Tire size delimma

KJUberalles · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:45 am

I ordered my Rusty's coil lift yesterday with some 31/10.5 bfg m/t's in mind. However today I went to Discount Tires and I'm being told that really the biggest tire I'm gonna be able to fit is a 255/70-16.
I'm picking up some unique soft8's 16/8 for wheels. I originally had planned some Crager soft 8's 15/8, but apperently if i go any lower than a 16in wheel that I'll have to swap my break calipers. Right now i have 17in rim's that came stock.

Is this true? or this guy full of it? This having to go to a 16in wheel isn't really a big deal at all but i figured i'd add that to the questions i have. So really my question is, is this guy wrong and can i go ahead and go ahead with my original plan and put the 31/10.5 bfg m/t's on? and if i can what kind of modifications am i going to have to do to the body of my libby so that i have minimal to no rubbing

I believe that all made sense, if it didnt please ask to clarify

there she is, sorry for the crappy cell phone picture, my digi cam is screwy

Guest · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2007 2:06 am

a 255/70 isn't that much smaller than a 31x1050, but you WILL need 15" wheels for the 31s. the Soft 8s in a 4.5" backspace will fit according to other members, so you should be in the clear.

Somebody else with more knowledge than me is bound to chime in, but I figured I'd be the first to put your mind at ease:)

CD · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2007 2:49 am

Mate, I'd stear clear of 15" rims. Stick to 16" or larger with a min 5" back space. More chance of finding rubber that will fit a 16" rim.

This thread should answer some if not most of your questions.

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/vie ... hp?t=22926

jason thompson · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:57 am

First welcome to the board

now on to rims tires and lift
first rustys coil lift not a bad choice ,I have a personal problem with the owner but that is between me and him
as far as rims SOME 15's will fit but they will cause rubbing due to the need for greater back spacing
some folks think that clearing the break calipers is the only issue but trust me that is not all I have found 15" rims with 5" of back spacing that cleared the breaks but hit the outter tie rod ends
I would strongly recomend simply going with the OE 16" rim or shopping real hard for a 16" rim with no more than 4.5" of back spacing
if you go over that and even at that you will rub like crazy in the rear
I have worked on a KJ with the set up you are looking at
rustys lift
15X8 steelies w/30X9.5 BFG MT
and he cut up his tires on the first trail ride
they were hitting on the inner rear wheel well so bad that they nearly ripped the flairs off we need to put an inch + of bumpstop spacing in to stop the rub ,with the 31X10.5 it will break something
with the OE Limited wheels you can run a 245/75 MT's with that lift and NO extra bump stop spacing and very minimal rubbing in the rear
you will need to pound the pinch and move the fog lamp door ,heat gun trick, but they will fit

elephantrider · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2007 7:05 am

you can run up to 265/75/r16, but you'll need some extra lift with rear spring isolators and front clevis lift.

where you located in texas ?

jeepkj02 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:21 am

The 15" Cragar black steels will clear the brake calipers. 31x10.5R15 is about the same size as 265/70R16. Many people do run that size with a 2.5" lift. Worse comes to worse, bring out the hammer and start pounding. :twisted:

KJUberalles · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:00 pm

thanks for your help so far guys

so far it sounds like even if i'm stuck with the 255/70's it's not gonna make that big of a difference.

I wanted to see if there was in difference between the wheels I'm getting and the Crager soft 8's

I'm getting Unique 297's in 16/8
http://www.uniquewheel.com/catalog_pg2.html

I just wanna know if there is any difference in the backspacing and what not, I'm not quite as savy in vehical knowledge but im learning as fast as i can

My lift is scheduled to deliever on friday so I'll have that on this weekend, also I'll need a strut compressor for the install, can these be rented from say NTB or where would i find one of these?

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:44 pm

You could save some money and use your 17's. Toyo Open Country MT/AT and Hercules Terra Trac AT makes plenty of sizes. There is a pic of one of our Aussie Menbers with 17's and the Toyp MTs...it looks great and fits perfectly.

This chart is not gospel...but it will give you a good idea of what will and won't work.

Hercules Terra Trac AT:

Toyo Open Country AT:

KJUberalles · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:47 pm

I thought about that for awhile but i decided i wanted a wider footprint so i found more or less the cheapest black wheels i could find

elephantrider · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2007 2:56 pm

i have a claw type spring compressor we used for my lift,
ill loan you for the install if you need.

ProjektKJ · **Posted:** Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:16 pm

KJUberalles wrote:

thanks for your help so far guys
I wanted to see if there was in difference between the wheels I'm getting and the Crager soft 8's

I'm getting Unique 297's in 16/8
http://www.uniquewheel.com/catalog_pg2.html

unique steel owns crager so the unique 297 and crager soft 8's are the exact same wheel. however with the 297 series you can customize your b/s... just tell your tire dealer you want to do a custom b/s and they'll have to order it and it takes like 4 weeks or so.. and it is like 8$ more per tire to do a custom b/s

skywarn · **Posted:** Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:45 pm

what part of texas yall in?

elephantrider · **Posted:** Thu Aug 02, 2007 1:13 pm

im in hutto, just northeast of austin.

KJUberalles · **Posted:** Sat Aug 04, 2007 2:26 am

I'm in san antonio

thanks for all your help guys

It's all gonna come together in this next week here, with the lift and tires, so i'll post some pictures asap

KJUberalles · **Posted:** Sat Aug 04, 2007 2:44 am

the libby has been up on jackstands for 2 days waiting for some new breakpads, haven't even owned it a month and I was grinding metal on metal :roll:

Tire size delimma

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