Any alternatives to wheel spacers?

[RockDog]

I recently put 1 inch spacers on my 97 TJ and honestly I hate how they look. I liked the more simple and narrow look of not having them. However, without spacers, the rear tires rub on the wheel well when flexing. Does anyone have any suggestions? Trimming the wheel well piece that the tire rubs on?

 

[Chris]

My best suggestion is to get wheels with the correct backspacing.

 

[RockDog]

My best suggestion is to get wheels with the correct backspacing.

I really like my wheels too tho

 

[Chris]

I really like my wheels too tho

You could remove the rear wheel liners. I removed mine on both my TJs.

 

[hosejockey61]

Sawzall. Only the first cut is hard.

Ok just kidding. Wheel well liners come out easy if that's all they are rubbing on. If anything else then you'll have to live with the look out live with new wheels or spacers.

 

[RockDog]

Sawzall. Only the first cut is hard.

Ok just kidding. Wheel well liners come out easy if that's all they are rubbing on. If anything else then you'll have to live with the look out live with new wheels or spacers.

Have you done it?

 

[RockDog]

They rub on the metal that my rear springs rest on. Has anyone ever trimmed that down?

 

[Steel City 06]

You could get Rubicon fender flares. They'll cover the tire an inch more than your factory flares, and still look factory

 

[hosejockey61]

They rub on the metal that my rear springs rest on. Has anyone ever trimmed that down?

Show us a picture with an arrow pointing to where you are talking about. Something doesn't sound right.

 

[Vinman]

Show us a picture with an arrow pointing to where you are talking about. Something doesn't sound right.

Sounds like his rear tires are rubbing on the upper spring perch

 

[JeepingNet]

I've trimmed down the coil upper perch before.

I also like the idea of getting wider flares. You might get lucky and found some Rubicon ones.

 

[RockDog]

Show us a picture with an arrow pointing to where you are talking about. Something doesn't sound right.

 

[RockDog]

I've trimmed down the coil upper perch before.

I also like the idea of getting wider flares. You might get lucky and found some Rubicon ones.

Did you also trim this piece?

 

[JeepingNet]

Oh no... yeah you can't really trim that down safely.. Unless you can fabricate

An adjustable track bar might help you.. Have you measured if your rear axle is centred?
Otherwise, I think your only option is less backspacing and optionally wider flares.

 

[psrivats]

You could remove the rear wheel liners. I removed mine on both my TJs.

Sell them to me serious.

 

[hosejockey61]

Yeah don't trim that. Even if you get wheels with more backspacing it's the same as having spacers... Going to have to live with it. Rubbing there isn't going to hurt much. Other option is to add bump stop.

 

[Steel City 06]

Less backspacing is going to have the exact same effect as the spacers, just with one less connection.

Either you need narrower tires or wider flares. You can buy flares up to 7 inches wide, though those would be too wide for your tires.

Standard TJ flares like you have are 3.25” wide. Rubicon and Sahara flares are 4.25” wide, and are a direct bolt in replacement. They’re not too hard to come by; somebody somewhere is probably hacking up a stock Rubicon to make a crawler and would be happy to get rid of them.

 

[RockDog]

I’m good to trim this down though, right? This is where the rubbing is bad when flexing.

 

[Chris]

Sell them to me serious.

This new one didn’t come with them in, so I unfortunately don’t have a set to sell you

 

[hosejockey61]

I’m good to trim this down though, right? This is where the rubbing is bad when flexing. View attachment 190656

Looking at your previous picture, that's not where it's rubbing. Do you have any bump stop extension?