Why are my wheels so out?

4.0_daniel_

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Okay guys, im new to the Jeep scene here as i bought this 2005 TJ about 6 months ago. Ive noticed my wheels stick out like crazy compared to stock TJs. I hate it Lol. Can anyone tell me what it is that makes them stick out so much? I want to change that back to the stock spacing. Im running Mickey Thompsons 15x7 on Firestone 31s
03A2E46B-F3C5-47EE-BAE1-487DE8A0B58D.jpeg
 
1. The rims appear to be deeply back spaced, that is the relationship of the plane of the mounted surface of the rim and the actual rim edges, hence the deep look. You have a lot- your flares are larger than stock, so they hide some.

2. You may also have wheel spacers- these are aftermarket spacers that bolt to the hub and the wheel bolts to them - easy to remove-

The Jeep sure looks clean and shiny. If that is the original paint it sure looks well cared for.
 
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1. The rims appear to be deeply back spaced, that is the relationship of the plane of the mounted surface of the rim and the actual rim edges, hence the deep look. You have a lot- your flares are larger than stock, so they hide some.

2. You may also have wheel spacers- these are aftermarket spacers that bolt to the hub and the wheel bolts to them - easy to remove-

The Jeep sure looks clean and shiny. If that is the original paint it sure looks well cared for.

Thanks for the input! About the flares, I'm planning on going to stock fenders again, I don't really like the look of these anymore. Tomorrow I'm gonna check for spacers, I didn't think about that. Also as far as I know this is the original paint! Thanks!
 
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Okay guys, im new to the Jeep scene here as i bought this 2005 TJ about 6 months ago. Ive noticed my wheels stick out like crazy compared to stock TJs. I hate it Lol. Can anyone tell me what it is that makes them stick out so much? I want to change that back to the stock spacing. Im running Mickey Thompsons 15x7 on Firestone 31s
View attachment 335454

Those rims have less backspacing than stock rims. Most likely 3.5-3.75” and stock is 5”.
 
Are you pretty sure on those being 15x7? I'm not real familiar with those tires but I would expect more sidewall bulge. A 15x10 would be stick out 3" farther than a 15x7 with the same backspacing.

Here's my previous TJ with 31s on factory 15x8.

IMG_20210201_162921.jpg


The factory 30" tire package had 15x8 with 5.5" BS. The smaller tires got 15x7 but same backspacing. Rubicon had 5" BS for a metric 31" equivalent but they were 16" wheels.
 
+1 on them not being 7" wide wheels.

Changing back to the stock flares will only exaggerate how much they appear to stick out. The stock flare is narrower than the pocket flares you have on now.
 
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As above, just put a little differently, three possibilities will cause the tires to protrude out further than normal. Wheel spacers, wheels with insufficient backspacing, and/or running extra-wide wheels like 15x10.

Wheel spacers are obvious, you either have them or you don't. Some people install wheel spacers just to make the tires stick out further. Others install spacers that are actually bolt pattern adapters... they adapt a wheel whose bolt pattern wouldn't normally fit a Wrangler so it can be bolted on. Adapters and spacers do the same thing, they move the wheel further outwards at least an inch or so.

The last one is wheel backspacing. Factory wheels have 5.25" to 5.5" of backspacing. Backspacing is the distance between the inner-most edge of the wheel and the wheel's mounting surface. The yellow tape measure is directly measuring the backspacing in the below photo.

backspacing.jpg


If you go from a 15x8 wheel with 5.25" to another 15x8 with 3.75" of backspacing, for example, that will move the wheel and tire outward 1.5". If you instead went to a 15x10 wheel with the same 3.75" of backspacing, the wheel itself would still be 1.5" further out but its outer-most edge and the tire's outer sidewall would be two inches further out due to the wheel's 2" wider width.

So you can see that any or a combination of the above three adapter/wheel spacer-adapter/wheel width issues above can cause your wheels to protrude out further. See if you have wheel adapters installed, figure out if you have 15x8 or 15x10 wheels, and then measure the backspacing like is shown above. Report back and we can give you advice on how best to get them positioned more appropriately. :)
 
Are you pretty sure on those being 15x7? I'm not real familiar with those tires but I would expect more sidewall bulge. A 15x10 would be stick out 3" farther than a 15x7 with the same backspacing.

Here's my previous TJ with 31s on factory 15x8.

View attachment 335491

The factory 30" tire package had 15x8 with 5.5" BS. The smaller tires got 15x7 but same backspacing. Rubicon had 5" BS for a metric 31" equivalent but they were 16" wheels.

Yeah honestly you guys are making me realize they actually might be 15x10. Love the green on the old TJ!
 
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