Wheel and tire upgrade?

[Jewinters]

I am searching for new tires and wheels and I think I have narrowed it down to something the wife and I can agree on. I wanted to see what everyone thinks and if I am using the wheel offset converter correctly. Currently the Jeep is stock, 2001 SE, 2.5L. Our Rancho 2.5” lift will be here this week. I have uploaded a picture of the wheel and screen shots of the offset calculator numbers I plugged in. They 16” has a 10mm offset and the 15” has a 19mm offset. And from what I can tell the stock wheels have a 38mm offset.

 

[L J]

I not familiar with offset as we usually deal in back spacing. I would caution you to stay away from 16" wheels if possible, though. It's harder to find a tire in load range C (much better ride) than the most common load range E (stiffer sidewall and harsher ride). Have a look at this post by @Chris. It shows the factory wheel options with offset and back spacing:

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/wrangler-tj-stock-specifications.71/#post-183

 

[IPerkWVU]

For jeep wheels, quadratec is a good place to start. I'd also recommend either 15" wheels or 17" with a C load rating tire

 

[Jewinters]

I not familiar with offset as we usually deal in back spacing. I would caution you to stay away from 16" wheels if possible, though. It's harder to find a tire in load range C (much better ride) than the most common load range E (stiffer sidewall and harsher ride). Have a look at this post by @Chris. It shows the factory wheel options with offset and back spacing:

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/wrangler-tj-stock-specifications.71/#post-183

That is the one I used to find the stock offset. Thanks for the advice on the load range I hadn’t thought to look into that.

 

[Moab]

I wish I could figure out how to use that offset visualizer. It looks like a handy tool. IS offset similar to backspace?

 

[Troutbum]

Definitely stay away from a 16" wheel. I was just in that boat. The PO of the jeep had put a 16" wheel on the TJ. I needed to buy new tires and discovered that the market for 16" rubber is very small. I went back to 35 x 12.5 on a 15" rim.

If you think you may ever go bigger than a 35" tire, I would suggest a 17" rim. If >35's is never going to be an option, then a 15" rim may be the best course of action. It seems that 15" rubber is quite a bit cheaper than 17" rubber with the same overall tire height. At least in my part of the country.

 

[Chris]

Also keep in mind that offset is not a term we use in the Jeep world, we use backspacing.

I also agree with @L J, in that I would caution you to stay away from 16" wheels if possible, though. It's harder to find a tire in load range C (much better ride) than the most common load range E (stiffer sidewall and harsher ride).

Lastly, if you're planning on running a 33" tire, you'll ideally want the backspacing to be around 3.75" to 4".

 

[Jewinters]

Also keep in mind that offset is not a term we use in the Jeep world, we use backspacing.

I also agree with @L J, in that I would caution you to stay away from 16" wheels if possible, though. It's harder to find a tire in load range C (much better ride) than the most common load range E (stiffer sidewall and harsher ride).

Lastly, if you're planning on running a 33" tire, you'll ideally want the backspacing to be around 3.75" to 4".

Looks like 15” is the way to go and will save me money so that works for me. I will see if I can convert the numbers to backspacing and see what it comes out to. In my limited understanding they seem to be similar and related numbers.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Chris]

Looks like 15” is the way to go and will save me money so that works for me. I will see if I can convert the numbers to backspacing and see what it comes out to. In my limited understanding they seem to be similar and related numbers.

Thanks for the advice.

Yes, a 15" is a much better choice, believe me.

Here's an offset to backspace conversion calculator here:

http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/Offset-to-Backspace.html

 

[Goatman]

And I just went with 16" new rims. Yes, there are fewer options, but most of those options you really dont want on your TJ anyway. I had at least a dozen options for a 16" in a load range "C" just for the 265/75R16 (32") I was looking for. Don't over think the rim size if you get a good deal on 16s. All rims the same $, then I'd go 15's.

 

[CodaMan]

 

[Jewinters]

Ok so someone can check my math. Stock for my Jeep is 7” wide Wheel, 5.5” Backspacing, +38mm Offset, a new 8” wide wheel with 19mm offset, = 5.25” backspacing.

Would that work with a 32x11.5x15 tire. I believe it would have the tire about 1/4” closer to the inside of the Jeep. Is that 1/4” going to cause issues with clearance. I am installing a 2.5“ Rancho Kit first and we are still shopping tire/wheel combos

Thanks again.

 

[pagrey]

You will probably rub on the control arms with that setup. It'll be close and you'll probably also rub on the inner fenders as well with the sway bar disconnected.