Making room for bigger tires.

ImperialKK · **Joined:** Fri Feb 26, 2016 5:18 am **Posts:** 28

What have you guys done to fit bigger tires? Specifically the rear tires, as I know a bumper and some trimming up front will alleviate the issues there. It appears that rolling is nearly impossible since the back seat door is part of the wheel well. I am getting some rubbing on both the rear quarter panel and the door portion under almost normal driving conditions. It has already been lifted so no more room there. Has anyone ever done any rolling or cutting on the rear that has been clean and successful? Thanks.

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:27 pm

ImperialKK wrote:

What have you guys done to fit bigger tires? Specifically the rear tires, as I know a bumper and some trimming up front will alleviate the issues there. It appears that rolling is nearly impossible since the back seat door is part of the wheel well. I am getting some rubbing on both the rear quarter panel and the door portion under almost normal driving conditions. It has already been lifted so no more room there. Has anyone ever done any rolling or cutting on the rear that has been clean and successful? Thanks.

More lift, correct width and backspacing of the wheels etc
how much bumpstop are you running in the rear, should be two inches
also what lift, I know I saw OME but which springs?? Doesn't look to be that much lift

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 08, 2017 5:49 am

Long arms in the rear and push the rear axle back about 1",of course all custom.

Longer arms equals bigger arc the rear axle travels in thus more of a vertical up/down movement compared to the stock short arms used in the rear.

ImperialKK · **Joined:** Fri Feb 26, 2016 5:18 am **Posts:** 28

It was installed when I got the Jeep, but I think it is about a two inch lift. The tires are 31" so it fills up the space I have quite a lot.

Scar0 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 08, 2017 9:04 pm

First problem I see is the offset of the rims. Your tires appear to be about 25% to 50% outside of the flares. Do you have wheel spacers?
Even with longer rear arms your tires will hit when flexed. Ie. you can't stuff the tire inside the wheel well.
Second; With 2-2.5" lift 31" tires just won't work. Even with more lift, 31" tires are hard to get to work, even with major trimming and pounding of body parts. That is if you still want any kind of real articulation.

ImperialKK · **Joined:** Fri Feb 26, 2016 5:18 am **Posts:** 28

They dont stick out that far. These were the BFG All terrains I had on when I bought the KK. I got the new KO2s in the same size as the old ones, but the tread was soo low on the old ones it didn't rub. I am going to take out the new ones this month, and it is going to be close for sure. I was just wondering is anyone had done some minor modifications to make more room.

Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 09, 2017 10:32 pm

I've seen 32s fit with 3.5-4" of lift. Getting on 1 page, everyone is understanding that a 31 is a 245/75-16 or 265/70-16 or 31x9.5+x15. A 32 is 265/75-16, or 235/85-16 or 32x10.5(etc)x15.

Either way depending on the springs and what not you should be at about 2.5" in front and 1.5" in back. The OME levels the KK pretty well. There's a few different kits and ways to set up the OME kits that can give 3.5" of lift too though. So if you don't have the add-ons then there's a start.

You could try custom "long" arms for the rear. Measure right and make them adjustable and you can align everything right while pushing the tire back an inch or so.

ImperialKK · **Joined:** Fri Feb 26, 2016 5:18 am **Posts:** 28

Gotcha. So if I did custom adj. lower and upper control arms in the rear, four total, and the axle would just shift back however far those were adjusted? Anything else need to be modified? What about driveshaft length etc? It seems like the most reasonable modification to make the tires fit more evenly.

Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Sat Aug 12, 2017 9:17 pm

I honestly don't know if the driveshaft has enough play for an additional say inch or so. Worse case scenario you would need 1. Everything else I could see being ok, maybe extended brake lines. You're in uncharted territory there.

Btw, I was looking at your other posts. You're spinning a 265/75-16. That's a 32" tall tire. Assuming nothing is added to your OME lift and it has 927/731 springs, you're looking at 2.5" of lift. Lots of tire for a small lift. Measure from the center of the hub to the bottom of the flares. It'll tell you exactly where you sit. Might not need to venture into unknown waters when we can get the rear up another inch or so to give some more room.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Aug 13, 2017 7:47 am

Bmxer524 wrote:

I honestly don't know if the driveshaft has enough play for an additional say inch or so. Worse case scenario you would need 1. Everything else I could see being ok, maybe extended brake lines. You're in uncharted territory there.

Btw, I was looking at your other posts. You're spinning a 265/75-16. That's a 32" tall tire. Assuming nothing is added to your OME lift and it has 927/731 springs, you're looking at 2.5" of lift. Lots of tire for a small lift. Measure from the center of the hub to the bottom of the flares. It'll tell you exactly where you sit. Might not need to venture into unknown waters when we can get the rear up another inch or so to give some more room.

Exactly what I said, needs more lift, running that size with the lift he has doesn't work well
pictures show it sits low

ImperialKK · **Joined:** Fri Feb 26, 2016 5:18 am **Posts:** 28

So, since the Daystar lift is just stacking a piece of steel on top of the strut assembly, could I get a piece of CNC machined aluminum , like an inch tall made, and just put it on where the daystar piece would have gone? With just an inch lift, it should function normally being able to reach maximum expansion without contacting anything, take the stock bolts, and only lift one inch instead of the Daystar 2.5, Does anyone see an issue with that?

lfhoward · **Posted:** Mon Aug 28, 2017 7:38 pm

Keep in mind that because of the geometry of the front suspension, a 1" spacer will give you 2" of lift. If you're after just an inch, use a 1/2" spacer or even a 3/8" clevis lift to come close to an additional 3/4"

Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 29, 2017 2:39 pm

Daystar is a spacer in the spring assembly. Measure from the center of the hub to the bottom of the flares and tell us what you get. We can work on it from there.

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Aug 29, 2017 4:35 pm

ImperialKK wrote:

So, since the Daystar lift is just stacking a piece of steel on top of the strut assembly, could I get a piece of CNC machined aluminum , like an inch tall made, and just put it on where the daystar piece would have gone? With just an inch lift, it should function normally being able to reach maximum expansion without contacting anything, take the stock bolts, and only lift one inch instead of the Daystar 2.5, Does anyone see an issue with that?

Daystar is not a piece of steel on top, that is a OTT spacer from RRO

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Aug 29, 2017 4:38 pm

ImperialKK wrote:

Gotcha. So if I did custom adj. lower and upper control arms in the rear, four total, and the axle would just shift back however far those were adjusted? Anything else need to be modified? What about driveshaft length etc? It seems like the most reasonable modification to make the tires fit more evenly.

Why?
You're not going to gain anything at all
The rear suspension when you stuff one or both wheels swing up in an arch
so moving it the rear diff back it will then hit the rear of your flares before fully stuffed
remove the rear springs and shocks and watch what happens from running height to fully stuffed

Wearyman · **Joined:** Mon Aug 22, 2011 2:01 pm **Posts:** 161

Bmxer524 wrote:

I honestly don't know if the driveshaft has enough play for an additional say inch or so. Worse case scenario you would need 1. Everything else I could see being ok, maybe extended brake lines. You're in uncharted territory there.

Btw, I was looking at your other posts. You're spinning a 265/75-16. That's a 32" tall tire. Assuming nothing is added to your OME lift and it has 927/731 springs, you're looking at 2.5" of lift. Lots of tire for a small lift. Measure from the center of the hub to the bottom of the flares. It'll tell you exactly where you sit. Might not need to venture into unknown waters when we can get the rear up another inch or so to give some more room.

Not to necro an old thread (but everything around here is old what with how slow the board is) But I'm confused by this. I'm looking at Treadwright Warden tires to replace my existing Cooper Discoverer AT3 in 245x75 r16 on stock rims.

According to Cooper's site, the 245x75x16 tire is 30.51" tall with a tread depth of 16.5/32" Note that my tires are badly worn, and uneven due to thrashing my alignment while wheeling.

According to Treadwright the Warden in the same size as my Coopers is 30.7", and the Warden in 265x75x16 is 31.25" tall. Note that both tire sizes sport 16/32" tread depth.

Based on this, it seems that you are drastically overestimating the tire size.

Just to give an example:

Here is my KK from about 2 years ago the day before I got my lift installed (still stock in the picture)

Here is it right after the lift was installed (OME lift with Gas HD front springs and HD rear springs with JBA top plates)

And here it is recently, after an ATH front bumper and a 12000lbs winch installed on the front. (tires aired down to 20lbs for wheeling)

As you can see I have plenty of room under there, and could easily fit a 31" tire, maybe even a 32.

Other than regearing (assuming that is necessary for a less than 32" tire) why not go for 265x75x16?

Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:28 pm

You’re comparing a 31” tire to a 32” tire (when you measure a standard 31/32 they all come out to be approximately 1/2” shorter than the advertised size). Regearing isn’t needed with 31s, but 32s kinda are. There’s gonna be people telling you it’s fine, but the Jeep becomes even more of a dog and you start to increase temps in the drivetrain which we all know is bad.

Now as far as fitting them, driving straight on flat roads is usually fine. It’s turning and and kind of travel that causes problems. 99% of the time with ~3” of lift in the rear you can run a 32 and flex with no problems (you may need to extend the bumpstops a little more than with 31s). The front 32s rub on the pinch welds and front bumper. You’re gonna need at least 3.5” of lift to not have to pull out the sawzall. Seeing how you have an ATH bumper you get a little room because of his higher approach angle. Still have issues with the pinch weld while turning. You can pound it over, but that’s up to the owner.

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Nov 10, 2017 2:11 pm

Regearing is needed with 31s, IF you want to retain the power and mileage you had before the lift
If you don't care about mileage or having any power then so be it, BUT in the end you'll wish ya did
While some will argue its all common sense

Making room for bigger tires.

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