EDIT: IT HAS BEEN DONE: THE UNTHINKABLE, THE UNIMAGINABLE, THE BLASPHEMOUSLY WRONG, THE HORRIFYINGLY UGLY...

If you feel disgust at the idea of an XJ mounted on alloys, then turn back and leave. Otherwise, click here for the real life result. (below are my photoshops so not very accurate, the link is a photo of the real thing.)



Hello forum,

I know this is supposed to be a men's-only hardcore offroaders community. But I need advice on my choice of wheel for my daily driver XJ.

When I bought it, it was fitted with new 30x9.5R15 BFG M/Ts. Since this is my DD, I realized M/Ts were very inappropriate (very loud highway noise and somewhat worse mileage). So I retro-fitted the stock wheels of my other XJ onto it. Now I realize that with the 2" lift and trimmed fenders the previous owner did to it, stock wheels look puny and very tiny.

So i'm willing to go back to 30" tires, but not offroad ones... I also wanted bigger rims that looked better than the stockers...

Here's my photoshop of what 19s would look like on the rig, I found a set of Dezent Ms. I have checked all the specs, they are 19x8.5, they have the right bolt pattern and the right center bore diameter. However, the only thing that worries me is the offset: 38. I plan on mounting 255/55R19 tires on them which equate to 30x10R19. Do you think that the tires will rub on the LCAs at full lock?



Oh and BTW, for those saying I shouldn't do this to a Cherokee. Realize that I don't plan on going off the road with those wheels, besides I wheel my other XJ.

 

HA! Not even close...

 

Many thanks for your input!!! :-P

 

The backspacing on the rims is what will determine if they rub. Not the offset

 

They're kinda the same thing. I believe 38mm offset is pretty close to 4.5" backspacing....too lazy to Google...like some people.

 

I didn't think there would be a difference so that's why I didn't Google it. Turns out there is! Offset is the distance from the rim's centerline to it's mounting pad. Backspacing is the distance from mounting pad to the back edge.

According to my research, stock Cherokee rims have a 35mm offset (35mm = 1.4") and are 8" wide (making the centerline 4" from the edge) so a stock rim has 5.4 inches of backspacing... Correct?

If my new rim has 38mm of offset -that's 1.5"- and is 8.5" wide (centerline at 4.25") its total backspacing would be 1.5 + 4.25 = 5.75" backspacing, don't you agree?

So there's 5.75 - 5.4 = 0.35 inches of backspace difference (8.9mm).


So based on this highly elaborate math, do you think such a difference would matter much?

 

I wouldn't go with larger size wheels. They are heavier, increase your un-sprung weight, reduce acceleration and gas mileage. This also makes for a rougher ride. Also, with smaller wheels, you will increase the amount of sidewall on the tire. The more sidewall you have, the more compliant the tire will be when you hit bumps.

 

7" wide...

 

Just my opinion, but. A 30x10R19 should work out just fine as long as rim backspacing was 3.75, might be able to get away with 4.00. I ran 10.50's with 3.75 without problems and am now running 12.50's on the same rim, I can U-turn full lock without issues! HTH's.

 

Sorry about that. I confused it with something else... Anyway I doesn't really matter. I mounted the stock wheels back on my DD because the 30" M/Ts were really inappropriate (acceleration and mileage both suffered from it).

So if I am getting new rims, I'm not putting 30" tires on them. They look great and the whole Cherokee gets a height increase too but it really wouldn't be worth it... What's more: I love my performance with small wheels and I don't need the bigger diameter for wheeling. I guess it's now all about aesthetics...

Here's another photoshop: 19" rims on regular tires... Curse that lift and those chopped fenders!!!!



It's not great looking... is it...?

 

I hope you like spending 400+ a tire

 

No, I checked. Tires of those sizes are much less expensive than I thought: $180 for a base 245/45R19. The 255/55R19s were a tad more but no way near 400...

 

I would go for some 17s with a 30" all terrain tire, that will give you the bigger wheel look without leading to a bad ride and brake failure. I run 17" wheels with a 32" tire and its great. Plus if you ever wheel it with 30x10x17 tire/wheel setup you will have the same clearence as someone running aired down 31s on a 15-16" rim. Tire options are also good for 17" wheels as there pretty common.

 

Sorry, off topic, but what kind of tires are on your other jeep?

 

I understand. But I found a deal for sweet looking 19" rims not 17s! lol and as I said in an earlier post, I won't ever wheel it.

I might as well let it go and forget about changing the wheels...

They're Fedima Siroccos, a spanish tire, though the tread has been copied by several other brands and are now pretty common here in Europe.