Specific wheel question

[05RubiHara]

Buying an 05 LJ RubiHara soon. Current owner has had a 4" suspension/1" body lift installed and has 35s on the OEM 16 inch wheels but they understandably are worn and also rub "a little" at full turn. Considering 2 different 16 inch alloy wheels, both are 8 inches wide; one has 4.5" backspacing (0 offset) and the other has 4" BS (-12 offset). Questions - are these the appropriate size wheels width-wise (want to run 315/75-16s)? Does the 1/2" BS make a difference? Don't want to rub at all so should I get wheels of different width and/or backspacing?
"Upgrading" my 09JKU - engine was a dog even with the manual and this Jeep is too good to pass up. Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

That 375/75/16 is essentially a 35x12.50R16 tire so I'd run a wheel with 4" of backspacing which will be ideal. It would rub with 4.5" of backspacing.

Be aware that many metric size tires tend come with a higher load rating, like D or E, than the optimal C load rating. D and (especially) E will make your Jeep ride noticeably more stiffly. To avoid that, see if you can't find a 35x12.50R16 which will be easier to find a tire with the recommended C load rating. Not to mention that if you offroad and air your tires down you'd have to lower the air pressure a lot more than normal if the tire has a D or E load rating.

 

[05RubiHara]

Jerry - appreciate all the info - thanks!

 

[05RubiHara]

That 375/75/16 is essentially a 35x12.50R16 tire so I'd run a wheel with 4" of backspacing which will be ideal. It would rub with 4.5" of backspacing.

Be aware that many metric size tires tend come with a higher load rating, like D or E, than the optimal C load rating. D and (especially) E will make your Jeep ride noticeably more stiffly. To avoid that, see if you can't find a 35x12.50R16 which will be easier to find a tire with the recommended C load rating. Not to mention that if you offroad and air your tires down you'd have to lower the air pressure a lot more than normal if the tire has a D or E load rating.

Didn't really find any 35x12.5R16 tires, BUT did see 35x12.5R15 BFG MT T/A KM3 tires that, for whatever reason, are $78/tire cheaper and also have the optimal C load rating (as opposed to the 16 inchers that have an E rating) you mentioned. Not opposed to going to 15 inch wheels (given the tire situation) so my question is should I also go with a 15x8 wheel with 4" backspacing? I see some Dick Cepek DC-2 wheels in 15x8 that have 3.625" BS. By my gorilla math that might be even better, since the offset going from OEM (+12.7mm) to the DCs (-22mm) add up (34.7mm) to the exact amount needed to offset the wider tires (315-245=70, 70/2=35 since 1/2 of the new tire is away from the Jeep and the other 1/2 faces "in," so to speak). Do I have it right or am I completely off base? Again, thanks in advance for your info and help!

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Didn't really find any 35x12.5R16 tires, BUT did see 35x12.5R15 BFG MT T/A KM3 tires that, for whatever reason, are $78/tire cheaper and also have the optimal C load rating (as opposed to the 16 inchers that have an E rating) you mentioned. Not opposed to going to 15 inch wheels (given the tire situation) so my question is should I also go with a 15x8 wheel with 4" backspacing? I see some Dick Cepek DC-2 wheels in 15x8 that have 3.625" BS. By my gorilla math that might be even better, since the offset going from OEM (+12.7mm) to the DCs (-22mm) add up (34.7mm) to the exact amount needed to offset the wider tires (315-245=70, 70/2=35 since 1/2 of the new tire is away from the Jeep and the other 1/2 faces "in," so to speak). Do I have it right or am I completely off base? Again, thanks in advance for your info and help!

I'd take all of .03 seconds to make my wheel decision to change it to a 15x8 with 4" of backspacing, though it will be easier to find one with 3.75" of BS which will work fine too.

 

[05RubiHara]

Another shout out Jerry, you're the man!