Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

Wheel opinions

4K views 39 replies 9 participants last post by  JeepXLR8 
#1 ·
I've got a 2010 Unlimited Sahara. After a few hours of looking, I like Duratrac A/T 33's with black ATX Artillery wheels. Not interested in a lift as of yet. 1. Does that sound like a good fit? 2. Any need for spacers? Thoughts?
Lets hear it. Pics would be a plus!
 
#2 ·
What is the backspacing on the rim? If it is equal or greater than 4.5, you should be fine at full flex. If you are not going to disconnect, there should be no problems. From what I've read, spacers do not have a good reputation, but I've seen nice pics with them, so that's up to you
 
#3 ·
I don't know those wheels but if you get the right backspace you wont need spacers. I had Duratrac 33's on my Jeep and loved them. I went with 15" rims to save some money and I love the look of the big sidewall. I put them on before I lifted my Jeep and had no rubbing. Here is a pic of my un-lifted Jeep with the 33's on it.
 
#4 ·
I'm currently running BFG KO 33/12.5R15s with no lift and have had no rubbing on the road (I'm sure I would though if running disconnected). The wheels have a 3.75" backspacing so the wheels stick out more than an inch from under the fenders.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
If you only want to go 1 to 1.5 look into a teraflex leveling kit. That's next on my agenda. Its a body lift (spacers on top of the stock suspension) that will lift you 2" in the front and 1" in the back. It's the least intrusive option for a lift.

https://www.quadratec.com/products/16190_1100_07.htm
 
#9 ·
I am a wheel/tire newbie. I can put those Duratrac 33's on the 17 inch wheels I just posted above and keep the stock height for now? If the wheels have 5.47 inch backspace how far out does that push the tire? (or doesn't it) ..thanks, learning here!
 
#10 ·
They don't make the duratracs in a flotation tire for a 17" rim (i.e. 33/12.5R17), but they do have standard sizes that are applicable like a 285/70R17 which measures ~33"x11.5". However you're definitely going to have some rub at the extents of your steering with a BS over 6". You may want to see if you can find a rim that you like with less backspacing or look into wheel spacers, but a lot of shops won't touch you if you're running spacers.

Here's a link for calculating wheel sizes for the metric values:

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.dos?desktop=true

Just went through this myself and know it can be a steep learning curve. Good luck.
 
#12 ·
Ok. My mind is numb from reading all this materal and scrolling rims. I would like suggestions: I have the 2010 Sahara 4 door, no lift for now, love the size of the stock 255/70/R18 tires so def not smaller. Like the Duratrac A/T 33's. so looking at the rim posted above, what can I put those on?...and....go!
 
#14 ·
Duratrac s are a good all purpose tire. Many people who wheel light to moderately are happy with them. If tougher terrain is in store then you may want to think about a good mt. As for rims...I like stock wheels, as for spacers, a billet aluminum hub centric spacer is fine, you will have 0 problems as long as you have them properly torqued to 110 ft lbs per lug in a star pattern, if you choose to not torque them, then you will have problems.
 
#17 ·
Great info and feedback. Thanks for the help. You all are great. To review, I have a 2010 dark green Sahara unlimited and I am leaning towards the Duratrac 33's with AEV Pintler wheels. I don't need a lift at that point but am interested in a basic leveling later on. That should work, yes?
 
#19 ·
The Pintlers were my first choice too, but unfortunately price drove me away. AEV makes some great products, but they're usually pretty steep. I saw a set of titanium pintlers on the spiderwebshade JK at their shop, and they look really bad ass in person.

http://www.spiderwebshade.com/products/

Look at the red 2dr and you can see a little of how they'll look.

Let us know what you decide to do (and post pics :))
 
#20 ·
As I mentioned before I am a wheel newbie and there is a steep learning curve, my mind is numb! lol. If I go with the Pintlers (black) they measure 17 x 8.5.
How do I pick the size of the tire from there and are they smaller than the stock Bridgestone A/T 255 70 R 18 ones I have? Lastly, at
what point do I worry about tire rubbing without that leveling lift yet....

I feel like a nitwit but the numbers are driving me up a tree! help!
 
#24 ·
Yeah I like the look of his rig. I'm not sure what the backspacing on the pintlers is, but you should probably be good with 11.5s.

Just a word of advice... I just went through this last week and had thought I'd be happy with 10.5s, but ended up taking them back the next day to get 12.5s. Think about what's most important to you: look, ride, mud, rock, gas mileage, etc. and get exactly what you want.

If you want to see the difference in look between the 10.5s and 12.5s with no lift (sorry no 11.5s), I've got pictures on my build thread:

http://www.wranglerforum.com/showthread.php?p=4007671

The wider widths look better (in my opinion) but I did notice a significant drop in gas mileage when I went up to the 12.5s. I haven't had them offroad yet so I can't talk to performance.
 
#25 ·
Thanks again. I read somewhere I may run into rubbing with 12.5s and input on that? ....I am interested in road performance in New England and the look, less about trails otherwise I'd likely run an MT Baja or the like.....
As for the look it seems I have a particularity for visual ratio's so I was a good beefy road tire and I tried to like the round "holes" in rims but seem to gravitate away from that.
 
#26 ·
The pintlers that Quadratec carries have 5.2" backspacing (not sure if there are other variants with different backspacing) where my rims have 3.75". That puts the pintlers ~1.5" closer to the chassis than what I'm running. I have tested my wheels on the road to the steering stops and verified there's no rub. The 11.5s should have approx. 0.5" less rubber on each side. Overall that puts you about an inch closer to the chassis than my setup.

I haven't crawled under to verify how much clearance I have at the steering stops so I can't tell you for sure if you're going to rub at max streer. If you go with that setup and find that you do rub, some members suggest that you add some washers to your stops to limit your max steering angles. I haven't had to do it so I can't vouch for the validity or difficulty of that technique.

Sorry man, I'm no wheel guru so I don't have any solid answers for you. I'm just a poor sap who has just gone through the process myself. Sounds like what you're going for should be close, you may just have a little rub at max steer which would only occur at slow speeds (and does have a fix). Good luck.
 
#30 ·
No, no, no, too dangerous... I never run spinners on the trails anymore. Last time I did, the neons under the jeep flickered off the chrome and caused all the kids to have seizures.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top