New Rims and Tires

[tigerKJ]

So I am looking for some advice. I am in the research and planning stages of a lift on my '02 Liberty Renegade and had some questions.

I am planning on mounting 245/75R16s or maybe even 265/70(or 75)R16s. I have been reading the posts and most people state I should stay with a 16x7 rim. I know the Rengade rims match the vehicle, but I want a little more aggressive off road styling for my rims. The problem is for all the rims in 16 that I like they are an 8" width. In fact after looking at rims (searches, mfgs, dealers) almost all 16" are 16x8. If I go down to 15" I can get 15x7. Then I thought about going up to 17" but they start at 17x9 - no good.

So I guess my question is: Are 16x8 with 245/75R16 a bad idea? I don't like the look of the stock rims and want to change them so if anyone has a source for 16x7 I would appreciate a link.

As for tires on a lifted Liberty that will be a daily driver and an off road trail rig should I go for A/T or a more aggressive tire like an M/T?

Last but not least how does the load range affect the tire? I see load ranges of C, D, and E for the tires I am looking at and I am not sure what range to get and why.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[ouroboros]

So I am looking for some advice. I am in the research and planning stages of a lift on my '02 Liberty Renegade and had some questions.

I am planning on mounting 245/75R16s or maybe even 265/70(or 75)R16s. I have been reading the posts and most people state I should stay with a 16x7 rim. I know the Rengade rims match the vehicle, but I want a little more aggressive off road styling for my rims. The problem is for all the rims in 16 that I like they are an 8" width. In fact after looking at rims (searches, mfgs, dealers) almost all 16" are 16x8. If I go down to 15" I can get 15x7. Then I thought about going up to 17" but they start at 17x9 - no good.

So I guess my question is: Are 16x8 with 245/75R16 a bad idea? I don't like the look of the stock rims and want to change them so if anyone has a source for 16x7 I would appreciate a link.

As for tires on a lifted Liberty that will be a daily driver and an off road trail rig should I go for A/T or a more aggressive tire like an M/T?

Last but not least how does the load range affect the tire? I see load ranges of C, D, and E for the tires I am looking at and I am not sure what range to get and why.

Thanks again for your help!

First and foremost, a 7" wide wheel is what is desired for a Lib. You 'can' run a 16x8 with the correct offset, I would prefer a 0 or -6 offset to prevent rubbing but you're likely to encounter something that's a 0. 16x7s are not hard to come by, one of my local suppliers has Unique soft 8s in a 16x7 that will fit the Lib easily. No links though, they're a wholesale supplier. You can always check uniques website.

If you plan on DDing it, typically an A/T is a better option, quieter and usually ride better. If you go with a 245/75 you're likely to see either standard load or E. You can find some brands with a C range 245/75 but not often. I found my Mastercraft(Cooper) AXT's in a load C 245/75/16. I know Duratracs also come in C for 245/75. Me, personally I'd recommend sticking with the 245/75/16 in a Load C if you like the LT tire look or get a SL tire that way they're not so heavy. Not a huge weight difference between SL and C though.

A 245/75/16 is at it's limit on an 8" wide wheel, and is definitely not recommended if you ever air down your tires for wheeling.

 

[tigerKJ]

I will check out the Uniques website, but that is only 1 out of many mfgs that make rims. Everywhere I have checked so far only has 16x8.

Here are the mfgs I have checked:
ATX, KMC, KMC XD series, Moto Metal, Method, and Mamba for expensive rims.
Quadratec (the Moab and Rubicon Xtremes again only 16x8 and they say they fit the liberty), Dick Cepek, Mickey Thompson (though I don't like any of them), and Pro Comp for rims under $200 a piece.
All of those mfgs if you look at their 16" rims start at 16x8 and only get wider. Since I plan on trail rides and some mild rock crawling I will most likely air down.

I don't like the idea, but it looks like I am stuck with the stock rims unless I can find something at Uniques. Or someone knows of another rim mfg.

As for tires I was thinking the Cooper Discoverer A/T3s in 245/75R16. They do make it in a load range 'C'.

I wonder if I would be better off getting a second set of rims to put M/T on for when I do off road, and have a set of A/T for DD?

 

[tommudd]

16X7 with 4 inches of backspacing when lifted
if 8 inch wide 5 inches of backspacing and if 8 inch 265-70-16s are best

 

[ouroboros]

I will check out the Uniques website, but that is only 1 out of many mfgs that make rims. Everywhere I have checked so far only has 16x8.

Here are the mfgs I have checked:
ATX, KMC, KMC XD series, Moto Metal, Method, and Mamba for expensive rims.
Quadratec (the Moab and Rubicon Xtremes again only 16x8 and they say they fit the liberty), Dick Cepek, Mickey Thompson (though I don't like any of them), and Pro Comp for rims under $200 a piece.
All of those mfgs if you look at their 16" rims start at 16x8 and only get wider. Since I plan on trail rides and some mild rock crawling I will most likely air down.

I don't like the idea, but it looks like I am stuck with the stock rims unless I can find something at Uniques. Or someone knows of another rim mfg.

As for tires I was thinking the Cooper Discoverer A/T3s in 245/75R16. They do make it in a load range 'C'.

I wonder if I would be better off getting a second set of rims to put M/T on for when I do off road, and have a set of A/T for DD?

American Racing, KMC and Moto Metal are all the same company. Go on wheelpros.com and you'll likely find some more options. I like the steel wheels since they're fairly low maintenance. Pretty positive there's some AR wheels that are 16x7 with the correct offset you'd need.

 

[tigerKJ]

So I checked out wheelpros and first searched by vehicle and it wanted to fit 17s, 18s, and 20s and when I tried to select a 16s it said it would not fit my vehicle. So i removed the Liberty and just selected wheel size 16x7 with 5x4.5. There were 21 options that all look like street racing wheels, drag strip wheels, or luxury car wheels. None look like off road wheels, and most of them are ugly.

Anyone know of other places to shop for wheels/rims?

 

[tigerKJ]

Discount Wheel Warehouse and Tire Rack are both pushing 17s or larger rims. At least with Tire Rack they are showing some wheels in 17x7.5.

Still not impressed. Looked at the Black Rock steel rims but they all look like they came off a 70s or 80s pick up.

If I had a TJ or a JK I would have hundreds maybe even thousands of options. A few people have said there are tons of options for the Liberty, but then I'm told to stay at stock rim size for a proper fit and your options dry up quickly. That is unless you like the big rig, super duty pick up, 70s caddy/el camino, or sports car look.

The wheels I see on TJs and JKs here in AZ look good and I know ATX, Fuel, Moto Metal, and Method are expensive but they are also the wrong size as they don't have 16x7 in a 5x4.5 with the proper offset. I guess I am asking too much or need to drop down to a 15" rim to get a good looking off road wheel in a 7" width.

 

[tigerKJ]

And why do all these wheel dealers want my vehicle info and recommend the wrong size (17x9 and bigger) but won't let me enter a search for 16x7 with 5x4.5 bolt pattern and let me deal with offset and backspace.

Searching for wheels is very frustrating. Anyone have any other recommendations?

Maybe I have to go to a 265/70R16 tire - I was just thinking a ~10.5" wide tire was going to rub even with a lift.

 

[ouroboros]

So I checked out wheelpros and first searched by vehicle and it wanted to fit 17s, 18s, and 20s and when I tried to select a 16s it said it would not fit my vehicle. So i removed the Liberty and just selected wheel size 16x7 with 5x4.5. There were 21 options that all look like street racing wheels, drag strip wheels, or luxury car wheels. None look like off road wheels, and most of them are ugly.

Anyone know of other places to shop for wheels/rims?

Your best bet is to talk to one of their dealers, I have access to dealerline through them and it gives me more options to play with. Website isn't exactly reality when it comes to what will fit and what won't.

 

[tigerKJ]

Your best bet is to talk to one of their dealers, I have access to dealerline through them and it gives me more options to play with. Website isn't exactly reality when it comes to what will fit and what won't.

I have noticed that - the dealer sites seem intent on 17s and bigger.

Well I am going to keep searching, I mean I have only been at this for a few hours a day for the last 2 weeks.

 

[ouroboros]

I have noticed that - the dealer sites seem intent on 17s and bigger.

Well I am going to keep searching, I mean I have only been at this for a few hours a day for the last 2 weeks.

Supply and demand, 16's are getting phased out in the aftermarket world.

Sent from my HTC Desire 610 using Tapatalk

 

[twowings]

So I checked out wheelpros and first searched by vehicle and it wanted to fit 17s, 18s, and 20s and when I tried to select a 16s it said it would not fit my vehicle. So i removed the Liberty and just selected wheel size 16x7 with 5x4.5. There were 21 options that all look like street racing wheels, drag strip wheels, or luxury car wheels. None look like off road wheels, and most of them are ugly.

Anyone know of other places to shop for wheels/rims?

Summit Racing
eBay
Amazon

 

[tommudd]

Plug in 2004 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and see what wheels come up since they came with 16s LOL