specs for the 17" Patagonia. Any thoughts. Where does load "E" fall? and does the "E/10" mean 10 ply?
 
moab said:
LT265/70R17 (32X10.50R17LT)22810010121/118QROWLE/1019.0/32"8.007.00 - 8.5011.131.93195@802910@8059.97
These are the specs for the 17" Patagonia. Any thoughts. Where does load "E" fall? and does the "E/10" mean 10 ply?
Click to expand...
That column is LR/PR, so load range E, 10 plies.
 
tire pressure and weight they are made to hold at a certain pressure.

anything above 35PSI rides like a rock. 65# would be bricks.
E's hold up pick up trucks
D's hold up SUV's
the TJ is C class to me

load index.PNG


C is like 119 and E is closer to 125-126 IIRC
 
I sold my 15"mt rims w/at tires an went with stock jkur rims and tires/bfg mt km load range c...
and my rubi loves them, the gearing is good and it goes down the hyway great...
161875B0-41AB-4BA2-86E7-815F76B15F8B.jpeg
 
rubicube said:
I sold my 15"mt rims w/at tires an went with stock jkur rims and tires/bfg mt km load range c...
and my rubi loves them, the gearing is good and it goes down the hyway great...View attachment 128710
Click to expand...

I would have said I'd avoid the 17" JK wheels but those look great. I'm still leary of wheel spacers but I could be proven wrong on that.
 
I actually see no advantage for a 17" wheel in 33'ish tall tires. The wheels and tires cost more, the may or may not ride as well, they look a little goofy until one uses a 37" or larger, back spacing is often not ideal. I'll keep running 15x8's as long as they are available, and have a tire no larger than 35's, and I'll probably never use a tire larger than 33".
 
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IMG_20190411_173940.jpg

89grand said:
I actually see no advantage for a 17" wheel in 33'ish tall tires. The wheels and tires cost more, the may or may not ride as well, they look a little goofy until one uses a 37" or larger, back spacing is often not ideal. I'll keep running 15x8's as long as they are available, and have a tire no larger than 35's, and I'll probably never use a tire larger than 33".
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I don't think they look goofy, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
 
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With the new JLURs and JTRs out, so many guys are selling the BFG 33" takeoffs of 1k or less. I've found them as low as $600 for a set of five with less than 500 miles on them. You'll see those prices continue to drop as more jeeps are bought and the market floods with guys wanting to upgrade wheels/tires.

Not sure why there are so many naysayers over the 17" wheel. There's a reason Jeep has stuck with a 17" wheel for the last 13 years. They're lightweight, ride better, and sidewall has progressed significantly since TJs were being sold with 15" wheels. The argument that there aren't a lot of tire choices in a C range is ridiculous. Jeep has the monopoly in terms of off-road use over any other vehicle, and off-road tire manufacturers have definitely marketed to that realm.

IMO 15" wheels with a 33/35" tire are not my cup of tea. All the sidewall makes the wheel look tiny and disproportioned. With that extra tire comes extra weight as well. When I switched from my 33/12.5r15s to 255/75r17 (32x10.5) my ride quality and power improved dramtically. And no it was not placebo affect, it was a dramatic and noticeable difference.

Bottom picture looks so much better than the top.
DB42B8DA-0A9C-437B-AAED-9BB03372154A.jpeg
769B6229-0D7D-431F-9B43-DE0DD55383C7.jpeg
 
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Jamison C said:
With the new JLURs and JTRs out, so many guys are selling the BFG 33" takeoffs of 1k or less. I've found them as low as $600 for a set of five with less than 500 miles on them. You'll see those prices continue to drop as more jeeps are bought and the market floods with guys wanting to upgrade wheels/tires.

Not sure why there are so many naysayers over the 17" wheel. There's a reason Jeep has stuck with a 17" wheel for the last 13 years. They're lightweight, ride better, and sidewall has progressed significantly since TJs were being sold with 15" wheels. The argument that there aren't a lot of tire choices in a C range is ridiculous. Jeep has the monopoly in terms of off-road use over any other vehicle, and off-road tire manufacturers have definitely marketed to that realm.

IMO 15" wheels with a 33/35" tire are not my cup of tea. All the sidewall makes the wheel look tiny and disproportioned. With that extra tire comes extra weight as well. When I switched from my 33/12.5r15s to 255/75r17 (32x10.5) my ride quality and power improved dramtically. And no it was not placebo affect, it was a dramatic and noticeable difference.

Bottom picture looks so much better than the top.
View attachment 128733View attachment 128734
[/QUOTE
Jamison C said:
With the new JLURs and JTRs out, so many guys are selling the BFG 33" takeoffs of 1k or less. I've found them as low as $600 for a set of five with less than 500 miles on them. You'll see those prices continue to drop as more jeeps are bought and the market floods with guys wanting to upgrade wheels/tires.

Not sure why there are so many naysayers over the 17" wheel. There's a reason Jeep has stuck with a 17" wheel for the last 13 years. They're lightweight, ride better, and sidewall has progressed significantly since TJs were being sold with 15" wheels. The argument that there aren't a lot of tire choices in a C range is ridiculous. Jeep has the monopoly in terms of off-road use over any other vehicle, and off-road tire manufacturers have definitely marketed to that realm.

IMO 15" wheels with a 33/35" tire are not my cup of tea. All the sidewall makes the wheel look tiny and disproportioned. With that extra tire comes extra weight as well. When I switched from my 33/12.5r15s to 255/75r17 (32x10.5) my ride quality and power improved dramtically. And no it was not placebo affect, it was a dramatic and noticeable difference.

Bottom picture looks so much better than the top.
View attachment 128733View attachment 128734
Click to expand...
true dat
Click to expand...
 
Jamison C said:
... There's a reason Jeep has stuck with a 17" wheel for the last 13 years. They're lightweight, ride better,
Click to expand...
Please tell us exactly why a TJ on, say, 35" tires, would ride better on 17" wheels than on 15" wheels. Not to mention larger diameter wheels are heavier which is not made up for by the tire's larger inner diameter when comparing similar wheel and tire designs.

Jeep switched to 17" wheels simply because they're now more stylish and younger buyers simply prefer the look of larger diameter wheels.

And 13 years of 17" wheels since larger wheels became stylish pales in comparison to over 70 years of Jeeps on 15" wheels.
 
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As an example, the popular size 285/70R17, I can only find 4 tire manufacturers offering a load C tire. Nitto, Falcon, Toyo, and BFG. Not that I'm against a 17" tire, just there aren't as many choices for a load C tire as some state.
 
bobthetj03 said:
As an example, the popular size 285/70R17, I can only find 4 tire manufacturers offering a load C tire. Nitto, Falcon, Toyo, and BFG. Not that I'm against a 17" tire, just there aren't as many choices for a load C tire as some state.
Click to expand...

Ya. I just tried looking last night. And couldn't find anything. Not in my price range anyway. How bad is the E going to be over the C?
 
moab said:
Ya. I just tried looking last night. And couldn't find anything. Not in my price range anyway. How bad is the E going to be over the C?
Click to expand...

I've only ever ran C tires, so I can't give you an honest opinion. I think @Chris has run E's then C's, so he might be the best judge.
 
bobthetj03 said:
As an example, the popular size 285/70R17, I can only find 4 tire manufacturers offering a load C tire. Nitto, Falcon, Toyo, and BFG. Not that I'm against a 17" tire, just there aren't as many choices for a load C tire as some state.
Click to expand...
The PO of my Jeep installed Toyo Open Country AT/II in size P285/70R17. Obviously not a LT tire but with a higher load rating than the Nitto Trail Grappler M/T LT285/70/17 C range tire.

How important are load range C tires when non LT tires are available with a higher load capacity?

I'm guessing the answer will be in the tire sidewall but I would like to hear.
 
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