33’s without a lift?

david.scacchi

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Jan 8, 2019
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Location
New Hampshire
Hey guys, my name is David. I’m kinda new to this forum thing but I figured it’d be a good way to ask questions for my TJ.

I’d like to put 33’s on 15 inch rims with a -44 offset, but be able to wait on putting a lift on it until the spring. Is this fine? Thanks guys.
 
33s on an otherwise stock TJ requires about 2.5" of front bump stop extension in order to keep them out of the front fenders. This will reduce the up travel to about 1.5". The ride will suffer greatly.
 
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Hey Dave,

So I got my Wrangler a few months back, and got wheels very similar to yours. 15x10 -50mm offset wheels with 33x12.50 tires. I attached a couple pics of what the wheels looks like before I put my lift on, unfortunately I didnt take a good pic of the front.

The front are waaaaay tighter and there is maybe a half inch of clearance between the edge of the fender and the tire. The jeep could roll on this setup, but as soon as you introduce any flex at all you're going to start chewing up your fender.

I never drove mine with this setup, just did a test fit to see what it would look like.

Ended up installing a 2.5" budget boost and so far so good, no rubbing at all but haven't been on any hard trails.

047508b3123857c59fbe2c18a431566f.jpg
f69aadfa7766a3d588ebcb63a1b08ce1.jpg



2003 Wrangler TJ Sport 4.0
2013 Mustang 3.7
 
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Adding one more pic after the lift was installed. You can see where the gap is on the front wheel with lift, so imagine how tight it is without.
e451468dd36b56d70c042aab5eb28448.jpg



2003 Wrangler TJ Sport 4.0
2013 Mustang 3.7
 
Hey Dave,

So I got my Wrangler a few months back, and got wheels very similar to yours. 33x15 with 12.50" tires. -50mm offset on the wheels. I attached a couple pics of what the wheels looks like before I put my lift on, unfortunately I didnt take a good pic of the front.

The front are waaaaay tighter and there is maybe a half inch of clearance between the edge of the fender and the tire. The jeep could roll on this setup, but as soon as you introduce any flex at all you're going to start chewing up your fender.

I never drove mine with this setup, just did a test fit to see what it would look like.

Ended up installing a 2.5" budget boost and so far so good, no rubbing at all but haven't been on any hard trails.

View attachment 71422View attachment 71423


2003 Wrangler TJ Sport 4.0
2013 Mustang 3.7
Did you extend the bump stops?
 
I have not yet, as she is still stock, but I assumed I would have to do so if I were to do 33’s.

Tires 31" and larger need bump stop extension. Lift height has no correlation to the amount of required bump stop that non stock tires and parts might need.
 
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Thanks, you'll be well on your way soon. And as far as bump stops, no I didn't install extended ones just re-used the ones which were from the factory.
Okay, Thank
Thanks, you'll be well on your way soon. And as far as bump stops, no I didn't install extended ones just re-used the ones which were from the factory.
you!
Thanks, you'll be well on your way soon. And as far as bump stops, no I didn't install extended ones just re-used the ones which were from the factory.
Okay. Thank you! Also what tires do you have on that thing? And if they are pricey did you get them for a deal anywhere?
 
Okay. Thank you! Also what tires do you have on that thing? And if they are pricey did you get them for a deal anywhere?

They are BFG K02's. They are kind of expensive, but according to my research they are one of the highest touted tires on alot of forums. Tire rack was running an offer where you got a free yeti cooler and a discount on some sunglasses if you bought a set during the fall, otherwise I may have went a cheaper route.
 
They are BFG K02's. They are kind of expensive, but according to my research they are one of the highest touted tires on alot of forums. Tire rack was running an offer where you got a free yeti cooler and a discount on some sunglasses if you bought a set during the fall, otherwise I may have went a cheaper route.
Okay man sounds good. Thank you again for the help! Couldn’t really find too many jeeps with the gnarly offset you’ve got, and that I plan to have. Looks great. Can’t wait. Probably going to put teraflex 3inch lift springs in with the rims and tires.
 
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That’s an awesome example. So yeah... I’m definitely gonna be better off with bump stops. Thank you man.
This is the fun stuff and the details that really matter when trying to make your Jeep work well. Knowing how to extend the bump stops is the single best thing you can learn to do. It will teach you nearly everything that is important when piecing different parts together and making them work as a system.
 
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Okay man sounds good. Thank you again for the help! Couldn’t really find too many jeeps with the gnarly offset you’ve got, and that I plan to have. Looks great. Can’t wait. Probably going to put teraflex 3inch lift springs in with the rims and tires.

No problem, people on this forum are great and I try to help out with my limited knowledge when I can.
I couldn't find much either but gave it a shot and love how it turned out. Make sure to post some pics when you get yours figured out.

I wanted to do something closer to 3 or 4 but needed a cheap option to get it up and running for winter as the tires were bald when I got it. Didn't want to have to buy tires twice, so just got the wheels and tires I wanted and budget boost to get it operational.