(17x9 or 16x8) wheel/tire combo for lifted KJ

[JJam2112]

Hello folks, I just did a 3" suspension lift for my KJ. I want to get bigger tires and better wheels and want to have more of an aggressive off road look. I was hoping to fit 265/70/17 on there, but i can not find wheels that are 17x8. I can find 16x8 and i can also find 17x9. Would 9" wide wheels be too wide for me given my lift? Would I need spacers or will it still rub even after a pinch weld pressed in? Or am i better of going 16x8. I do want to do some offroading, so would 17s not be possible for that? Would 265/75/16 on 16x8 wheels be my best bet? Or I could also do 15x8 wheels but what size tire would that work with? Any recommendations are welcomed.

 

[tommudd]

Hello folks, I just did a 3" suspension lift for my KJ. I want to get bigger tires and better wheels and want to have more of an aggressive off road look. I was hoping to fit 265/70/17 on there, but i can not find wheels that are 17x8. I can find 16x8 and i can also find 17x9. Would 9" wide wheels be too wide for me given my lift? Would I need spacers or will it still rub even after a pinch weld pressed in? Or am i better of going 16x8. I do want to do some offroading, so would 17s not be possible for that? Would 265/75/16 on 16x8 wheels be my best bet? Or I could also do 15x8 wheels but what size tire would that work with? Any recommendations are welcomed.

First things first , what kind of lift ? If full spring then ok we can help you, if spacer lift, no
Next 9 inch is way too wide unless you want to look like a Bro Truck
If you have a real 3 inch lift get 16X8 with 5 , as in five inches of backspacing
265-70-16 tires, and of course you should regear but can limp along
You not only look at width but also backspacing, if say you got 3 inches of back spacing then you would have to install a lot of bumpstop and limit any flex you have

265-75-16s would most defiantly need to regear, no discussion

 

[JJam2112]

First things first , what kind of lift ? If full spring then ok we can help you, if spacer lift, no
Next 9 inch is way too wide unless you want to look like a Bro Truck
If you have a real 3 inch lift get 16X8 with 5 , as in five inches of backspacing
265-70-16 tires, and of course you should regear but can limp along
You not only look at width but also backspacing, if say you got 3 inches of back spacing then you would have to install a lot of bumpstop and limit any flex you have

265-75-16s would most defiantly need to regear, no discussion

Thanks for the reply Tom!
Front is JBA coilovers and UCA. Since JBA went out before i had to get the rest I have OME 948 HD shocks and RRO 2.5-3" full springs.

Im currently leaning toward the 16x8 wheels. I found some that I saw had offspacing -5.

What are your thoughts on that lift setup and what do you think the best size tire on 16x8 wheels that would be to go offroad? 245/75/16 or 265/70/16?

 

[tommudd]

Thanks for the reply Tom!
Front is JBA coilovers and UCA. Since JBA went out before i had to get the rest I have OME 948 HD shocks and RRO 2.5-3" full springs.

Im currently leaning toward the 16x8 wheels. I found some that I saw had offspacing -5.

What are your thoughts on that lift setup and what do you think the best size tire on 16x8 wheels that would be to go offroad? 245/75/16 or 265/70/16?

Great setup then, that is all I run on both of my KJs ( JBA coilovers )
Personally I like 265-70-16s on an 8 inch wheel, most of them have a tread width of 8 inches or there abouts, so fills out the wheels, 245-75-16s are more narrow and bulge out some. I run the Falken Wildpeaks on the 03 in 265-70-16 size, over 8 inches of tread width, ( way different than section width that many go by)
You can get by without regearing, although my 03 is ) but works good overall

 

[JJam2112]

Great setup then, that is all I run on both of my KJs ( JBA coilovers )
Personally I like 265-70-16s on an 8 inch wheel, most of them have a tread width of 8 inches or there abouts, so fills out the wheels, 245-75-16s are more narrow and bulge out some. I run the Falken Wildpeaks on the 03 in 265-70-16 size, over 8 inches of tread width, ( way different than section width that many go by)
You can get by without regearing, although my 03 is ) but works good overall

did you have to do any trimming to get the 265-70-16 to run with out any rubbing? Im assuming the pinch welds need to be folded.

what ratio would I be needing to regear if i did that size.
Also would I need spacers or the offset of -5 good enough?

 

[tommudd]

did you have to do any trimming to get the 265-70-16 to run with out any rubbing? Im assuming the pinch welds need to be folded.

what ratio would I be needing to regear if i did that size.
Also would I need spacers or the offset of -5 good enough?

Only option is 4.10 gearing
like I said you can get by with that size tire without regearing, but I live in the hills, tow a lot, and like the extra kick in the pants it gives you
5 inches of backspacing is stock so no on spacers

 

[Aceofspades]

I have 265 75 16
The pinch weld is cut flush and I rub in reverse while turning.

The front bumper I trimmed up but didn’t give it a Baja cut.

 

[timg]

just thought I'd point out that tommudd is talking about backspace of 5 inches, and jjam2112 is talking about offset. two different things!
-5 offset is negative offset by 5 millimeters from the center of the wheel to the mounting surface. 5 inch backspace is a measurement from the back lip of the wheel to the mounting surface.
On 8 inch wide wheels, -5 offset is about 4 and a quarter inches of backspacing.
Try here and let someone else do the math: https://www.fitmentindustries.com/tire-wheel-backspacing-offset-calculators

 

[tommudd]

just thought I'd point out that tommudd is talking about backspace of 5 inches, and jjam2112 is talking about offset. two different things!
-5 offset is negative offset by 5 millimeters from the center of the wheel to the mounting surface. 5 inch backspace is a measurement from the back lip of the wheel to the mounting surface.
On 8 inch wide wheels, -5 offset is about 4 and a quarter inches of backspacing.
Try here and let someone else do the math: https://www.fitmentindustries.com/tire-wheel-backspacing-offset-calculators

You are correct DING DING DING
Have been using backspacing as a way of measurement since the 1970s , this other crap is BS

 

[JJam2112]

just thought I'd point out that tommudd is talking about backspace of 5 inches, and jjam2112 is talking about offset. two different things!
-5 offset is negative offset by 5 millimeters from the center of the wheel to the mounting surface. 5 inch backspace is a measurement from the back lip of the wheel to the mounting surface.
On 8 inch wide wheels, -5 offset is about 4 and a quarter inches of backspacing.
Try here and let someone else do the math: https://www.fitmentindustries.com/tire-wheel-backspacing-offset-calculators

Thanks for pointing that out. So would 1” spacers then give me that backspacing if my wheels are -5 offset?

 

[tommudd]

Buy the correct backspaced wheels DO NOT use spacers

 

[JJam2112]

Buy the correct backspaced wheels DO NOT use spacers

what wheels did you end up going with?

 

[JJam2112]

Buy the correct backspaced wheels DO NOT use spacers

I very much appreciate your advice and expertise Tom. The other day I ordered some wheels with +10 offset which would have been 4.89 backspacing. Today discount tire called me and said they only had 3 of the wheels and it would be over a 60 day wait for the 4th. So they refunded me for the wheels and I was able to get some Moabs which are at 5 in of backspacing. I also ordered 265/70r16 tires for them per your advice. I got duratec ones. Looking forward to getting them installed when they arrive. Now I need to hammer the pinch weld. Any thing else I need to do to prepare for them? Aiming at doing a regear eventually to 4.10 but trying to figure out how much it will cost me. I was able to locate a used rear axe assembly but trying to locate a front.