Upgrading My Wheels

JEden8 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 22, 2010 11:20 am

I am currently looking to upgrade my wheels on my 08 KK. I currently have the stock 16's with the stock Goodyear Wrangler's. My tires still have good life on them so I'm debating on if I want to get rid of them or buy new. Discount Tire has offered me $50/tire to sell them to them so that is another option. It's a quick way of getting $200 off my rims/tires. I also have the Daystar lift installed so it looks weird with the tires sucked in and the smaller size. I also have a 2x4. I'm not doing any offroading but am going for a nice clean look. So I don't require the hardcore mud terrain tires. I'm currently looking at the BFG All Terrains unless someone can persuade me otherwise.

First option: Upgrade the rims only. I talked with Discount Tire and they were saying to go to a 16x8 rim with a 4.5" backspacing to get a wider tire look. Is this too large of a rim size? Do I want to stay at the 7" width instead of the 8"? Also, what are some good quality wheels for the money? I'm currently looking at Pro Comp wheels.

Second option: Upgrade everything. What's the best option for tires and what's the max size that I should go?

Any help is greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

DetroitKK · **Posted:** Wed Sep 22, 2010 1:47 pm

I'm in the process up upgrading my wheels/tires as well. I'm running the stock suspension so you would be able to go a little bit bigger with the Daystar. I'm planning on getting 16x7 Crager Soft 8s and going with BF Goodrich A/T KOs. For me the largest tire size is gonna be 245/70R16, again you can go bigger with the lift. I've looked into some of the Pro Comp wheels as well, and compared to the Cragars, they are more expensive, especially if you get into anything with bead locks. Since you are 4x2 and you don't need to worry about getting a real hardcore wheel or tire, I would think any A/T would get the job done, and add some grip compared to the Wranglers. I guess my first question is what style are you lookin for? Rugged/off road look,(smaller rims, thicker tires) or more of a "street" look(pizza cutters?) One thing to consider (from what I've been hearing anyway) is while going 16x8 will give you a wider stance it's gonna add some weight compared to anything in 16x7, but it all comes down to personal preference.

Also, I saw in your Sig you tinted your tails and turn signals.. I just blacked out my headlights and I would love to get some tint going as well. Could you give me some info on how you did that and what products you used? Thanks!

JEden8 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 22, 2010 2:38 pm

I was debating on if I should go with a 16x7 or a 16x8. I can see the idea behind the weight but am I going to get the wheels to pop out flush with the fenders? I am currently looking at the 245/75R16 BFG All Terrain KO's to upgrade to. I have not looked at the Cragers yet. I'll have to check them out. I'm not looking for anything too fancy nor will I need anything that has bead locks. I'm looking for that rugged off road look as well.

As far as the tinting of the tail lights and turn signals, I just used Rus-Oleum's black lens tint:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Rust-Oleum-10-oz-translucent-black-lens-tint/_/N-25gw?counter=0&filterByKeyWord=tint&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=87705_0_0_

For the tail lights, I took them off and taped off the clear portions of the light since I only wanted to tint the red portion. Luckily there is a groove that you can use to tape off everything so that you don't tint the turn signal portion of the tail lights. I put on 3 coats of tint since I wanted them pretty dark. I then followed them up with 3 coats of clear coat. Once they were completed, they were glossy as could be. Now they are dull. I don't know how to get around that. I tried polishing them with my buffer but ended up melting the light and pulling off some of the tint. Not too happy about that. :banghead:

For the turn signals, again I taped it all off and did the same thing. I did have to leave them on though. I couldn't figure out how to take them out. Downfall is the same. Bugs are also an issue with this. Living in Florida it is hot and the bugs burn into the tint so now they look like crap.

JEden8 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 22, 2010 3:08 pm

Does anybody have an idea of what the stock 16" wheel weight is?

DetroitKK · **Posted:** Wed Sep 22, 2010 3:24 pm

Thanks for the tinting info! The process seems simple enough but I'm a bit weary on the dulling/bug issue... If I find any workarounds I'll keep ya posted.

As far as wheel weights, it seems you and I are on the same page.. I started a topic trying to get some info on weights a few days ago haha.

viewtopic.php?f=88&t=55764

turbosocks · **Joined:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:06 pm **Posts:** 93

not really on topic totally.. but i just ordered some 16x8" cragar v-5s and some Kumho KL78 AT tires (they were rated pretty darn good) and seem to have a long tire life..

I got BOTH rims and tires, shipped to my door (will be there tomm) for 770$ shipped.

Here are the rims:

Here are the tires:

For the wheels, I was just looking for some cheap, black wheels that had a bit of a 'rugged' look to them.

For the tires, I was looking for something that would last a while, be semi easy on the pocket, but take my 4x2 some more places than the stockers..

I got 255/70/16s which I assume will rub a bit without a lift (which i dont have yet)

not sure on the stock weights..

regarding the tinting.. i am tackling my 'tint' project this weekend for the front corner lens, reflectors, tail lights and 3rd brake light.. I am going to use clear on all of them. If that fades, I will redo them and use that 3M clear film that people use to protect paint. Should never have an issue with chipping then either.

DetroitKK · **Posted:** Thu Sep 23, 2010 7:38 am

Where did you get those Cragars and Kumhos from? From what I've seen it looks like Summit Racing has the best deal on Cragars, and 4WD.com has the best deal on the BF Goodrich T/A KOs that I'm lookin at...

tommudd · **Posted:** Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:46 am

Why not shop locally?
Most all local places will price match and then you don't have to worry about mounting etc. Check Discount Tire for wheels, they all come from the same place so getting the same wheel.
Tires like I said I got online prices and then went to Tireman and they price matched and gave me free mounting/balancing etc.

For tint use VHT NiteShades, been using it for over 10 years on various rigs and never a problem just spray light coats, most times two to three is plenty

JEden8 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:58 am

tommudd wrote:

For tint use VHT NiteShades, been using it for over 10 years on various rigs and never a problem just spray light coats, most times two to three is plenty

Do you use clear over this as well or does this remain glossy the entire time? If so, I'm gonna sand my lights down and redo them.

turbosocks · **Joined:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:06 pm **Posts:** 93

i will be using VHT.. i always spray the last coat a little thicker and then you get a glossy look. the only reason I will be clearing them this time is for extra protection.

No one locally would come close to those prices... I checked into discount and Big O..

I got the wheels from JEGS and the tires from tirerack. It will only cost me about 50$ to have them mounted and balanced at wally world.

JEden8 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 23, 2010 11:00 am

I'm also looking into possibly having my wheels powder coated and then just using a wheel spacer to pop my wheels out flush with my fenders. Any objections to doing this?

turbosocks · **Joined:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:06 pm **Posts:** 93

i thought about doing that, but it was cheaper to just replace the wheels and run without spacers.. powdercoating runs ~50$ a wheel or so, then the spacers (spidertrax at least) are 50$ a piece..

the Jeep is my only vehicle, so I couldn't have downtime waiting on a powdercoater.. It was also cheaper to get the wheels i ordered to get the black, more rugged look and have a wider wheel.

JEden8 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 23, 2010 11:19 am

I found the Rough Country wheel spacers for $60/pair on JCWhitney. I'm in the same boat as you. My KK is my only vehicle and cannot afford the down time. But if I were to just use the spacers, keep the wheels how they are and get bigger tires, my goals would in essence be accomplished correct?

turbosocks · **Joined:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:06 pm **Posts:** 93

yeah, you would get the 'flush' look that way. BUT, and i would spend the extra 20$ a spacer for it.. the rough country ones don't look to be hubcentric. I am not sure how the Jeeps wheels are stock (hub or lugcentric) but I know that the spidertraxx are hubcentric.

JEden8 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 23, 2010 12:37 pm

What's the difference? I haven't heard that before. I'm pretty much a noob with these.

turbosocks · **Joined:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:06 pm **Posts:** 93

The Hub-centric ring help carry the load directly on the hub and helps center the wheel perfectly.

Prevents vibration also since its perfectly centered. In theory, since the lug nuts are conical, this wouldn't be a problem, but I have heard of people having vibration issues (even with conical lugs) after a few miles due to an ever so slight runout.

off topic: but do you have big pics of your tinted setup and a side pic of the lift.. I just decided to order the Daystar lift instead of the rock krawler, so i was interested to see it on a stock KK, specially since it would look the same (as mine is stock right now)

JEden8 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 23, 2010 1:22 pm

Here is a link to my tinting that I've done:

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=50385

This was done before my lift. Here's links to the lift:

Pic of just the rear lifted:
https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/myalbum/photos/photo12/e8/4e/2fe754fb8155__1285234764000.jpeg

Another view:
https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/myalbum/photos/photo03/56/00/ba508d48872f__1285235123000.jpeg

Completely Lifted Angle:
https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/myalbum/photos/photo33/a4/f7/5985da381134__1285235125000.jpeg

Completely Lifted Side:
https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/myalbum/photos/photo33/79/ba/759ba0a0f9ad__1285235056000.jpeg

JEden8 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 23, 2010 2:35 pm

I think I found my new tires. Looking at getting the General Grabber AT2's 245/70 R16. Discount Tire offered me $50/tire for my old Goodyear Wranglers. So that alone will knock off $200 of my tire purchase plus General has a $100 rebate for them. Total price should be about $148 before tax and mounting.

DetroitKK · **Posted:** Thu Sep 23, 2010 2:39 pm

Now you've got me thinking about spacers as well... or at least going with some 16x7's haha ohh boy. Also I do love the tint job, but I think I'm gonna try to put less coats on the tail lights so a bit more of the red shines through to give them more of a "smoked" than "blacked out" look. Maybe I'll give it a shot this weekend.. while I mull over my wheel/tire combo :juggle:

JEden8 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 23, 2010 2:53 pm

Yea I'm thinking I'm going to give it a shot on the headlight blackout like yours here sometime soon. I'm just scared as hell to bake my lights. I tried it a while back on my old WJ headlights and all they did was get deformed and the plastic turned brown. Little worried about it. Have you gone to Discount lately? Check out if they'll buy your tires off ya. It doesn't hurt to get a little bit out of your old tires.

Upgrading My Wheels

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