Anybody running these 15" Moab lookalikes?

freedom_in_4low

freedom_in_4low

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Very reminiscent of the Moab but in 15" so I could stick with a load C tire.

Mamba Offroad MR1X Wheel in Black for 84-06 Jeep Wrangler YJ, TJ, Cherokee XJ, Grand Cherokee ZJ | Quadratec

I don't shop for wheels often so I don't know the brand or their quality. Also not sure if 4.5" backspacing is too much for a 35x12.5...would be nice to stay half an inch closer to stock scrub radius if I could. They ought to net me ~1/4" more clearance to the rear upper spring perch than I get with my 32x11.5 on 5.25 BS, but it's hard to tell where else I might run into trouble with the extra 1.5" tire radius or when steering comes into play up front. It's a little more expensive mistake than I'm willing to risk with a guess-and-check approach.

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Their cheap knocks off, which is obviously not a huge issue for most. They do offer them in a 15” which other knock off manufactures do not; I consider that a plus.

It would be awesome if they offered them in a raw machined finish simiar to some of the Mopar Rubicon offerings. Although it’s posible if one was to want to spend the money.

Some further reading.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/mamba-mr1x-reviews.19046/
 
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Fouledplugs said:
Their cheap knocks off, which is obviously not a huge issue for most. They do offer them in a 15” which other knock off manufactures do not; I consider that a plus.

It would be awesome if they offered them in a raw machined finish simiar to some of the Mopar Rubicon offerings. Although it’s posible if one was to want to spend the money.

Some further reading.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/mamba-mr1x-reviews.19046/
Click to expand...

yeah, if I was staying with 33's I would strip the gray plastidip and go with their raw machined finish. But buying spacers gets me halfway new wheels and then I have to deal with red loctite every time I want to pull a brake rotor.

kindof embarassing, I actually remember that thread you linked, but since changing wheels wasn't really in my mind at the time I completely forgot about it. There's nothing there that scares me off, but I do wish I could hear from somebody running 35x12.5 on them with TJ axles. Seems like they're ok with 33x12.5.
 
JMT said:
The Quadratec Rubicon Extreme is another option that is very similar, but with 4" BS.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/quadratec/rubicon-xtreme-wheel-wrangler-yj-tj
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Those are on my shortlist, too, and will probably be on the even shorter list if I can't find anybody running 11" front shocks that can say 35x12.5 will work on 4.5" BS.

I really wish either of these came in something with 4-4.5" BS.

My current - Ultra 51 - only available in 5.25" (what I have now) or 3.75"

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Or the Ansen Offroad from American Racing, only available in 3.75".

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Fouledplugs said:
While I don't have them, I have no doubts that they would be just fine. What worries do you have with running them?
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just the fact that I've never had 35's on a TJ before and I haven't had a chance to cycle the suspension with them to make sure they clear everything. Don't want to learn it won't work after everything is delivered and mounted up. I always see 3.75-4" as the suggested backspacing for 12.5" tires but I'm not sure that's really what's needed or it's just a byproduct of the market mostly neglecting anything above 4 but less than 5.
 
For what it’s worth, I was trying to get a set of the Moab lookalikes (the Mamba MR1X wheels) to mount a set of 33x15x10.50 BFG KO2 All Terrains, but they were on back order over the summer from just about every supplier...

I ended up with the Rubicon Xtreme wheels from Quadratec. The finish quality seems great (so far... have had them for 4 months or so) and I have absolutely no complaints.

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I'm finding some more positive info about 4.5" backspacing. I was concerned because most of the time the question comes up, 4" is the recommendation.

But with some more searching I'm feeling better about it.

Backspacing | Jeep Wrangler TJ Forum

Jerry Bransford said:
An optimal wheel for offroading with 35x12.50x15 tires would be a 15x8 with 4" of backspacing. 3.75 of BS works but sticks the tires out a little more. 4.5" works too but that much backspacing can cause the tire's inside sidewall to rub on the front control arms when the steering wheel is turned all the way to the stops. A washer or two under each of the two steering stop bolts stops that though.
Click to expand...

35x12.5x15 Backspace ? | Jeep Wrangler TJ Forum
Mr. Bills said:
You may be able to use wheels with 4.5" backspacing to tuck in the tires a bit more, but no more than that. You will need to put a washer behind each steering stop to keep the tires from rubbing on the control arms, but that takes only a minute.
Click to expand...

There area few other threads, but it's mostly the same people posting it :), and that's good enough for me.
 
freedom_in_4low said:
I'm finding some more positive info about 4.5" backspacing. I was concerned because most of the time the question comes up, 4" is the recommendation.

But with some more searching I'm feeling better about it.

Backspacing | Jeep Wrangler TJ Forum



35x12.5x15 Backspace ? | Jeep Wrangler TJ Forum


There area few other threads, but it's mostly the same people posting it :), and that's good enough for me.
Click to expand...

I notice that when you quoted me that you edited out the preceding paragraph where my recommendation was 4" backspacing for 35x12.50 tires on 8" rims. It still is.

While you may be able to get away with 4.5" backspacing, it is not preferred and there are no guarantees.

Just want to keep the record straight. :)
 
Mr. Bills said:
I notice that when you quoted me that you edited out the preceding paragraph where my recommendation was 4" backspacing for 35x12.50 tires on 8" rims. It still is.

While you may be able to get away with 4.5" backspacing, it is not preferred and there are no guarantees.

Just want to keep the record straight. :)
Click to expand...

yes, thank you. I just didn't include it because the discussion was "can I get away with 4.5", rather than "what is the ideal".

Though "ideal" probably lies somewhat in the priorities of the builder, too though. It's all compromise, and in my case, I'm trying to find the right balance between:

1. capability (35" MT)
2. road manners (as close to stock scrub radius, and also goes along with a preference for minimizing mud spray due to lack of fender coverage and a stockish, non skateboardy stance)
3. Ride quality (load range C)

because a tire/wheel combo satisfying all three doesn't seem to exist. A possibly unperceivable amount of turning radius in the steering stops to me seems like a preferable sacrifice over using an narrower and expensive load E tire.
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
yeah, if I was staying with 33's I would strip the gray plastidip and go with their raw machined finish. But buying spacers gets me halfway new wheels and then I have to deal with red loctite every time I want to pull a brake rotor.

kindof embarassing, I actually remember that thread you linked, but since changing wheels wasn't really in my mind at the time I completely forgot about it. There's nothing there that scares me off, but I do wish I could hear from somebody running 35x12.5 on them with TJ axles. Seems like they're ok with 33x12.5.
Click to expand...

I have a set of five that I have every intention of stripping the powder coat off of. It was too much miserable work too do it myself. But I can tell you they have a couple layers of silver and a thick layer of filler. Below that is a clean machined finish on the spoke faces with a nice sand cast pebble finish deeper inside. Not sure why Mamba ruined the wheel with the paint/PC.
 
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the nice thing about the matte black powdercoated version is it's probably a good candidate for a coat of paint.

Black wheels on a brightly colored vehicle tend to get lost in the tire, and painted silver isn't my favorite.

Different wheels and a JK, but I dig the color combo.

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jjvw said:
I have a set of five that I have every intention of stripping the powder coat off of. It was too much miserable work too do it myself. But I can tell you they have a couple layers of silver and a thick layer of filler. Below that is a clean machined finish on the spoke faces with a nice sand cast pebble finish deeper inside. Not sure why Mamba ruined the wheel with the paint/PC.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't even know where to start with stripping PC without destroying the finish on the aluminum underneath.

I've always felt silver painted wheels looked cheap. Nothing ruins the look of a nice car faster than silver painted wheels. I felt that way in the 90s and it hasn't changed. Look how crappy the wheels look on this Viper. They're probably some nonsense exotic magnesium carbon fiber alloy but they could just as easily be on an Eagle Talon other than the fact that they'd be way too wide.

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freedom_in_4low said:
I wouldn't even know where to start with stripping PC without destroying the finish on the aluminum underneath.

I've always felt silver painted wheels looked cheap. Nothing ruins the look of a nice car faster than silver painted wheels. I felt that way in the 90s and it hasn't changed. Look how crappy the wheels look on this Viper. They're probably some nonsense exotic magnesium carbon fiber alloy but they could just as easily be on an Eagle Talon other than the fact that they'd be way too wide.

View attachment 212205
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I have one can of the old dangerous formula Aircraft Stripper. That stuff made the top coat fall off but barely softened the filler. It did nothing to the aluminum itself. I have little doubt a professional shop can get the job done. I just have other things I want and need to spend the money on.
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
that's interesting because 3.75 is usually the value given as virtually guaranteed to work. Where on the frame does it rub and in what conditions does it rub in?
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image.jpg

It rubs right at the hole in the frame on both sides. It doesn’t require any special instance other than full lock steering. I clipped a brake like going over an obstacle because of this.
 
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