Hey guys i am going to be putting 33s on the xj soon. It currently has no rubbing issues at all with 31x10.50x15s. It has 15x8 wheels. Its a 4.5 inch lift. Jus curious If 12.50s will be 2 wide or rub. I dont have a problem with cutting or removing fender flares either. Any imput? Thanks

 

I like a 33 10.5 my self its a good size 12/5s add a little more stress then you need in a 33.

 

im running 33 x 12.5 MT Baja Claws. I have no issues.

 

with a 15x8, I'd stick to a 10.5 wide tire.

 

X2 12.5's need a wider wheel

 

my 12.5's are great on the 8" wheel. many many guys i know run this setup.

 

I find the skinnier mud tire better in the really bad mud anyway.

 

33x12.5 only because I hate pizza cutter looks.

 

You can fit a 12.50 tire on a 8" wheel, but that's the extreme limit. A 12.50 has a greater chance of losing it's bead on a 8" compared to a 10.50 when they're aired down.

 

How deep of mud are you talking? In shallow mud I bet cause you can reach the hard stuff. I'm in WI and mud around here is mainly Peat Mose swamps and good luck finding bottom. That's a good idea if you run tractor tires. But since your not when it comes to mud you want to disperse you weight out over as many square inches as you can. This makes less pounds per square inch essentially making your rig lighter kinda. I don't run any tires narrower then 12.5. But running a tire that wide you need 10" wide rims. Talk to any tire shop and it is preferred. And most 10" wide rims have more of an offset meaning they give you a wider stance witch is better for stability when not in mud.

 

Im really not a mud kinda guy anyway lol

 

Well ... I can tell you several things for sure.
1. The US ARMY uses the skinnier Bias Ply tires on the HUMVEES when in nasty mud conditions. I have driven both up mud covered mountains and through jungle swamps, and trained and licensed others to do the same. The skinny tire is better everywhere, even in snow and ice, just not on sand.
2. This past weekend we went wheeling and my skinny tires 245/75-16 (30.5 x 9.5 roughly) outperformed my friend's Wrangler with 32" Super Swampers in all mud types, and in hill climbing. I don't know how wide his tires are but they are at least a couple of inches taller than mine.
3. My skinny tires on the XJ also outperformed the 35x12.5 tires on my own Power Wagon in the same mud, on the same day, at the same time, same driver.
4. Seen the show Swamp Loggers? That is filmed here.

This hole ate both my Power Wagon's 35x12.5 KM2s and the Wrangler's 32" Super Swampers. Both my Cherokee and the Sidekick on skinnier tires went through it.

Here is my XJ going back through it at the end of the day after both my trucks and the other two trucks had been through it and dug it out.

Look at this pic, taken by me, after going through this in my Cherokee, on skinny tires, while the Sidekick on skinny tires goes back to pull the Wrangler on wide tires.


The Wrangler never made it. I got stuck only when I went back and tried pulling him through it.


This is the skinny tired Sidekick trying to pull the Wrangler out.


Here is my Power Wagon, Cherokee, and my friend's Wrangler after I used the Power Wagon to pull both Jeeps out with the winch. The PW then got stuck trying to leave, where my truck went through the hole in the vid above.


Here is three videos, same day, different kind of mud. This is fairly hard and the Super Swampers fail again.
Sidekick;
Cherokee;
Wrangler stuck in same ditch. Vid from other side cause I already went through;

And finally, a hill climb from the same day.
Wrangler;
Cherokee;

I don't know where you have to go to find where the wider tire is better. It's not hills, not the deep thick stuff, not the thin stuff ...

 

No, actually just the opposite is true. The wider tire on the narrow 8 inch rim has more pressure against the bead when aired down for trail use than the narrower tire. A 10 inch wide rim for a 12.5 tire doesn't hold the bead as well as a 8-8.5 inch wide rim when aired down.

 

Sorry, most of this is wrong. I didn't see any vehicle in deep mud in your photos. The HUMVEE is a good stock 4x4, but most seriously modified 4x4s use taller wider tires for deep mud and will go through mud a military HUMVEE would never make it through. That you made it through the mud that your friend on taller tires couldn't could just be your driving skill and the fact that your not in deep mud or that he has open diffs.
In mud that is deep and by deep I mean feet and not inches you need to have wide tires to displace weight same as with driving in really deep snow. ( 2-4 foot not inches )

 

^You haven't a clue what you are talking about. I wouldn't even know where to start.

I guess the best place to start would be you posting a video of YOU going through some "deep mud" with your tires.