Question on 17" wheels and offsets on a 2002 TJ

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KCmach1

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First post.
I recently purchased a 2002 TJ which needed frame repairs, which are complete. It had, or has, 17" wheels which are 5 on 5 with adaptors. The wheels are stock JK (?) wheels and I am not sure of offset of wheels. I am wanting to eliminate the adaptors and go with an aftermarket 17" wheel and am looking at the Dirty Life wheels in a 17" with a 4" offset.
Is anyone currently using this wheel or offset in a 17" wheel, if so, will I have any issues with rubbing during turns.
I am looking at some take off 285 70x17 Falken tires, again any one using this wheel tire combination.
The TJ was equipped with 3:08 open we upgraded to 3:73 Limited slip.
Also should mention I have a 3" lift and riser on rear track bar.
Thanks in advance for any help.
KC
 
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I have a similar size tire on an oem Moab wheel with 5" BS, a 1" spacer was added to help keep it from rubbing when flexed.
So 4" may be enough, but it might depend on how you plan to use the jeep. You can modify the steering stops if necessary.
 
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I just got done with BFG A/T 315/70/17 and Raceline 232 with 4.5 backspace, and 4" lift, which is equivalent to a 35" tire. You are close to a 33" tire, with 4" BS, which should put you close to stock scrub radius. Going with a bit larger tire you want more BS. I clear with stock fenders, you should be fine.
 
LONGJP2 said:
I have a similar size tire on an oem Moab wheel with 5" BS, a 1" spacer was added to help keep it from rubbing when flexed.
So 4" may be enough, but it might depend on how you plan to use the jeep. You can modify the steering stops if necessary.
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Thanks for the reply. I just don't want to make expensive mistakes along the way. kc
 
motomick76 said:
I just got done with BFG A/T 315/70/17 and Raceline 232 with 4.5 backspace, and 4" lift, which is equivalent to a 35" tire. You are close to a 33" tire, with 4" BS, which should put you close to stock scrub radius. Going with a bit larger tire you want more BS. I clear with stock fenders, you should be fine.
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I have looked at the Raceline wheels as well. I haven't purchased anything yet but as mentioned, don't want to make expensive mistakes. I feel better with someone saying that they have something similar. Thanks for your help. kc
 
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It's important to match your tire size with your backspace to maintain your scrub radius. There is some info on this in the forum here. Do a bit of research and understand how important it is to maintain it.

What kind of trails are there by the Miss? Great to see someone from Iowa, I'm from Osage originally.
 
motomick76 said:
It's important to match your tire size with your backspace to maintain your scrub radius. There is some info on this in the forum here. Do a bit of research and understand how important it is to maintain it.

What kind of trails are there by the Miss? Great to see someone from Iowa, I'm from Osage originally.
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Just rechecked the back space on the wheels I am looking at, they are 4 1/2 on the back space. I want to check the current adaptors/spacers that are on it as purchased. As for trails by the Mississippi, I can look over the bluff and see it from my house. I have friends who do some misc. things around here, but as mentioned we just purchased it so I haven't done anything except drive it on a trailer and off. We did the frame repairs and found the Limited slip 3:73's. I have a friend who pushes sprint cars and we are going to travel with a local group this summer to help them out.
Also planning a couple of weeks in Colorado this summer. I lived in the Denver area for about 5 years in the mid 80's and did not have the time to do any trails at the time. One of my friends is planning on going along. Possibly two others taking there TJ's as well. One is pretty hard core, Rubicon with a bunch of ad on items.
Just looked at your build and want to check it out a bit more. I have a "spare" rust free frame that we are thinking of doing an engine swap and can experiment with it in the future.
I will take your advice and research it before I buy anything. I do feel better about what I have been looking at after the comments. Thanks again for your reply. kc
 
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When I bought my Jeep it had 15" wheels and 31" tires. I got a rub at full lock. I installed a 3" lift and 32" tires on 17" JK Rubicon rims (6.25" back pacing) with 1.25" adapters. I did not have any rubbing while driving on forestry roads.

I did not want to use spacers, so I installed 17" wheels with 4.5" back spacing. I've had no problems.
 
Frame rot is a common issue with the TJ's, and anything from midwest enduring winters are going to need some repairs. I have always enjoyed the areas around the Mississippi, beautiful place to be. Great link for the calculator, I was inputting info earlier.

There is a ton of resources here to help you with whatever obstacle you have with your TJ, and we are all here to help. Good luck on your project!
 
motomick76 said:
Frame rot is a common issue with the TJ's, and anything from midwest enduring winters are going to need some repairs. I have always enjoyed the areas around the Mississippi, beautiful place to be. Great link for the calculator, I was inputting info earlier.

There is a ton of resources here to help you with whatever obstacle you have with your TJ, and we are all here to help. Good luck on your project!
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Yeah, this Jeep is very strange. It has the original window sticker with it. It came from Tulsa Ok. originally. Some of the bolts come right off others are ugly. It had a tremendous amount of sand in the tub when cleaning it. The rear end looked like it was sunk with the Titanic, tremendous amounts of rust and scale. I am sure it has been in the midwest for quite sometime. I put the frame repair legs in in front of the rear end. We removed the tub to get better welds in all around. I went ahead and did the center of the frame as well, it was not necessary but wanted to check.
I feel like the thing was used to pull a boat at some time which would explain the rear end rust. The front end was 100% better than the rear.
I have been reading several threads and its a great site. I have no Jeep experience, I have two people helping me with my planning which helps a lot. (if it were Mustangs I'd be good) Its a learning process and I thank everyone for there help and input. Thanks again kc
 
LukesfirstJeep said:
When I bought my Jeep it had 15" wheels and 31" tires. I got a rub at full lock. I installed a 3" lift and 32" tires on 17" JK Rubicon rims (6.25" back pacing) with 1.25" adapters. I did not have any rubbing while driving on forestry roads.

I did not want to use spacers, so I installed 17" wheels with 4.5" back spacing. I've had no problems.
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That makes me feel better about my thoughts. Have a friend who owns a tire shop and has recommended using either 16 or 17" tires, he says that 15" are most likely going to be harder to get in the future.
 
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mattcogdell said:
Here is a useful link. If you are happy with your current setup, you can use this calculator to input your current values into and see if the new setup will work.

https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/
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Thanks for the link! That will help. I don't know what to think about the current set up as I haven't been able to drive the Jeep yet as the frame was in poor condition when I bought it. Plans are to use the current set up this winter, then put on new set up in spring or summer. I have access to a programmer that will let me input the wheel size to correct the speedometer after we are done with the upgrades. I am a bit hesitant to purchase anything until I find out how it drives with the current combination. Thanks again for the calculator. It all helps in the decision making process. Thanks kc
 
I went with 3.5 BS on 17x8s and could have probably gotten away with 4. It works, but that extra .5 would probably still clear everything.
 
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