[Buster3479]

I'm been having a 2 week long argument with myself about this. I am ordering 33" Duratracs for my 12' auto, 3.73, 4dr JKU next weekend. I have a 1.5" performance spring lift, and no air dam with the Warn elite front bumper.

I'm looking at an Eaton Truetrack, install kit, lubelocker, and bombshell as we speak sitting on my workbench waiting for install. I've recently realized that for winter driving in the Upper Penninsula MI, the best limited slip is still only as good as the tires, and the stockers aren't cutting it here in MD in mild weather, on road or off.

I spend a lot of time on road here in MD, and quite a bit on the highway on it's way to the Midwest, but the Jeep gets wheeled down logging roads, through strip mine ground, deer hunted, crosses large creeks and fields in summer and snow once back in the Midwest. I'm not a rock crawler. I do also tow, right up to the 3500lb and tongue limit on occasion.

After spending a week worrying about looks, I've finally picked a wheel, MB TKO. It's just what suits my fancy. They come in 17" 4.5" bs, and 15" 3.75" bs. I'm only going to 33's, I have no desire to go bigger, as I still care a bit about gas mileage with long drives across half the country, and daily comfort to and from the grind.

The options in a Duratrac are 285/70/17 in a D-rated tire, or 33"x12.5"x15 in a C-rated tire as far as I can tell to get a 33". Money aside, I see plusses and minuses to both sides.

15's - Less faith in towing on them, and maybe more sidewall give on the highway. Should ride better being C-rated. Slightly larger tires, but weigh less due to less ply.

17's - Should be more than fine for towing, 1.2" narrower and about .3" shorter per tire. Will ride rougher on the highway, and weight ~20lbs more per corner.

I have no idea which is going to have better gas mileage out of the two, less unsprung weight vs. less rubber on pavement is a hard tradeoff. The 17's aren't much bigger than what I'm running now, 0.7" taller, and 1.2" wider. How bad would it be to tow (occasional weekend warrior) 3500lbs on the 15" C? How bad is the ride going to be when not towing in the D? What other factors am I leaving out in my ignorance? :banghead:

 

[kjeeper10]

I don't think you will notice much of a difference with a 33.
Not enough to be concerned at least.
People like 15's because tires are cheaper.

If you plan on 35's. that's a different story

 

[aypanthony]

I'm been having a 2 week long argument with myself about this. I am ordering 33" Duratracs for my 12' auto, 3.73, 4dr JKU next weekend. I have a 1.5" performance spring lift, and no air dam with the Warn elite front bumper.

I'm looking at an Eaton Truetrack, install kit, lubelocker, and bombshell as we speak sitting on my workbench waiting for install. I've recently realized that for winter driving in the Upper Penninsula MI, the best limited slip is still only as good as the tires, and the stockers aren't cutting it here in MD in mild weather, on road or off.

I spend a lot of time on road here in MD, and quite a bit on the highway on it's way to the Midwest, but the Jeep gets wheeled down logging roads, through strip mine ground, deer hunted, crosses large creeks and fields in summer and snow once back in the Midwest. I'm not a rock crawler. I do also tow, right up to the 3500lb and tongue limit on occasion.

After spending a week worrying about looks, I've finally picked a wheel, MB TKO. It's just what suits my fancy. They come in 17" 4.5" bs, and 15" 3.75" bs. I'm only going to 33's, I have no desire to go bigger, as I still care a bit about gas mileage with long drives across half the country, and daily comfort to and from the grind.

The options in a Duratrac are 285/70/17 in a D-rated tire, or 33"x12.5"x15 in a C-rated tire as far as I can tell to get a 33". Money aside, I see plusses and minuses to both sides.

15's - Less faith in towing on them, and maybe more sidewall give on the highway. Should ride better being C-rated. Slightly larger tires, but weigh less due to less ply.

17's - Should be more than fine for towing, 1.2" narrower and about .3" shorter per tire. Will ride rougher on the highway, and weight ~20lbs more per corner.

I have no idea which is going to have better gas mileage out of the two, less unsprung weight vs. less rubber on pavement is a hard tradeoff. The 17's aren't much bigger than what I'm running now, 0.7" taller, and 1.2" wider. How bad would it be to tow (occasional weekend warrior) 3500lbs on the 15" C? How bad is the ride going to be when not towing in the D? What other factors am I leaving out in my ignorance? :banghead:

I went through much of the same back and forth as you did. A Load C rated tire should work fine, however, I chose the 33X12.5X15 MB TKO's with Falken Rocky Mountains, instead of the Duratrac's. The Falkens have a stronger sidewall, since I was concerned about towing ~3500lbs as well. So far, it is a great setup, very low noise, tows 3500 without issue and handles like stock. As you indicated, 15's will be lighter than 17's and are cheaper.

 

[Buster3479]

I'm assuming those are the -6MTB TKO's? Do they stick out much past the fenders? Very nice looking rig, thank you for posting. I'm looking into the Falkens right now. Any clearance issues, do you have a leveling kit, and how much reduction in gas mileage did you see?

Thanks.

 

[aypanthony]

I'm assuming those are the -6MTB TKO's? Do they stick out much past the fenders? Very nice looking rig, thank you for posting. I'm looking into the Falkens right now. Any clearance issues, do you have a leveling kit, and how much reduction in gas mileage did you see?

Thanks.

The 15" MB TKO's have about a 3.75 BS. They do stick out past the fenders. They will rub a little during full articulation but don't see any problems on day to day driving. I plan on getting a Teraflex leveling kit in the future. I believe I took a 1-2 mpg hit(using the Jeep's mpg calculator). However, I have not picked up a AEV procal to adjust for the tire size difference. The Falkens are heavier than the GY Duratracs, but not enough to be too concerned about. Either Duratrac's or Falkens are a good choice depending on what you plan on doing with your rig. BTW, I bought the Chaos center caps to go with my TKO's.

 

[Raiderfan001]

People like 15's because tires are cheaper.

I like them because I like the "more rubber/less wheel" look. Them being cheaper is just an additional benefit lol.

 

[wassup8687]

I prefer the 17" wheels. Some of the 15" look like the tires are blown up too much.

 

[BADGUYSKI]

i like the monster truck look (15's) but every body is different, 17's look modern

heres my tj 37" 15"
8.3 miles to the gallon of bliss

 

[suicideking]

I went with the 15's (also MB TKO) because wheeling is my priority even though it's my daily driver. More rubber is better for airing down.

Plus it ended up being $100+ less for the same tire in a 15 vs. 17. So that's $400 savings. I figure I'll replace my tires at least once or twice before moving up to a 37, so yeah, $400 savings each time. Put that towards other mods.

 

[Mykul]

I had similar questions to the OP, but I'm still unclear which would get better mileage 15s or 17s?

Thanx M

 

[VansMudder]

Not to hijack the thread, but do any of you guys running 15's have any balancing issues?...I would like to go to a 15" set up but have read there have been some balancing issues and that has me nervous.

 

[aypanthony]

Not to hijack the thread, but do any of you guys running 15's have any balancing issues?...I would like to go to a 15" set up but have read there have been some balancing issues and that has me nervous.

I have 15's and don't have a balancing issue. Most people that have balancing issues probably have an out of round tire. Most reputable tire shops will change out the bad tire.

 

[Snowren24]

I'm looking at the same combo. Its obviously so popular for a reason. But I've read so much good about Cooper tires, I can't decide what to do. The Cooper AT3 would fit my needs just fine and have a 55,000 mile warranty, but I really like the aggressive look of the Duratracs.I'm also a little worried about the e rating on the AT3s. Cooper makes similar tires (SST), but they are more expensive, and do not carry the 55,000 mile warranty from what I can tell, and you have to step up to 17" MB TKO rims.

So with rebates and rims, I'm looking at these prices pre tax/certs

15" Duratec $1525
16" Duratec $1790
17" Duratec $1995
17" Cooper SST $2290

16" Cooper AT3 $1625
17" Cooper At3 $1780


plus there are 90 other combinations out there

Guess I should also add that I do mostly highway driving and want to so some light off roading. I live and work in the Cleveland snow belt, so weather will be an issue.

 

[GPDude]

I had the Falken Wildpeaks an I couldn't be happier. They were aggressive an had half the street noise of a BFG. Best part was that they were almost half the price when i got them in Cali. They also ha some stylish side wall tread. I will be buying those for the rest of time.

 

[bloodfart]

i noticed a trend in the before and after pictures in the "combo" thread: a lot of people upgrading from 16" steel rims... this tells me, that most of the people that are going for "the combo" and raving about it, don't have a lot to spend in general (hence why they have base Sports)... not putting anyone down, i'm not made of money either, but just saying that this may be influencing their opinions, and if someone DOES have a little more coin to play with, maybe they should also consider other alternatives before the final decision

 

[Buster3479]

I've done some mild photo work on my Jeep, and just keep coming to the conclusion that I like the Pintlers a lot better (purely looks). This leads me to have to choose between a 285/70/17 Duratrac (32.7"x11.2"x17) or a 33x12.5x17 Falkien. This is all stemming from liking the TKO's best out of the available 15" rims, and liking the Pintlers a lot more.

Forgive my photoshop skills (they suck). It's my Jeep with other people's wheels and tires superimposed.

 

[suicideking]

I had similar questions to the OP, but I'm still unclear which would get better mileage 15s or 17s?

Thanx M

There wouldn't be a difference since the wheel with tire will be the same size. If there is any difference, it would be negligible.

Not to hijack the thread, but do any of you guys running 15's have any balancing issues?...I would like to go to a 15" set up but have read there have been some balancing issues and that has me nervous.

I asked my shop (JPI in Yucaipa, CA) about balancing. He said it's a myth. He has never had a problem balancing a tire on a 15" wheel. If they shop knows what they're doing and the tire isn't defective, it will balance.

 

[suicideking]

I've done some mild photo work on my Jeep, and just keep coming to the conclusion that I like the Pintlers a lot better (purely looks). This leads me to have to choose between a 285/70/17 Duratrac (32.7"x11.2"x17) or a 33x12.5x17 Falkien. This is all stemming from liking the TKO's best out of the available 15" rims, and liking the Pintlers a lot more.

Forgive my photoshop skills (they suck). It's my Jeep with other people's wheels and tires superimposed.

I do love the Pintler. Unfortunately, they don't make it in a 15". Good for me though because those are pricey.