Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

Need help choosing wheel size and need recommendations on tires

N2JEEP

New Member
Original poster
Joined
Jul 22, 2024
Messages
9
Location
Augusta Ks
Hello I’m Brian and new here and would like to say hello! I’ve only owned a Jeep for about two years. Been wanting to fix it up some but haven’t had much of a chance. I did replace the clutch last year with a Center force but that’s all I’ve had time for… work work work and family issues.
My Jeep could one day be nice but so far it has stock wheels, moderate lift and I meant to look… 31” tires. The tires need to be replaced and wheels have seen their day. When I turn sharply the tires rub.
My questions are these…

1. I’ll check for sure on tire size tomorrow but what is biggest tire I can run without changing gear?
2. What tires do you recommend for street use and potential off road occasional use. It’s mostly my work car and all I have time for is work.
3. Is it better to go with 15” or 17” wheels? Pro’s and Con’s
4. Want them not to rub and would rather not use spacers. So what other dimension do I need to accomplish this? I’ve heard 9” with 4.5” backspacing.
5. Don’t really care for wide tire and have heard narrow tire actually performs better! So Wide or Narrow?
6. Want some decent well made wheels that aren’t ridiculously expensive. Got any suggestions?
7. Jeep is brownish gold…so go with black wheels or something gold/bronze?

WANT’s

Want the tires to look aggressive and be prepared for anything because it’s a JEEP damn it!

Want it to quit rubbing when I turn

Want some decent wheels but want to try to lighten things up a bit. I’ve heard bigger wheels and smaller tires are the lighter choice.

Thanks!
 
Hello I’m Brian and new here and would like to say hello! I’ve only owned a Jeep for about two years. Been wanting to fix it up some but haven’t had much of a chance. I did replace the clutch last year with a Center force but that’s all I’ve had time for… work work work and family issues.
My Jeep could one day be nice but so far it has stock wheels, moderate lift and I meant to look… 31” tires. The tires need to be replaced and wheels have seen their day. When I turn sharply the tires rub.
My questions are these…

1. I’ll check for sure on tire size tomorrow but what is biggest tire I can run without changing gear?
2. What tires do you recommend for street use and potential off road occasional use. It’s mostly my work car and all I have time for is work.
3. Is it better to go with 15” or 17” wheels? Pro’s and Con’s
4. Want them not to rub and would rather not use spacers. So what other dimension do I need to accomplish this? I’ve heard 9” with 4.5” backspacing.
5. Don’t really care for wide tire and have heard narrow tire actually performs better! So Wide or Narrow?
6. Want some decent well made wheels that aren’t ridiculously expensive. Got any suggestions?
7. Jeep is brownish gold…so go with black wheels or something gold/bronze?

WANT’s

Want the tires to look aggressive and be prepared for anything because it’s a JEEP damn it!

Want it to quit rubbing when I turn

Want some decent wheels but want to try to lighten things up a bit. I’ve heard bigger wheels and smaller tires are the lighter choice.

Thanks!

1. Don’t know what your current gearing is or your transmission, so who knows? Fill out your profile.
2. An aggressive AT like the Falken Wildpeak.
3. Rule of thumb is half the diameter of the tire size, and avoid rare sizes like 16’s. So you want a 15” wheel.
4. 15x8” with 4” backspacing.
5. A 31x10.5r15
6. 🤷‍♂️ your Jeep
7. 🤷‍♂️ your Jeep.

No on bigger wheels smaller tires. Forget you ever heard that.
 
Hello I’m Brian and new here and would like to say hello!
welcome to the forum 🍻
1. I’ll check for sure on tire size tomorrow but what is biggest tire I can run without changing gear?
What gear ratio do you have now? If you don't know: https://www.quadratec.com/content/how-check-your-gear-ratio-without-removing-cover#:~:text=With the transmission in neutral,have a 3.54 ratio, etc.
2. What tires do you recommend for street use and potential off road occasional use. It’s mostly my work car and all I have time for is work.
An A/T or all terrain tire. Others will be able to give you feedback on the different options. I can't recommend a brand as I've been running the same brand M/T tires for years.
3. Is it better to go with 15” or 17” wheels? Pro’s and Con’s
15". While not the most popular size any longer, even among Jeeps, they will provide more sidewall and better ride (provided a load range C tire) and just plain look better with less than 35" tires.
4. Want them not to rub and would rather not use spacers. So what other dimension do I need to accomplish this? I’ve heard 9” with 4.5” backspacing.
Less back spacing will move the tire further out of the wheel well. If you stick to a 10.5" wide tire, a 15x7 or 15x8 wheel with 4" or 4.5" BS should be fine.
5. Don’t really care for wide tire and have heard narrow tire actually performs better! So Wide or Narrow?
10.5" max for your purposes
6. Want some decent well made wheels that aren’t ridiculously expensive. Got any suggestions?
you'd have to offer a budget to get that specific
7. Jeep is brownish gold…so go with black wheels or something gold/bronze?
that's entirely personal preference
 
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Tires rub in front? adjust the steering stops then. Got snow in winter? Could dictate which tire you run as well.
 
Very little snow since the 80’s here in central Kansas. We mostly have ice and smaller amounts of snow. Thanks for replies.
 
Still looking at tires and am considering the 10.5 but what would I need wheel wise in order to run my current tire size without rubbing and without spacers? 32 11.5 R15

Grandson likes the bigger tires!
 
Hello I’m Brian and new here and would like to say hello! I’ve only owned a Jeep for about two years. Been wanting to fix it up some but haven’t had much of a chance. I did replace the clutch last year with a Center force but that’s all I’ve had time for… work work work and family issues.
My Jeep could one day be nice but so far it has stock wheels, moderate lift and I meant to look… 31” tires. The tires need to be replaced and wheels have seen their day. When I turn sharply the tires rub.
My questions are these…

1. I’ll check for sure on tire size tomorrow but what is biggest tire I can run without changing gear?
2. What tires do you recommend for street use and potential off road occasional use. It’s mostly my work car and all I have time for is work.
3. Is it better to go with 15” or 17” wheels? Pro’s and Con’s
4. Want them not to rub and would rather not use spacers. So what other dimension do I need to accomplish this? I’ve heard 9” with 4.5” backspacing.
5. Don’t really care for wide tire and have heard narrow tire actually performs better! So Wide or Narrow?
6. Want some decent well made wheels that aren’t ridiculously expensive. Got any suggestions?
7. Jeep is brownish gold…so go with black wheels or something gold/bronze?

WANT’s

Want the tires to look aggressive and be prepared for anything because it’s a JEEP damn it!

Want it to quit rubbing when I turn

Want some decent wheels but want to try to lighten things up a bit. I’ve heard bigger wheels and smaller tires are the lighter choice.

Thanks!

Well I run GY Duratracs, 35 x 17 x 9.5. They are the best tire I have ever run for overall use on trails and streets. for the trail, I run only BFG KMs. I ran MTRs for some time until the BFG KM came out and Discount Tire as me to test a set of them. WOW! It Beats MRTS like a rented mule.. I no longer do the extreme trail (7++) those days are gone, and now I enjoy the ride.

If you are start out I strongly recommend the Duratracs, later come the BFGs.

One of the things many do is not follow the MFG recommendations on wheel width. The recommended wheel width is for the Contact patch, please follow the recommendations even if itr takes new wheels...
 
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator