So my question is whether to go with a 16X7 wheel or 16X8 wheel for a 10.5" tire. I currently have stock wheels and tires ( 16 X 7 wheel ), and I am buying some black rock steel rims. They have both sizes available, I'm sure either one will work, I just want to know which will have a better fit for a 10.5 inch tire. Thanks for any info

 

since your buying new wheels i would deff go with the 8 wide

 

I run 7" wheels on a 12.5" tire, and have for ever. I like this set up because the wheel is "tucked in' the tire, and there is less chance of damage. For a 10.5" tire, a 7" wheel will work great! My $.02, HTH!!

 

Thanks for the info. Some guy was mentioning in another thread how he had steel wheels and switched back to aluminum because they were so heavy and he lost a lot of power. Is this really true? if that is the case, I'll definitely go with 16 x7's because they'll be a little lighter. Will I really see that much power loss? After all, it is a 4.0 liter. I used to have an 86' CJ7 with 31's and a 4 cylinder, and that thing had some decent power. I wish I never got rid of that thing. One of the dumbest decisions of my life. LOL

 

1" width isnt really saving you any weight , i always ran 8 wide wheels , i had 8 wide when i 31x10.5's and they were perfect , honestly i really would recomend an 8" wide

 

Any specific reason?

 

it gives you nicer flater contact area , and 10.5 just seems to narrow for a 7 wide rim , id never run anything under and 8 wide , and if you decide to go to ever get a 12.5 tires they will work too on the 8 wide

 

I have a 2000 xj with 31x10.5 on 15x8 rims and barely noticed the difference in power loss. any bigger then I would think about regearing.

 

it's been my experience that most aluminum wheels are actually heavier than most steel wheels

 

Should I actually consider going down to a 15 X 7 or 8 or is it just a matter of preference? Some guy from Mickey Thompsoms technical line actually told me that the 15 X 8 Sidebiters wouldn't fit my cherokee because I had 16 X 7' and going down would cause the brake calipers to hit the rim. This isn't right, is it? I don't want to buy them now anyway because they have so little bs ( only 3.3 in. ) and they would stick out to far.

 

hmmm if a 15x8 dont hit the caliper a 16" deff wont , its moving further away from the caliper , the good thing is , tires are way easier and a bit cheaper for 15" wheels, example my dd is an avalanche with stock 17" wheels and bigger breaks , so i cant go smaller with a wheel cause it wont go over the caliper , your jeep is stock with 15's so anything bigger will be fine

 

Just to clarify, my jeep came with 16 X 7's on it, and the guy from MT was trying to tell me that I couldn't fit 15 X 8's because I would hit the caliper

 

i have 31/10.50r15 on my jeep right now on 15x7 stock rims. ive always heard they do a lot better on a 7 inch rim when aired down. if i knew for sure i was going to stick with a 31/10.50 i would buy more that are 7" wide with less back spacing. but if i was going to go up to a wider tires for sure then i would probably go for the 8" rim.

 

This another good reason to stay with 7" rims. I get flack about it every time I post this. I run 7" wheels for a reason, and that is what I suggest. I'm not going to get in a debate about it, the advantages are apparent, to me anyways. Good luck with the selection, happy Jeepin!!

 

Do you run 15 x 7's or 16 x 7's?