Best Tire Size

[icarl]

Okay, my KJ is becoming a primarily offroad vehicle and as such i need good advice on offroad tires for my lifted KJ. My question is what is the best size for offroad performance : 245/75R16, 235/85R16, or 265/75R16? And, is 32" too big to allow proper tire travel in the KJ wheel well?

 

[ripper42]

i have 245-75-16 cooper stt on a 2.5 lift they work great off road

 

[icarl]

I'm interested in knowing which one works the best as i plan on getting some mud tires. i don't mind fender trimming either if need be. I guess another question could be do people buy the 267/75 or 235/85 tires just for looks or do they actually work better off road than the 245/75 size?

 

[tjkj2002]

I'm interested in knowing which one works the best as i plan on getting some mud tires. i don't mind fender trimming either if need be. I guess another question could be do people buy the 267/75 or 235/85 tires just for looks or do they actually work better off road than the 245/75 size?

I'd never go back to a 245/75 after running my 265/75's.Alot of trimming and the right BS for the rims is key.The 265's are very functional offroad,as are the 235/85's.

 

[icarl]

I'd never go back to a 245/75 after running my 265/75's.Alot of trimming and the right BS for the rims is key.The 265's are very functional offroad,as are the 235/85's.

Cool. 235 or 265? I'm thinking 235 will be easier to fit in fender. 265 more stable?

 

[theblueliberty]

i currently have LT265/75R16's on my KJ with the 2.5" lift and they hardly rub at all. i've made a couple minor bumper and bumperside fender mods and i can't turn the wheel all the way without the plastic catching but it is quite durable plastic and any spots that rub continuously for any alotted amout of time will correct itself cause of the tire making room for itself. if that makes any sense at all. my tires were free and only have about 50% left though. big tires are no guarentee of off road traction though. they may look better but, if your vehicle is better suited with smaller tires, get the ones that fit perfectly with the best treat possible. i think 245's with max off road tread would work better than my 265 A/T's. and no, 32" tires would not fit properly. my 265's are 31.5 inch i belive and anything bigger would require extensive modification of the entire fenderwell and bumper.

 

[tjkj2002]

i think 245's with max off road tread would work better than my 265 A/T's. and no, 32" tires would not fit properly. my 265's are 31.5 inch i belive and anything bigger would require extensive modification of the entire fenderwell and bumper.

Yes 245 MT's will always work better then any size AT tires.

I run 265/75 Trxus MT's and they are 31.9" tall on a 7" rim(which I have them on) and I have only the slightest rub on the front part of the rear flare at full flex.Granted I do have the front ARB bumber and the rear RL bumber for added clearance.My 265/75's mounted on 16x7 rims with 4.5" of BS are great,besides the benifits of the F/R bumbers I have only pounded my pinchweld down and trimmed about 1 1/2" off the rear flares(inside edge).I also play on reallly big rocks and have not ever had a problem with my 265's,I don't scrap and hit as bad as others running the same lift height but only on 245/75's.

 

[icarl]

I'm currently running 30" tires and i have almost 3" of clearance to the pinch weld. I should be fine with 32" tires since the tire will be only 1-1.5" closer to the pinch weld which is the closest point. I will still pound the pinch weld to allow for flex. My frankenlift seems more like a 4" lift. There is about 6" of clearance between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fender cover and my upper control arm is clearly visible. It makes greasing the ubj's easy.

 

[icarl]

I should add that my current tires do rub on Al's A-arm at full turn. You can see where the pink paint has rubbed off. I'm thinking 265/75's would probably rub worse so i should think about a rim with a larger offset so the tire will push out away from the control arm to account for the extra tire width.

 

[tjkj2002]

I should add that my current tires do rub on Al's A-arm at full turn. You can see where the pink paint has rubbed off. I'm thinking 265/75's would probably rub worse so i should think about a rim with a larger offset so the tire will push out away from the control arm to account for the extra tire width.

You meen different BS,you'll need at least 4.5" of BS to keep your tires off the UCA's,then there goes your clearence you have right now.That 3" of clearance you have now with 30" tires to the pinch weld will grow to zero with different BS rims,and the same tires.You will need to do major trimming(the rear is a big area) to make 32" work offroad.It can be done,I'm doing it right now but there is alot of work.

 

[icarl]

Yea, i know it will take some trimming but i think it will be worth it. I'd also like to take the flares right off and bolt up some aftermarket flares on there like these http://www.bushwacker.com/fender.asp?make2=5&cat2=351&search=Search
I wonder if there are any like that for the KJ.

 

[icarl]

You meen different BS,you'll need at least 4.5" of BS to keep your tires off the UCA's,then there goes your clearence you have right now.That 3" of clearance you have now with 30" tires to the pinch weld will grow to zero with different BS rims,and the same tires.You will need to do major trimming(the rear is a big area) to make 32" work offroad.It can be done,I'm doing it right now but there is alot of work.

More BS means wheels are closer to jeep and UCAs right? So you are saying larger BS is best so that means the stock rims are the best even for 265/75's?
But, if its rubbing now on the UCAs with stock rims than the larger tires mean it should rub more. So wouldn't you need to decrease BS to move tires out farther from UCA so it would not rub?

 

[tjkj2002]

More BS means wheels are closer to jeep and UCAs right? So you are saying larger BS is best so that means the stock rims are the best even for 265/75's?
But, if its rubbing now on the UCAs with stock rims than the larger tires mean it should rub more. So wouldn't you need to decrease BS to move tires out farther from UCA so it would not rub?

Yes you need to decrease the BS,the OEM rims are 5.5" of BS,my 16x7 steel rims have 4.5" of BS and I run 265/75's and my tires don't run my control arms.

 

[patbluejeep]

ok so what is the best tire size to use with 15" wheels? i am going to get tires today or tomorrow and would like to know. the best and biggest wheel i can use on a kj with a 2.5" rockfather lift? would wheels spacers make a difference?

 

[tjkj2002]

ok so what is the best tire size to use with 15" wheels? i am going to get tires today or tomorrow and would like to know. the best and biggest wheel i can use on a kj with a 2.5" rockfather lift? would wheels spacers make a difference?

The best size in 15" tires with the least amount of problems with a 2.5" lift is 30x9.5's,if you do alot of trimming 31x10.50's will fit also.

 

[Eastcoastpowerhouse]

The best size in 15" tires with the least amount of problems with a 2.5" lift is 30x9.5's,if you do alot of trimming 31x10.50's will fit also.

A lot of triming meaning Pinch welds some of the wheel well? only reason i ask is cause i also am tworn with the 30x9.5x15 or the 31x10.50`s?

 

[tjkj2002]

A lot of triming meaning Pinch welds some of the wheel well? only reason i ask is cause i also am tworn with the 30x9.5x15 or the 31x10.50`s?

Pinch welds is a must,also the front bumber and rear flares need to be trimmed for flex if you plan on offroading your KJ for the 31x10.50's,longer bumstops F/R are also needed.

 

[Eastcoastpowerhouse]

Pinch welds is a must,also the front bumber and rear flares need to be trimmed for flex if you plan on offroading your KJ for the 31x10.50's,longer bumstops F/R are also needed.

Thats what i thought but was not sure. i would be taking the kj out a lot in the summer so you think my best bet would be the 30`s. the tires i plan on runing the overal diameter for the 30`s is 29.7 while the 31`s is 30.7. while the Section Width is 9.8 for the 30 and 10.85 for the 31. those were on a 7.5 rim i have a 7" . should i be fine runing the 31 with the triming done? Also what tire are you running the tread looks pretty nice. forgot to say my BS is 4.25 if that helps.


Matt

 

[icarl]

Okay, I test fit a 265/75 BFG TA KO tire with stock rims that i found while offroading. In the front the tire rubs around the UCA so a different rim or wheel spacer is required of course. The tire barely misses the pinch weld at full wheel turn. The tire rubs on the front fender slightly at full wheel turn. In the rear it fits fine with clearance. I lifted the tire in the air to try and stuff it and it still had about an inch all around but i could see that it could rub on the flare at the top if stuffed anymore. Another thing is the tire doesn't fit properly on the stock spare wheel carrier. It has to fit at an angle and when you open the rear door it goes loose and the glass hits the tire as well so you have to open the door to open the glass. Is there something to fix this like a spacer or something to pull the tire out farther? Also, i am thinking a heat gun could be used to heat the front fender flares to bend them in shape. Anyone try this?

 

[icarl]

My dad thinks i should go with a smaller size. Here's what he said:

On another topic, you may want to do some more research on the amount of space you will need between the tires and the wheel well for driving in mud. If you plug up that space you will put incredible torque on the drive system. It would be a shame to spend a lot of money and then be afraid to get into the mud. I have not scene a truck with large mud tires without a generous amount of space between the tire and the wheel well. I know that I don't know much about off roading this but I do understand this problem. I had a car once that plugged the wheel wells in less than a quarter of a mile. I had to have a farm tractor pull me back to the pavement. Then I had to use a hammer and a tire iron for about 2 hours to get enough space to be able to drive without burning out my clutch. This was over by Valleyview. It may be better to go with a little smaller tire and give yourself some room.​

Not sure if this applies to our liberties but is this mud packing an issue with the 265s?