Off-Road Wheel Brands

Carmodifier · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 11:46 am

I had my wheels loaded in my parents' KJ and ready to be dropped off to get powder coated, BUT I got cold feet. I thought to myself, why am I going to spend this much money to just change the color of my OEM wheels?? Why not spend a little more money and get a bigger size and different design?? Here's how she is sitting right now:

I know luxury wheels very well, since I shopped around and did research for about a year and half before I finally pulled the trigger on the wheels for my Acura. I only have a week or so to decide on wheels for my KJ. I need to know what size tire to order and get them installed before it starts snowing. I want to go with some nice off-road wheels, but I do not know which companies make the best off-road wheels. I would love to go with some BMF wheels , but do not want to spend that much money on my KJ. I plan on getting some BMF Wheels once I buy my JK. I am looking at going with the widest 18" wheels that will fit and not rub with my OEM suspension set-up.

What off-road wheel brands would you recommend? What is the widest 18" wheel I can buy without it rubbing with my OEM suspension set-up? What size tire would you recommend? Thanks in advance for the help!

long_tall_texan · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 12:34 pm

Well... Not many pick 18" for the KJ. Most stick with 16". Some even drop down to 15" with a steel aftermarket wheel. I assume you have no lift, so 245/75-16 is about as large of diameter as you ca get without too much rubbing. Go with a 16x7 wheel with 4-4.5 " of backspacing. Most popular for the KJ is the Cragar Soft 8, Black D Window, or V5 steel wheels. SummitRacing.com usually has the best price for them shipped to your door. But local tire stores like Discount have a house brand wheel that are made by the same manufacturer and are usually about the same price, or will match price for you. If you did decide to go 15" wheel, you have to use steel wheels. Aluminum wheels in a 15 will rub the calipers. Check through the tire and wheel section here. TONS of info on practically every combination know to man.

long_tall_texan · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 12:50 pm

Another common wheel that many like are the TJ Rubicon Moab wheels. You can usually find them on local craigslist for reasonable price. Very good wheels. 16x8 with 5" BS.

Here is the stock Silver color:

Here they are Powder Coated Black:

Carmodifier · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:11 pm

I am really interested in the Cragar 352 Series Black Street Lock "D" Window wheels [http://tiny.cc/rashq] in the following specs: 16x8 rim size, 5x4.5 bolt pattern, 13 offset, and 5 rear spacer. I just purchased a set of BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO tires [LT245/70R16D]. Will these wheels work well with the tires I bought? Does anyone have these wheels on their Jeep. If so, please post some photos

long_tall_texan · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:24 pm

That size tire would really work better with a 7" wide rim. I had that tire wheel combo, mine were 15x7 with 4" BS. tires were 32x11.50x15

Carmodifier · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:41 pm

long_tall_texan wrote:

That size tire would really work better with a 7" wide rim. I had that tire wheel combo, mine were 15x7 with 4" BS. tires were 32x11.50x15

Why do you say my size tire would work better with a 7" wide rim vs. a 8" wide rim?

So you recommend that I get the Cragar 352 Series Black Street Lock "D" Window wheels in the following specs instead for my size tire: 16x7 rim size, 5x4.5 bolt pattern, 0 offset, and 4 rear spacer?

It looks like you have the Cragar 342 Series Black "D" Window tires in that picture, not the Cragar 352 Series Black Street Lock "D" Window tires. Is that correct, or is it just my eyes? lol

BTW, how many tire and wheel combos have you had installed??

long_tall_texan · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 4:06 pm

Yes, I would say 16x7 with 4" back spacing for 245 width wheels. That is what BFG recommends for a 245 wide tire. Suggested rim width from their web site is 6.5 - 7.5 inches.

And yeah, I kinda have a tire/wheel fettish...

Stock 16" Aluminum Wheels, 225/75-16 Goodyear Wrangler ST
Cragar Black D Window 15x7, 4" BS with Treadwright ATG 235/75-15
31x10.50x15 Michelin LTX M/S
32x11.50x15 BFG All Terrain TA KO
32x11.50x15 Apache All Terrain
31x10.50x15 Pathfinder All Terrain
Traded Wheels and tires for:
06 TJ Rubicon Moabs with 245/75-16 Pathfinder All Terrain
265/75-16 Cooper Discoverer ATR
Traded Wheels and tires for:
05 TJ Rubicon Black Powder Coated Moabs with 285/75/16 Maxxis Buckshot XMT Mudders

I think I like this setup. Gonna keep it for a while... And by the way, I have bought/sold most of the sets off of craigslist and actually made anywhere from $50 to $300 including the cost to re-mount and balance the tires every time.

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 5:04 pm

With stock and sort of sagged suspension you will have problems with an 8 inch wheel to begin with, so stay with a 7 inch and 245-70s even then you may have some rub due the limited wheel sizes.

Carmodifier · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 5:14 pm

I was doing some research and trying to find some photos of the Cragar 352 Series Black Street Lock "D" Window wheels installed on some Jeeps. I came across the following site: http://www.jeepspeak.com/cragar.asp. In that site I noticed the following statement, "* Will not fit tires with RIM PROTECTORS! (BFGoodrich® All-Terrain T/A® KO Tires)". Why would the editor say this; what do you think his reasoning was behind this? Is this true??

Carmodifier · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 2:49 am

So I went to Discount Tire (where I bought my tires from) to test fit a 8" width wheel on one of my BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO tires [LT245/70R16D] and OEM suspension. I test fitted the 16x8 MB Wheels Stryker, I believe it was -13 offset. This wheel caused my tire to rub on my fender. Apparently Cragar will custom make the 352 Series Black Street Lock "D" Window wheel in any size that I need. Thus, I was wondering if there is any way to get that wheel in 16x8 with a custom offset and backspacing that will not rub with my set-up. What do you guys think?

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 4:14 am

yes for a somewhat small price hike they'll make a pretty wide variety of backspacing for you
which part of the fender was it rubbing? pinch weld? if so.. pound it, and test fit again

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 5:21 am

Again stock sagged suspension and 8 inch wheel will have you rubbing no matter what
One of the guys here in Toledo tried a 30-9.50-15 and a 7 inch wheel and had rubbing problems even
But then keep trying :roll:

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 6:37 am

Carmodifier wrote:

So I went to Discount Tire (where I bought my tires from) to test fit a 8" width wheel on one of my BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO tires [LT245/70R16D] and OEM suspension. I test fitted the 16x8 MB Wheels Stryker, I believe it was -13 offset. This wheel caused my tire to rub on my fender. Apparently Cragar will custom make the 352 Series Black Street Lock "D" Window wheel in any size that I need. Thus, I was wondering if there is any way to get that wheel in 16x8 with a custom offset and backspacing that will not rub with my set-up. What do you guys think?

Your going to have to forget about a 8" wide rim until you lift your KJ,it just isn't going to happen.

Carmodifier · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 7:14 pm

JeepinJarhead03 wrote:

yes for a somewhat small price hike they'll make a pretty wide variety of backspacing for you
which part of the fender was it rubbing? pinch weld? if so.. pound it, and test fit again

The 6x8 MB Wheels Stryker I test fitted yesterday was actually a 0 offset. The tire rubbed the pinch weld and the front plastic of the fender.

I just ordered one Cragar 352 Series Black Street Lock "D" Window in the following specs to test fit it with my set-up: 16x7 rim size, 5x4.5 bolt pattern, 0 offset, and 4 backspacing. It should be here mid next week. Do you guys think this size wheel will rub with my set-up?

DirtyKK · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 7:23 pm

Carmodifier wrote:

JeepinJarhead03 wrote:

yes for a somewhat small price hike they'll make a pretty wide variety of backspacing for you
which part of the fender was it rubbing? pinch weld? if so.. pound it, and test fit again

The 6x8 MB Wheels Stryker I test fitted yesterday was actually a 0 offset. The tire rubbed the pinch weld and the front plastic of the fender.

I just ordered one Cragar 352 Series Black Street Lock "D" Window in the following specs to test fit it with my set-up: 16x7 rim size, 5x4.5 bolt pattern, 0 offset, and 4 backspacing. It should be here mid next week. Do you guys think this size wheel will rub with my set-up?

yes, you are gonna want a lift to run that offset even with 245/70 tires

long_tall_texan · **Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2010 1:18 am

Sorry to disagree here, but I think you are confused on the wheels you are getting. With a 7" wheel, you either have 4" BS which equals +12 mm offset, or you have zero offset, which is 3.5" BS.

4" BS is only zero offset on an 8" wide wheel...

Carmodifier · **Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2010 1:29 am

long_tall_texan wrote:

Sorry to disagree here, but I think you are confused on the wheels you are getting. With a 7" wheel, you either have 4" BS which equals +12 mm offset, or you have zero offset, which is 3.5" BS.

4" BS is only zero offset on an 8" wide wheel...

I hope you are right and the wheel has a more positive offset :crossesfingers: I am getting my info. straight from Cragar's website: http://www.cragar.com/ProductView.aspx?id=1164&bq=%3fc%3d15&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1. Discount Tire also said that the 16x7 Cragar 352 Series Black Street Lock "D" Window was a 0 offset and 4 backspacing.

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2010 2:07 am

we seem to be missing an aspect here

EveryTHING rubs the pinch and foglight doors, expect it

pound the pinch, heat the foglight access doors area and push it back with the hilt of a hammer

tommudd · **Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2010 6:16 am

Save your typing fingers jarhead,
he's not listening at all
a stock wheel with 245-70s will at times rub when unlifted
so going aftermarket not matter what you are buying you're going to be hacking away at some or most all you've listed but then he'll see

stumpjumper_09 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2010 10:12 am

We have all been there..... Trying to make the stock jeep better without actually doing anything. I'm gonna predict the future here. This guys course of events is going to be.

Oversized tires = :banghead:

Spacer lift (cause its cheap) = :banghead:

New tires (cause the ones he bought are now too small) = :banghead:

Spring lift (cause spacer lifts suck!!!) = :banghead:

RRO extreeme arms (cause they are cheaper and everyone deserves a chance) = :banghead:

JBA arms (cause RRO Sucks) = :banghead:

Looks like I'm seeing 6 alignments and alot of :banghead:

Dude just listen to REV mud. I didn't and I'm thinking that the above statement comes more from experience than my crystal ball.

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