Replacing Rough Country 3" w/ 31x10.5x15 tires

[AdamG]

Hi all- first post here and looking for some suggestions after doing some research. Just bought an 04 Liberty Sport and came with newly installed 3" Rough Country lift kit and Radar Renegade 31x10.5x15 tires on them. Needless to say I didn't realize what I bought to start with exactly, but found out quickly it isn't a good setup.

So looking to replace the setup to get a full functional system that isn't going to fail and work properly for off road.

So I am sure you are shaking your head already- but the tires do rub when turning backwards (surprise surprise). The rough country kit is a spacer kit in the front and sprint /shock combo in the back.

I like the tires as they are M/T and I don't do much highway driving, but the real question is if I lift it more than the 3" it is currently, will it keep the tires from rubbing?

Other thing I was looking at was the adjust-a-strut from JBA (already ordered the lift UCA's and are on the way since those were needing to be replaced). And if I go for the 4" lift, JBA states you need to cut down the CV's ( I am assuming that is due to allowing for more clearance/flex in the CV to keep from ruining the CV). Has anyone done the CV cut themselves- easy enough for a weekend warrior to do?

Thanks in advance.

 

[iiTempesT]

I personally think if you want a good bang for your buck then you should probably get the 3.5 inch Tommudd lift from JBA but since you already ordered the UCAs then you could just piece the lift together on the JBA website. With this lift you should be able to clear 32s but you'd need to regear. This lift is basically the max you can go without having to have trimmed CV's. This is the kit I am going to get myself with 15x7 Cragar soft 8s with 4 inches of backspacing and 31x10.5 General Grabbers (Red Letters). Im not a expert in lifted Jeep Liberty's but I do have a good amount of research in lifting them.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

I'm just shy of 4 inches of lift and the Rev. Mudd and others are right at 4 inches if not a touch more and we're all running stock CV's. You'll be fine at 3.5 inches of lift.

As for the tires... I'm running 265/70's which are a little over 30.6 inches in diameter and I've regeared to 4.10's. Can't imagine running with the stock 3.73 gears as the mileage and power would suffer greatly. Others have the stock gears with 247/75's, which are about the same diameter as what I'm running, and say they're OK but I bet if they put in 4.10's they'd be very pleasantly surprised. I sure was when I went to 255/70's (my previous set) and am glad I did for sure.

The rubbing will be lessened by going to a JBA lift but a lot depends on the backspacing on the wheels. If they set out much more than stock you'll get rubbing in turns due to the larger radius/arc with the wheels pushed out further.

Bob

 

[wheeee32]

"Others have the stock gears with 247/75's, which are about the same diameter as what I'm running, and say they're OK but I bet if they put in 4.10's they'd be very pleasantly surprised."

Indubitably good sir.:icon_lol:

 

[AdamG]

Is doing the regearing to the 4.10's involve much? Something that can be reasonably done in a weekend by home mechanic?

 

[tommudd]

Is doing the regearing to the 4.10's involve much? Something that can be reasonably done in a weekend by home mechanic?

Simple answer is no
Have to have the right tools to install gears, plus front diff has to come completely out to do it
OR
find a 4 cylinder and get the front and rear diff from it

 

[tommudd]

I personally think if you want a good bang for your buck then you should probably get the 3.5 inch Tommudd lift from JBA but since you already ordered the UCAs then you could just piece the lift together on the JBA website. With this lift you should be able to clear 32s but you'd need to regear. This lift is basically the max you can go without having to have trimmed CV's. This is the kit I am going to get myself with 15x7 Cragar soft 8s with 4 inches of backspacing and 31x10.5 General Grabbers (Red Letters). Im not a expert in lifted Jeep Liberty's but I do have a good amount of research in lifting them.

Guess you are regearing as well ? Heavy tires for sure

 

[tlrtucker]

As said before, with a 3-3.5" lift those tires will likely rub. Different tread patterns equate to different actual diameters, meaning a tire listed at 31" my be closer to 30-30.5". Either way, you'll likely rub on the sway bar or pinch weld before anything else. I'm just a hair UNDER 3" and run a 245/75r16 and I rub the sway bar at full lock and clear the pinch weld by a good 3/4". But that's with stock wheels (meaning less backspacing than what others commonly go with). If you go with a 4" backspaced wheel you should be ok.

But good on you for researching what you have. Too many people join this board with a similar spacer lift and argue until they're blue in the face that it's a good set up.

 

[iiTempesT]

Guess you are regearing as well ? Heavy tires for sure

Was planning on it in the future. I want to start out with a basic lift and run that for awhile so I can save up and get the JBA adjust-a-struts and some bigger sprigs for the back and run close to or above 4 inches of lift and run 32s

 

[AdamG]

As said before, with a 3-3.5" lift those tires will likely rub. Different tread patterns equate to different actual diameters, meaning a tire listed at 31" my be closer to 30-30.5". Either way, you'll likely rub on the sway bar or pinch weld before anything else. I'm just a hair UNDER 3" and run a 245/75r16 and I rub the sway bar at full lock and clear the pinch weld by a good 3/4". But that's with stock wheels (meaning less backspacing than what others commonly go with). If you go with a 4" backspaced wheel you should be ok.

But good on you for researching what you have. Too many people join this board with a similar spacer lift and argue until they're blue in the face that it's a good set up.

Thanks for the reply. I have currently Rugged Ridge 15x8's with 3.75" backspacing. If I went with something like Cragar Soft 8's with 4" backspacing would it make much of a difference?

 

[iiTempesT]

I would go with a 15x7 cragar soft 8 with 4 inches of backspacing or if you absolutely need to get an 8 inch wide then don't go less than 4.5 in

 

[tlrtucker]

Don't go with an 8" wide wheel. They're too wide and dont look right, according to a lot of people. 16x7 is the ideal size, but some insist on going 15x7. They claim tires are cheaper...

 

[tlrtucker]

Thanks for the reply. I have currently Rugged Ridge 15x8's with 3.75" backspacing. If I went with something like Cragar Soft 8's with 4" backspacing would it make much of a difference?

You're only talking about a 1/4" difference. The wheels aren't the problem, it's your tires. The bigger the diameter of tire, the more rubbing you'll have at full turn. As stated before, many get away without any rubbing on a 3" lift and 245/75r16's. Guys that go bigger all have rubbing issues unless you go 4+ inches of lift. Going with an 8" wide wheel only makes things worse and there's no need for that wide of a wheel, other than feeling cool that you have a wider wheel

 

[iiTempesT]

Don't go with an 8" wide wheel. They're too wide and dont look right, according to a lot of people. 16x7 is the ideal size, but some insist on going 15x7. They claim tires are cheaper...

Tires are not cheaper if you get 31x10.5r15 they are about the same as both 16 and 17 :happy175:

 

[tlrtucker]

Tires are not cheaper if you get 31x10.5r15 they are about the same as both 16 and 17 :happy175:

Yah, that's why I said "claim"

 

[tommudd]

Just had a guy tell me today he runs 15 inch on his TJ Rubicon since they are 50-60 dollars cheaper per tire than 16 inch ( of course he has already sold his Moabs :favorites68 Told him there wasn't that much difference but he was sure he was right!!!:shrug::icon_lol:
But if you look at prices
( from TireRack, Goodyear Duratracs )
all within a fraction in height of one another
31X10.5-15 $164.
245-75-16 $161.
265-70-16 $167.
245-70-16 $166.

So not much difference

 

[iiTempesT]

Really the only savings you are getting is the fact that you are paying $60 a wheel. You can always get a better deal on Moabs im sure.

 

[iiTempesT]

Also on tires I can get them fairly cheap because I work at a Car dealership. I can pay $192 a tire through summit, $167 a tire through tire rack and have a $130 shipping fee or I can get them through my work for $164 a tire and not have to worry about shipping :icon_lol:

 

[tommudd]

Only thing I miss about owning and managing tire shops, buying my tires at cost! :icon_lol::icon_lol:

 

[twowings]

245/75R16 Cooper ATP $115.00/each @ discounttiredirect.com