JL Wheels on TJ: Good or bad decision?

RRP26

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Mar 19, 2018
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Orlando, FL, USA
I have 15” wheels and 33” tires. My current chrome wheels feel dated, they’re stained, and no longer have shine. I’ve buffed them out multiple times, they shine for a bit, but get dull quickly.
I’m considering the following wheels or possibly the new JL Rubicon wheels. Would these wheels work on my TJ or would I need adapters? Anyone running these and are you happy with them?
58902A80-BF0D-4D37-BBAD-6D4116F142C3.jpeg
 
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You need adapters. Minimum 1.25" thick 5 x 4.5 to 5 x 5. Also, stock JK tires are 32's...which won't really fit on a stock TJ. If you go to a JL rubicon, they are a stock 33...Which means you'll need at least 3" of lift to get them on.
 
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You may want to carefully research wheel adaptors and spacers, there is alot of debate about them.

I personally try to avoid them if at all possible but many guys run them with absolutely no issues.
 
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So all 17” rims look bad I take it then? 16” Moab’s look great obviously, but the new JL Rubicon wheels are way better than the previous jk Rubicon wheels.
To me, yes. I don't like the low profile look on any Wrangler, but I think it looks even worse on the TJ. I like a smaller rim with more sidewall, which I know some don't like.
 
You need adapters. Minimum 1.25" thick 5 x 4.5 to 5 x 5. Also, stock JK tires are 32's...which won't really fit on a stock TJ. If you go to a JL rubicon, they are a stock 33...Which means you'll need at least 3" of lift to get them on.
I currently have 33” tires with 2” OME lift. Thank you for the specs on the adapters.
 
I'm looking at 17" wheels in the 5x5 pattern because they are a lot more 17's available to choose from. Going to 37" tires and there are very few in the 15" family. I'm looking at possibly running the adapters that @Chris and others use on theirs. I figure if @Chris and others in the know are running they must be ok, lol. I love the JL rims but not sure how they would look on a TJ. I'd roll them up next to your jeep and take a look if that's possible
 
I'm looking at 17" wheels in the 5x5 pattern because they are a lot more 17's available to choose from. Going to 37" tires and there are very few in the 15" family. I'm looking at possibly running the adapters that @Chris and others use on theirs.

Good call. I think that we're moving towards 17" being the standard for off-road wheel size. The JKs come with 17" wheels, the JLs do, and that alone is dictating a lot of what the tire manufacturers are doing.

I don't regret going to 17s at all. I would never go larger than 17" on my TJ though.
 
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I'm looking at 17" wheels in the 5x5 pattern because they are a lot more 17's available to choose from. Going to 37" tires and there are very few in the 15" family. I'm looking at possibly running the adapters that @Chris and others use on theirs. I figure if @Chris and others in the know are running they must be ok, lol. I love the JL rims but not sure how they would look on a TJ. I'd roll them up next to your jeep and take a look if that's possible
37s on stock width axles? Any concerns with the final backspacing?
 
Ok, here you see some familiar tires and wheels. They are true take offs a 2018 Rubicon. I got the the 5 wheels and tires for 1200.00 minus 100.00 dollars since the seller mislabeled his post and said they were KM2 tires. I got 100.00 off for that mistake. I looked online for a set of wheels with proper backspacing but I really could not find a set I liked enough to spend money on. These Jeep wheels are great looking. I am currently running a 1.5" spacer and a 1 1/2" body lift. At this time and the inside tire does rub the sway bar. The tire also rubs the bottom of the fender with not much effort. As is now the drivability of my Jeep is unacceptable.

I have found a 2" wheel spacer and may install that if a 2" lift does not resolve the tire rub to acceptable. A 2" spacer will put my tire outside my fender by 1/2". My fenders are wider than stock I think. I like the idea of a little tire showing. I know a spacer is unacceptable to some, but until I get radical off road it is acceptable to me.

I am limited by low garage clearance so I am trying to first address this issues with a 2" Rock Krawler Stock Mod lift. The lift will reposition the sway bar a little higher and hopefully reduce the amount of sway bar / tire contact to acceptable. I guess the bump stops with address the fender contact. Bumpstops are a new concept to me and I wonder why we spend money on suspension and then limit the travel.

These photos are with no lift installed and I am running fine around town as is but I have to be careful.

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Ok, here you see some familiar tires and wheels. They are true take offs a 2018 Rubicon. I got the the 5 wheels and tires for 1200.00 minus 100.00 dollars since the seller mislabeled his post and said they were KM2 tires. I got 100.00 off for that mistake. I looked online for a set of wheels with proper backspacing but I really could not find a set I liked enough to spend money on. These Jeep wheels are great looking. I am currently running a 1.5" spacer and a 1 1/2" body lift. At this time and the inside tire does rub the sway bar. The tire also rubs the bottom of the fender with not much effort. As is now the drivability of my Jeep is unacceptable.

I have found a 2" wheel spacer and may install that if a 2" lift does not resolve the tire rub to acceptable. A 2" spacer will put my tire outside my fender by 1/2". My fenders are wider than stock I think. I like the idea of a little tire showing. I know a spacer is unacceptable to some, but until I get radical off road it is acceptable to me.

I am limited by low garage clearance so I am trying to first address this issues with a 2" Rock Krawler Stock Mod lift. The lift will reposition the sway bar a little higher and hopefully reduce the amount of sway bar / tire contact to acceptable. I guess the bump stops with address the fender contact. Bumpstops are a new concept to me and I wonder why we spend money on suspension and then limit the travel.

These photos are with no lift installed and I am running fine around town as is but I have to be careful.

View attachment 69835

View attachment 69836
That is a great looking wheel. You're new tires are very close to a 33 x 12.5...so the typical setup for that is 2.5" of lift and a 1.25 inch body lift or thereabouts (about 4" total lift). For running around town and not disconnecting the swaybar, a 2" lift will probably get you by. I'm not up on the JL wheels, so I'm not sure what the backspacing is. I was running factory JK wheels for a while and I know the 1.25" thk adapter I was running wasn't quite wide enough...and that was with 255 width tires. 285 are about an 1 1/4 wider so I would for sure get the 2" wide wheel adapter.
 
That is a great looking wheel. You're new tires are very close to a 33 x 12.5...so the typical setup for that is 2.5" of lift and a 1.25 inch body lift or thereabouts (about 4" total lift). For running around town and not disconnecting the swaybar, a 2" lift will probably get you by. I'm not up on the JL wheels, so I'm not sure what the backspacing is. I was running factory JK wheels for a while and I know the 1.25" thk adapter I was running wasn't quite wide enough...and that was with 255 width tires. 285 are about an 1 1/4 wider so I would for sure get the 2" wide wheel adapter.

Thank you for confirming this for me. Once again.

I'm having stock JK rims and tires put on wednesday. And I bought 2" adapters so they would clear and not rub. My tires now (31's) rub alot. And I'm tired of not having my turn radius. And rubbing on my suspension. I was worried I'd gotten to big of an adapter. But your the 3rd or 4th post stating that 255's rub with a 1.25' adapter. Hopefully that extra .75" will clear. And not have my tires sticking out to wide. They are 255/70/17's IIRC. I guess I can have a couple washers put in my stops. But would like to not have to do that and loose some of my turning radius.

Anyone got a guess on how far the tires will stick out on a stock '99 TJ with standard flares - using a 2' adapter?

OP those wheels and tires look great! Either way you go - adapters or more lift - I'd go for it. Rubbing is a PITA. I hate guessing how close I can take a turn. And I think mine are rubbing on the side of my shock too. Luckily my tires now have big knobs on the outside edge. So they are taking the brunt of the rubbing. My new JK tires are just radials - not off road tires really. Without alot of rubber on the outside edge. Will probably rub the not so thick sidewalls of a stock JK tire. SO I want to make sure they don't.
 
I'm going to use 1.25" adapters for the 5x5 lug pattern which should also help with any backspace concerns
Be sure to fully cycle the suspension with the 37s. No springs, no jounces. Full bump, full flex. A stock body without a body lift will need at least 4" of bump stop extension, if not more, to even begin keeping the tires out of the front sheet metal. You'll need a lot of lift and/or a lot of added clearance to recover the suspension up travel. The JL wheels don't sound like they are doing you any favors in putting this together.

From there, you can research the concerns of stretching the ball joint yokes.

On a smaller scale, Ranger Bob is asking many of the right questions.