Advice Needed on 31's and Coil Spring Spacers

[Carpcrippler76]

Hey guys,

Getting ready to splurge for some new tires and I'm thinking I may only go up to 31's for now. To temporarily add some extra height to the stock springs and shocks until I decide to go up to 33's someday, I've been looking at the Daystar coil spring spacers on Amazon and I'm having a hard time of deciding on what size spacers is a more realistic choice when going with the 31's? Any advice is greatly appreciated! Also, pics to compare to are always welcome.

Later on and thanks in advance!

P.S.
Somebody take my credit card away!!!

 

[Chris]

Well, realistically you won't need any spacers at all for 31" tires. They will work just fine at the stock height.

However, if you are going to add a spacer, I probably wouldn't go over 1.75". If you add a 3" spacer or so, it's going to look odd with a 31" tire I think. At 3" or more, you're going to want 32" or 33" tires.

 

[bobthetj03]

Some say you won't need spacers at all, but you might get a little rubbing if you're on stock wheels with crappy backspacing. IMO, 1" spacers should get you a little more clearance without harshing up the ride too much. You'll need to address your shocks at some point. Some washers on the steering stops will keep the tires away from the lower control arms/sway bar.

 

[JP98]

Well, realistically you won't need any spacers at all for 31" tires. They will work just fine at the stock height.

However, if you are going to add a spacer, I probably wouldn't go over 1.75". If you add a 3" spacer or so, it's going to look odd with a 31" tire I think. At 3" or more, you're going to want 32" or 33" tires.

X2. If you are thinking 31's then I would stay where you are. Maybe a 1" body lift.

 

[VirtualRussel]

I'm having a hard time of deciding on what size spacers is a more realistic choice when going with the 31's?

Determining if you'll need spacers is going to be a function of how wide the tire is you're considering, especially for a street driven Jeep. The widest tire that came on the TJs was a 245 (~9.6") so you're definitely safe if you go no wider then that. I run 255/85R16 (~10") on stock Moab rims and I barely rub the control arms at full lock with that setup.

What wheels are you running/considering?

 

[StG58]

May I suggest looking onto the excellent H&R springs and Bilstein 5100 shocks for 31" tires?

 

[Carpcrippler76]

Thanks for the input!

I'm currently leaning towards the Falken Wildpeak AT3W or BFGoodrich AT KO2 in 31x10.50R15 on my stock Canyon rims. Love the look of both and I just need a good all-terrain for this crazy Indiana weather we get.

I didn't think that I would probably need any lift with 31's, but if I did that I may go with just 1" spacers for now.

Thanks again for the thoughts and advice. Will update with pics once I get them on.


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[JP13]

I highly recommend BF Goodrich AT. I had 2 sets on my pickup. 1st set lasted 8 years and were amazing on snowy roads.

My Jeep has 33x10.5 BFG muddies on stock suspension with wheel spacers. The MT were very slippery this winter. I think I'll get a 2nd set of wheels with the AT for next winter.

 

[Chris]

You know what I'll recommend for tires

 

[Carpcrippler76]

You know what I'll recommend for tires

So, whatcha recommend? [emoji3]


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[derekmac]

You know what I'll recommend for tires

Anything but Duratracs, right?

 

[Chris]

So, whatcha recommend? [emoji3]


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Goodyear Duratracs

Two years so far of using them and they've more than been up to the task of everything I've thrown at them.

Awesome in the rain, amazing in the packed snow, good in almost every off road situation (with the exception of rock crawling and massive amounts of deep mud). Truly amazing tires if you ask me!

 

[StG58]

So, what's the tire equivalent over an RC lift? We need to start a thread with the worst possible TJ build. We could start with a rusty SE with an automatic transmission.

 

[glwood]

Zone 1.75 spacers with their shocks is a great spacer lift with plenty of room for your 31" tires, and doesn't cost a fortune. Easy install.

 

[Phil Younger]

Carcrippler76--I have been running Nitto Grabber 31's on 9.5"x16 rims and I am fine until I load it up with about 300 lbs of tools, camping gear, air compressor, etc and another rider and hit the mountain trails--then I get rubbing at times on the back stock flares. My tires do not rub on anything other than the back flares. I will be going with a 2" OME lift and OME or Bilstein shocks once enough money grows on my tree- i already have the Curry Antirock front sway bar. Mine is an LJ. Because I do trails I want the additional flex of a suspension lift --maybe you do not need what I do if you are sticking to trails around Bloomington IN. (I grew up 20 miles south of you BTW). I do not plan to ever put anything large than 31's on mine because power is borderline at hwy speed and I am not going to regear.

 

[JMT]

I first ran 31x10.5 on the stock steel 15x7 TJ rims with no rubbing at all.

Now I'm up 2" and the Billstein's I had on the stock (4600 and 5100) are for sale in the for sale section. They are great shocks if you need some! Practically new.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/bilstein-4600-monotube-shocks.3991/

 

[Ahoragi]

You know what I'll recommend for tires

Interco Thornbirds!

May I suggest looking onto the excellent H&R springs and Bilstein 5100 shocks for 31" tires?

I second this and it's what I'm running. A damn fine riding suspension.


You can remedy the 31's rubbing on the control arms by adjusting the steering stops with a washer or two. It's a simple 10 minute fix and that includes downing a can of your favorite fuzzy buzzy.

 

[CodaMan]

Zone 1.75 spacers with their shocks is a great spacer lift with plenty of room for your 31" tires, and doesn't cost a fortune. Easy install.

or just go with a 1.25" body lift. Easier to install, no driveline vibes and will give plenty of room for 31's

 

[Carpcrippler76]

Carcrippler76--I have been running Nitto Grabber 31's on 9.5"x16 rims and I am fine until I load it up with about 300 lbs of tools, camping gear, air compressor, etc and another rider and hit the mountain trails--then I get rubbing at times on the back stock flares. My tires do not rub on anything other than the back flares. I will be going with a 2" OME lift and OME or Bilstein shocks once enough money grows on my tree- i already have the Curry Antirock front sway bar. Mine is an LJ. Because I do trails I want the additional flex of a suspension lift --maybe you do not need what I do if you are sticking to trails around Bloomington IN. (I grew up 20 miles south of you BTW). I do not plan to ever put anything large than 31's on mine because power is borderline at hwy speed and I am not going to regear.

Thanks for the advice! Where you'd grow up? Around Bedford or Mitchell, maybe? Trying to think what other places would be about 20 mins south of Btown.

 

[Carpcrippler76]

Thanks for all of the advice guys!

Got my new set of tires and wheels installed today! Went with 31x10.5x15's in the Falken Wildpeak AT3W on 15x8 ION 171's in matte black. Gonna clean her up tomorrow and take comparison pics to check out the difference from now to what I started with. I actually like the look of how she sits with the new 31's without adding any lift to it and may not even do any lift for the time being. Talk to me in a few months and I may have already changed my mind!