Will 17" JK Rubicon wheels and 255/75R17 tires fit on my TJ?

superspook

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can anyone tell me if 17" rubicon wheels 255 / 75 / 17 will fit a stock 2004 TJ? realize i would need to get spacers.
 
photo of tires / rims

17wheel.jpg
 
Ideally you would have about 1-2” of lift. If you do any off-roading, they are likely to rub on the body.
With wide enough hub adapters they will bolt onto the axles.
 
That's a 32" tire. I run a 31.7" tire and they would rub the fender when disconnected offroad with a 2.75" lift before lengthening the bumpstop up front.

Edit: If you don't plan on offroading you may be fine, but you may still need to lengthen the bumpstop up front (either bumpstop extension or a hockey puck(s) or similar at the bottom of the spring). Expect a rougher ride over large bumps if you do this and nothing else (ie, no lift).
 
@superspook. Welcome to the forum. Nice to have another local member on here!

The spacers are for both adjusting backspace and changing the bolt pattern for the wheels pictured. I'm guessing you already know that.

The bumpstop extensions are something you need to consider whether you choose to lift the Jeep or not as they will ensure your larger tires don't slam into the fender at full compression or that the shocks are not what is abruptly stopping the suspension. Keep in mind that putting those tires on without lifting the Jeep may work if you are not off-roading it, but it will severely limit your suspension travel resulting in a less than optimal ride quality.

I did a writeup on bumpstop extensions and others have done write-ups on proper suspension cycling. Look for those in the writeup section of the forum.
 
@TrueTexas. thanks for the info. looks like my son and i have a lot of learning to do. This Forum has already proven to be a super helpful tool. looking at all the jeep set ups and tire combos, i might have to dig a little deeper into the pocket and do a lift to get the stance we are looking for. nothing crazy but needs more attitude for a 16yr old boy to drive
 
@superspook - considering that this is for your son to drive (been there / done that), keep the lift to a minimum as the higher you go, the more prone to rolling over it gets. Also, the cost of going higher is exponential.

For a 16 yo new driver, keeping it around 2 inches with 32" tires is probably ideal. You have a couple "affordable" options - especially if you do the work with your son.

If shocks are old go with Rancho 5000x shocks. Key is the "x"

Bumpstop extensions are required but only buy after cycling the suspension. There is a link in my writeup to a guy that made custo ones for me

For springs, BDS makes an affordable 2 inch spring or you can use spacers. I used a combination of Moog springs with .75 inch spacers to get approx 1.5 - 1.75 inches of lift (pictured below with 32" tires)

IMG_20200610_193045.jpg
 
@superspook

The wheels are 16x8 with 4.5 inch backspace and 5x4.5 bolt pattern (TJ bolt pattern). The tires are 265/75r16.

Most stock TJ wheels are 5.5" backspace so these stick out 1" further than stock. Most importantly, the tires don't rub the control arms at full lock.

Cycling involves removing the wheels and springs and lifting the axle into its highest position w your new shocks installed. This will tell you how tall of a bumpstop extension you need to prevent the shock from fully compressing as you don't want the stock being the one thing that stops your axle. Then you do it again with the wheels and tires to get a height for the bumpstop that prevents the wheel from significantly impacting the fender as you don't want the wheel to damage the fender when off road. The larger of the 2 is the height of the bumpstop extension you need. It is way less complicated than it sounds but we'll with your time to do. Will teach your son a lot about the Jeeps suspension.
 
@TruTexas

so are you saying instead of a lift kit, i can change out the springs and shocks, add spacers to the springs and get the stance that you have on your jeep? showing my ignorance here, but man we have a lot learning to do.
 
@superspook. Essentially that is what comes in a lift kit.

To get the same stance you will need the following for all 4 corners

1. Shocks - Rancho RS5000x. My measurements said the ones for 2 inch lift but I believe they run long and the 0-2" lift ones would have been fine.

2. Bumpstop extensions

3. And any of the following economical options for the lift

Option 1 - 2" springs (BDS, OME etc)
Option 2 - Moog heavy duty springs plus .75" spacers (total 1.5 to 1.75" lift
Option 3 - H&R 1" springs without spacers (1" lift)
Option 4 - H&R springs with .75" spacers (1.75 - 2 inch lift)

Of course you can mix and match springs and spacers as you please to get your desired ride height. The only reason I didn't use the H&R springs is that they are blue and both of my TJs are Chili Pepper Red.
 
ok, going to start buying parts. decided to go with Rancho RS5000x / OME 2" springs / bump stop extensions. Should i buy 0-2" shocks or 2-3"? also if anything else need please chime in.
 
After measuring multiple times, and ignoring all of the posts that said the ranchos run long, I bought the ones for 2-3 inches of lift.

In fact, they do run a little long and I compromised just under 1 inch of uptravel as the shock limits my uptravel, not my tire. That being said, I did gain some down travel by using the longer shocks.

Goal is to balance uptravel and down travel. You will most likely be fine with either. Just make sure you install the correct height bumpstop extensions.

Oh yeah. Don't use the poly jounce bumpers. If you need to replace them, get the OEM style foam rubber ones
 
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After measuring multiple times, and ignoring all of the posts that said the ranchos run long, I bought the ones for 2-3 inches of lift.

In fact, they do run a little long and I compromised just under 1 inch of uptravel as the shock limits my uptravel, not my tire. That being said, I did gain some down travel by using the longer shocks.

Goal is to balance uptravel and down travel. You will most likely be fine with either. Just make sure you install the correct height bumpstop extensions.

Oh yeah. Don't use the poly jounce bumpers. If you need to replace them, get the OEM style foam rubber ones
Nice looking Rig, What size of bumpstop did you ended up installing?