Should I stick with the 17" JK Wheels?

EWatauga

EWatauga

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Feb 8, 2021
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Mills River NC
The PO had installed a 2" spacer lift and factory JK 17" Moab wheels with 32" tires. I replaced the spacers with a OME hybrid lift (roughly 3" in the front with 1/2" spacer and 2.5" rear), and also have a 1.25" body and MML I am going to install when I get ready to move to 33's.

So my question(s) is:

1) Try to sell the JK wheels/tires/wheel spacers and replace with a 15" 5x4.5 TJ wheel/tire combo?
2) Keep the 17"s and put 33's on those
-seems difficult to find a load range C wheel for a 17" rim
-dont think i have enough backspacing for a 12.5" W tire, however i am fine with a 10.5-11.5" W, which seems to be available in metric sizes (but cant find load C).

I do go offroad so sidewall size/strength is important.

Thanks in advance for all input.
 
One argument you can hear is tires for 17” in wheels are more plentiful. The Favorite 15” tire is discontinued.

I don’t think there are ANY wheels that looks as good as a OEM 17” wheel from Jeep.
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Since you are asking for opinions, my opinion is NO, you should NOT stick with 17" JK wheels. 17" wheels look too big on a TJ.

JK wheels belong on a JK, and you have to run adapters to make them work on a TJ. I would stick with a 15" or 16" wheel for better proportions.
 
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TJRick said:
Since you are asking for opinions, my opinion is NO, you should NOT stick with 17" JK wheels. 17" wheels look too big on a TJ.

JK wheels belong on a JK, and you have to run adapters to make them work on a TJ. I would stick with a 15" or 16" wheel for better proportions.
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Agree with this. I'd go with 15" as long as you can find tires you like.

I don't like the idea of running adapters so you can use wheels that aren't meant for your TJ. One more thing for a tire shop to screw up, or have other issues. Also not a fan of the way JK wheels look on a TJ.
 
Personally I'd probably keep the 17's, a 33 will look even more proportional than the tires you have now and you can get any tire you want in a 17".
 
A lot of the American off-road industry has moved to 17” or bigger wheels and tire manufacturers are following suit. I’ve never had an issue finding 33-35” in C range.

I had 17” JK Moabs on my silver TJ with 32 BFG MTs (3” lift) and thought it looked great. Would have looked great with 33s. Ride was great too. Nothing wrong with wheel spacers, though I believe some states ban them.
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You do you… I don’t think it looks bad at all. The 17s look more modern, more wheel and less tire. However, thats just my opinion. I also love my 33in tires on the 16in Moabs.
 
Camdenst said:
You do you… I don’t think it looks bad at all. The 17s look more modern, more wheel and less tire.
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And that is the problem.

We are talking about the Jeep TJ here. The beauty is this the LAST Jeep to have that old-school, classic "Jeep" look. Why would someone want to make it look more "modern" with big 17" wheels? It just doesn't work.

The wheel wells of the Jeep TJ were never designed for a 17" wheel - and you can tell. The proportions are all wrong for anything larger than a 16" wheel.
 
Looks aside, because your post really suggests that isn't the primary concern, I'd go with the 15" wheel. The tires have a full inch more rubber between the wheel and the road. The wheel and tire will also probably weigh less. The 17" with a 33" will be similar to a 31" tire as far as sidewall and tire profile, not bad but not great either. For almost any vehicle I'm a fan of getting the smallest wheel that'll fit around the brakes. Tires are the best suspension there is. The only reason to do 17" is the low cost of factory take-offs with tires. I wouldn't ever consider buying tires for those wheels.
 
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