15” vs 17” wheels

[wmblore]

Is there any reason to stay with 15” rims on my TJ? As long as I stay with 32” tires, what are the pros and cons to going from a15 to a 17? I want to get rid of the 15” stock wheels and there seems to be a lot more 17” available on CL and tires seem easier to get also.
Thanks

 

[JMT]

15's
Cheaper wheels
Cheaper tires
Still available
Hold a bead at lower PSI better

17's
More expensive wheels
More expensive tires
More tires available
Option for bigger brake system if you get to 35" tires

 

[TJ_2000]

Personal opinion here. 32”s look better with a 15”.
A 17” is to big for a 32”.

 

[Locky]

What JMT mentioned above and all around better ride with the larger sidewall of the 15"

 

[jjvw]

What JMT mentioned above and all around better ride with the larger sidewall of the 15"

While I tend to prefer the 15" size, I do wonder how much the sidewall really effects comfort these days.

 

[Chris]

While I tend to prefer the 15" size, I do wonder how much the sidewall really effects comfort these days.

Not sure about comfort. I was concerned about off-roading though and whether the smaller sidewall on the 17" wheel would result in possibly more damage to the wheel, etc.

Blaine assured me that with sidewalls being as good as they are these days, that is no longer an issue like it once would have been.

I also noticed that Blaine seems to do a lot of 17" wheels on the customer rigs he builds. So, that's something for what it's worth I suppose.

 

[jjvw]

Not sure about comfort. I was concerned about off-roading though and whether the smaller sidewall on the 17" wheel would result in possibly more damage to the wheel, etc.

Blaine assured me that with sidewalls being as good as they are these days, that is no longer an issue like it once would have been.

I also noticed that Blaine seems to do a lot of 17" wheels on the customer rigs he builds. So, that's something for what it's worth I suppose.

The sane part of me says to go with JK take offs, especially if I would be running spacers anyway.

 

[Alex01]

Personal opinion here. 32”s look better with a 15”.
A 17” is to big for a 32”.

Agreed. I wouldn't go with 17's unless you're going 35"+

 

[fourpointzero]

Bigger wheel, more weight. Though the brand and size of tire obviously contributes, from my research apprx 3 years ago, a 17” typically weighs more than a 15”.


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[Chris]

The sane part of me says to go with JK take offs, especially if I would be running spacers anyway.

I can see why Blaine does it. I got a set of JK Moab take-offs for $200 for the full set (including the spare). They were literally in brand new condition without a scratch on them.

The funny thing is, that's about the going price too for sets on my local Craigslist. They are so cheap that it doesn't make sense not to run them!

 

[S.McArthur]

I had to switch to JK 17" wheels, I want the 15" wheels back. Here are 33" on 17" wheels, 4.5" lift. Looks silly to me.

 

[Moab]

Is there any reason to stay with 15” rims on my TJ? As long as I stay with 32” tires, what are the pros and cons to going from a15 to a 17? I want to get rid of the 15” stock wheels and there seems to be a lot more 17” available on CL and tires seem easier to get also.
Thanks

For the cheapest way to go:

You can get a new set of stock 17" JK Moab take offs with new stock Goodyear Wrangler highway tires for around $300 on CL or Offerup. (These came stock on JK's for years. And so many guys upgraded their rims and tires when they first bought their new JK. That there is a glut of them on the market. Thus the low price.) Cheaper if you just want rims and plan to run an off road tire. So in this case 17's are alot cheaper than anything else you will find.

You can of course spend more on the new honeycomb looking JK wheels (I think they're Rubicon). But with the stock MTR's on them they run alot more on CL ($800-$1200). Finding just a set of the rims is a little harder. But alot cheaper. If you want to just use these rims and buy your own new tires. That might run you around $500 for the rims.

In 15's look at 4WP's steel wheels. They have one that is sub $50 IIRC. That's just as cheap as the above JK take offs. But without tires of course.

It really depends on what your doing with your Jeep. Either way I would consider Duratracs or K02 tires. If your off roading. Or just run the stock tires on the JK takeoffs if your just using it as a daily driver around town.

If your rock crawling look for an aluminum rim not steel. Steel gets dings and bends to easily on rocks.

I had 15's on my Jeep when I bought it. And then put a set of JK takeoffs on it (those are the ones pictured in my avatar photo). I didn't notice a huge difference in ride quality. But I didn't experiment with tire pressure either. I think as long as you run upper 20's psi and use Rancho 5000X shocks your ride quality will be generally about as good as it can get.

Now I'm not talking rock crawling or heavy off roading. If that's your thing. Alot of guys run 15's off road. And may have better reasons for doing so. But like Chris said - that may not be that big of a difference between 15's and 17's off road.

 

[Moab]

I had to switch to JK 17" wheels, I want the 15" wheels back. Here are 33" on 17" wheels, 4.5" lift. Looks silly to me.
View attachment 94704

I agree with your assessment. But isn't it because the tires need to be bigger? Not the rims smaller? I think it would look the same. As the gap between the fender well and tire will still be to big.

I really like your Jeep btw. Very similar to mine. Mine came with a hard top originally. So it's all wired up for one. Someday I'll pick one up and put it on.

 

[89grand]

I'd only run a 17" wheel if the tires were 35" or taller. They look too big on a TJ with anything smaller than 35".

 

[jjvw]

Looks aside, what about performance?

 

[wmblore]

I'd only run a 17" wheel if the tires were 35" or taller. They look too big on a TJ with anything smaller than 35".

Thank you

 

[wmblore]

Thanks for the advice. My ideal is 31" or 32" on 15" wheels. I was just amazed and how cheap, as mentioned above, all the JK take offs were, both rims and tires. Seems like the 32-33X10.5X15 BFG's are harder for me to find. I also want to go with black center line or American Racing ATX AX-201's for a look with the BFG KO2's

 

[wmblore]

I'd only run a 17" wheel if the tires were 35" or taller. They look too big on a TJ with anything smaller than 35".

Thanks, it helps seeing pictures. I will keep looking for 15's

 

[wmblore]

I had to switch to JK 17" wheels, I want the 15" wheels back. Here are 33" on 17" wheels, 4.5" lift. Looks silly to me.
View attachment 94704

That helps a lot, Thanks. I like the look of the 33 on 15" much better. I am aiming for 31 or 32's with a 2.5 lift.

 

[S.McArthur]

I agree with your assessment. But isn't it because the tires need to be bigger? Not the rims smaller? I think it would look the same. As the gap between the fender well and tire will still be to big.

I really like your Jeep btw. Very similar to mine. Mine came with a hard top originally. So it's all wired up for one. Someday I'll pick one up and put it on.

Those are 33” tires, they are big tires already, they just look small on the 17” wheels. There’s quite a bit to swap out just to run a 35” tire, and I’m not going to toss money at it right now.
I’ll run what I have for now until the tires need to be replaced. I think if I put a flat style fender flair it may look different.