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Wheel and tire opinions? Not sure what to do.

944 views 10 replies 11 participants last post by  JTPhoto JK 
#1 ·
So I'm brand new to the Jeep world. I bought a 2010 JKU Sahara about a month ago. I want to use it as a daily driver, mall crawler, and light off-roading/trail use. I'm not a daredevil so I'd avoid any 'difficult' trails until I was supremely confident in my abilities.

I bought this beaut with two sets of wheels and tires.
Set 1.
18" Stock wheels/tires. 255/70R18. I don't think they were ever used until I put them on to drive around in a MN winter.

Set 2.
20" Moto Metal rims on Open Country AT2s. The dealership said there was <5,000 miles on them. Not sure how to verify that with these types of tires.

What I want.. 33-35" tires that look aggressive - on black rims.

My options...

1. Stick with what I have and make them work for a while. Burn some good rubber on both. Maybe black out the stocks with plastidip or Bedliner. Switch to the 20" in summer. It's a 'close enough' look for my uses.
2. Sell/trade one or both sets and get into a 16-17" rim with aggressive 33-35" tires. Think I can find a place/person interested? Seems like a better deal for them than me anyways!

Im a self proclaimed moron and noob to all of this but my math has me at about 32" tires either way I dice my current setups.

My question... what would you all do? Any recommendations or input?
 

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#2 · (Edited)
:welcome: to the forum and to the world of Jeeps!

You should keep this website handy: https://tiresize.com. It will help you figure out all types of tire sizes without ever again having to use your own math.

In general, trucks look best with larger tires on smaller rims. Even if you don't wheel, all of that extra rubber gives your truck a sense of purpose.
Also, a little dirty secret of the tire industry: the smaller the rim, the lower the price. And, the most popular tire size for JKs, with the widest number of options, is by far 17". You will start getting into fitting issues once you go below 16" rims.

Only you can decide what to do with those 20" wheels and tires. But, if I were in your shoes, I'd be looking at the 18" or even 17" wheels and start from there.

Good luck.
 
#4 ·
I like option 2. I had 20's and traded a guy for 18's. Would still like 16's or 17's, but mine look decent. I gave up mud terrains for all terrains in the process. No complaints on my end.

Throw them out there on Craigslist. Someone may take you up on the 20's. In our area the stock Sahara wheels won't get you much, but you could use to sweeten the pot.
 
#5 ·
Definitely 17" wheels.. 8.5" or 9.0" wide Rim, with a Back Spacing of 5.2 to 4.5.

Tires: GY Duratracs, BFG KO2's, or Nitto Ridge Grapplers. 33's, 34's, or 35's, but the 35's look better on a JKU..IMO..but that's you call.

^^^All of these tires will be great for your application..IMO

My 2 cents...
 
#7 ·
I agree with the others. Dump, at minimum, the 20s and stick with the 18s.

If you *could* i would also dump the 18s and get a nice pair of 17 inch rims. No shortage of killer looking 17 inch rims which look proportionally nice with a 35in M/T or aggressive A/T. Best of luck and grats on the Jeep!
 
#10 ·
You want big tires, not big wheels...when you go off road. There are several good reasons to go with 15" wheels. The 15" tires costs significantly less and they allow better flexing and gripping when aired down.

Airing down properly is a huge part of successful 4 wheeling....on challenging terrain.

16" and 17" isn't bad either. Military hummers use 16.5" wheels by the way. I just bought some used Hummer tires today in fact.
 
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