I was following the fit chart for tires posted here and had Big O test fit a 245/70R16 Big O A/T brand on my wife's stock KJ and lock to lock it actually was within a hair of touching the wheel wells just sitting in the garage bay. Can anyone tell me what gives on this because the fit chart posted here gives this size as the largest that will fit with no rubbing. It seems obvious to me and the tire guys at Big O that this size will in fact rub when driving and not even offroad. Is 235/70R16 the largest size that will fit if a guy actually wants to drive the vehicle in any situation other than a straight line at 20 mph on perfectly flat pavement. Does anyone know if 235/75R16 works or not. I ran by the Jeep dealership here in town today and saw a couple of KJs with 235/70R16 so maybe this is the largest size that will fit and be driveable. The dealer seems to know nothing about optional sizes. Our KJ came stock with 215/75R16 which are tiny so I want to upsize and was considering a lift but it's my wife's daily driver and have heard too many things about the CV boots ripping among other problems even on a 2in. lift so have decided against the lift and just want to go with the largest tire that will fit with no rub at all. Help!
Thanks in advance, Brian[/b]

235/70R16 is one of the stock option sizes for the liberty (what I got with mine), so that one will definitely fit. A lot of people on here swear by 245/70R16, but you're right, it might rub a little depending on the type of driving. It depends a lot on the type of tread, a road tire will rub less than an all-terrain tire, an all -terrain less than a mudder, etc.

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Jeff 2005 Jeep Liberty Renegade
4x4, 6spd, Leather, Sunroof, trak-loc, skids/rails, hitch+shackle, hooks, Alpine/iPod, Thule, GPS, CB, Frankenlifted w/ 31" MTRs
Photos Cardomain

My 245/70 Revo's only rub at full lock, in reverse. I have no lift, and full skids. The worked great off-road too. Hope this helps!

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PC Tim
Lawrence, MA
L.O.S.T. Lifetime Member TC055700
2004 Sport with just enough to get me in trouble
http://picasaweb.google.com/TRCorcoran

I am running 245-70s and no problems at all and I am still stock. Mine came with the 235s and the 245s are a lot better on and off the road, go for the 245s if you are not going to lift for a while. I wish I would of done the first day I picked up the Lib

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MUDD'S MOTORSPORT'S We do IFS lift installs ,
03 OVERLAND EDITION /Kilby-Skidrow-Mopar-4XGuard skids/ 2.5 inch TOTAL CONTROL JBA coilovers -JBA Arms/MOABS-31 FALKEN WILDPEAK AT3W / 4.10's etc, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition loaded, plus 05 KJ limited

Unless you drive at full lock in reverse all the time they do not rub. After 50k miles with my 245/70r16 Revos you really have to stick your head into the wheel well with a bright light to see any rub marks.

The difference in handling and stability is well worth it.

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Tarkus is So Lost#000345
KJ Expeditionary Group
31" MT/R's and Rustys lift

just my .02 but rubbing=resistance resistance=more work than needed to move a given wheel
so to much rub when off road=1 wheel peel or on other words stuck
i would go to tire rack and look at the od of the tire you want vs the od of the tire it came with
i have 225/75 16's with no rub at full lock and full flex (1 wheel in the air)
i could probably fit 235/75 16's but is it worth .3" ?

I have 245/70s and they only rub a tiny bit on the front where the foglight housing is but its not enough to cause any problems and its only at full turn. So go for them they fill the wheel well up pretty good if you like that look, personally I like the looks of that size compared to my other lib with 235s

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02 kj, black limited, billet grille, carbonfiber taillights, black front sidemarkers, shaved emblems, spacerlift and 31s on black steels.

the o/e tire on a KJ was a
235/70-16
od=29"
sec w =9.5 (this is the max width of the tire at the widest point including the raised letters or side lugs)

what i know fits
goodyear wrangler ATS
225/75-16
od=29.5"
sec w=9.5

what i think would fit
BFG AT
225/75-16
od=29.3
sec w=8.9
or ?
245/70-16
od=29.5
sec w=9.8
or
BFG MT
225/75-16
od=29.5
sec w=8.8
or
235/70-16
od=29.2
sec w=9.5

I'll be another person to add that the 245/70R16 is a perfect fit, without rubbing, on a non lifted KJ.

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2002 Sport 4WD 3.7L
245/70R16/D AT KO BFG's
Optima Red Top battery.
Otherwise stock!
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2290621
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Ex-Chinook Flight Engineer ( you call, we haul )

You mean on an oddball 2002 KJ like yours.

Starting in 2003, Daimler-Chrysler decided to drop the Liberty by [I think] 2 inches to make it less prone to rollover accidents. Lower center of gravity.

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2003 Liberty Sport
Bright Silver Metallic
Daystar lift
General Tire Grabber AT2 245/70R16

not 2 inches... 3/4 of an inch...

and it was also in Aprill of 2002.

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Tarkus is So Lost#000345
KJ Expeditionary Group
31" MT/R's and Rustys lift

245/70R16 is a perfect fit, without rubbing, on a non lifted KJ too. Unless, you use wheel spacers to get the tire away from the inside.

Its a more perfect fit on a lifted KJ. YES, it will barely rub in the rear when flexed but won't bind (so Far). The extra flex factor with 245's or smaller and the longer shocks in the rear is MAJOR, especially for a 4x2 like mine. It really allows the wheels to stay planted over ruff stuff.

The 245/70 is the MAX without significant rubbing or binding on the rear FRAME when stuffed.

There is about a 1/2" of flex between that plastic inner fender and FRAME thing your springs are mounted to.

My revised calculations show the MT- LT 225/75 16 or AT- 245/70, 2" lift & the longer shocks to give the best performance results maximizing wheel travel till one side is bump stopped and/or inner rub at full stuff tilt. If I can get a 245/75 to rub without a inner bind, I'll add it to my list. Gotta try some 1st hand, not hearsay, as some folks have a diff idea of what fully stuffed is.

Hey ace, mine is not an odd-ball i.e. it isn't in the prelowered category.

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2002 Sport 4WD 3.7L
245/70R16/D AT KO BFG's
Optima Red Top battery.
Otherwise stock!
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2290621
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Ex-Chinook Flight Engineer ( you call, we haul )

Are you guys saying that all KJs made in and after April '02 (including some 2002 models) were lowered by 3/4 inch?

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2003 Liberty Sport
Bright Silver Metallic
Daystar lift
General Tire Grabber AT2 245/70R16

Yes

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Tarkus is So Lost#000345
KJ Expeditionary Group
31" MT/R's and Rustys lift