Knucklehead97 Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Hey guys! I know I have been posting a few topics lately but this new Jeep has brought up a bunch of new questions which I have searched and haven't gotten a great answer on. I prefer to be positive on things before I buy them haha. First off is wheel spacers. I want the Jeep to be stanced out a little more. It has 235/75/15's on TJ Canyon wheels. The tires are brand new so I want to run them for awhile longer. The easy option would be just buy 31's but like I said the 235's are brand new. So for stancing I want to use wheel spacers. I will at least be using 1.25's in the rear to make the rear even with the front but I really would like for the front to stick out more as well. Originally I planned to use 2" on the rear and 1.25" on the front but I realized that Spidertrax doesn't make 2" spacers (is this because they're too much of a spacer?) The USA maker of spacers by the brand name of Trail Sport makes a 2" but I'm not sure if I would trust a 2" since Spidertrax doesn't make one (correct me if that's dumb, please) so what would you guys do? Just get the 1.25" for the rear and live with it till I get 31's? Now for the second question... gears! I know exactly what I'm doing on my stickshift one but the auto is a new world for me! I want to eventually get 31's obviously. Do I need to go down to 4.10's or are the 3.55's good with 31's? Not going to be wheeling. It's a daily driver/light trailer puller. I drive the interstate every day to get to work. How much of a power/gas mileage change would I get from going to 31's on 3.55's? I'm sure it's been answered a million times before, so I apoligize in advance. I just never can find the answer to my exact question so I would prefer to ask in my own words. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyinajeep726 Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 The reason 1.25" spacers are so popular for the stock Jeep rim owners is because the factory rim has 5.25" back spacing, so with spacers, you'd go down to 4.00" of back spacing. At least that's always been my mentality. Not sure why you want to have the rear rims spaced but not the front (unless I read wrong). As for the gears, 4.10's would be ideal with 31's on a 4.0L / AW4 equipped Jeep, but not inherently necessary. I ran 3.55's on my XJ until I so happened to stubble upon a 4-banger / 5-speed XJ at the junkyard, on a 50% sale no less, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pull them and swap it in my rig. I now run 33's and I hardly notice a difference in pulling power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 The reason 1.25" spacers are so popular for the stock Jeep rim owners is because the factory rim has 5.25" back spacing, so with spacers, you'd go down to 4.00" of back spacing. At least that's always been my mentality. Not sure why you want to have the rear rims spaced but not the front (unless I read wrong). As for the gears, 4.10's would be ideal with 31's on a 4.0L / AW4 equipped Jeep, but not inherently necessary. I ran 3.55's on my XJ until I so happened to stubble upon a 4-banger / 5-speed XJ at the junkyard, on a 50% sale no less, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pull them and swap it in my rig. I now run 33's and I hardly notice a difference in pulling power. 1.25" on the rear of the Comanche puts the rear wheels at the fender flare line like the front tires are from factory. Makes the Jeep look like its rear isn't bigger than the front even though it is. And good to know on the gears! Thankfully this one is 2wd so I only have to change the rear axle if I was to regear and 8.8's are often found with 4.10's. I just was reading and some people were saying that 4.10's with 31's weren't good for interstate driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 some people were saying that 4.10's with 31's weren't good for interstate driving. and other people say you'll be just fine. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 some people were saying that 4.10's with 31's weren't good for interstate driving. and other people say you'll be just fine. :thumbsup: oh how I hate mixed opinions haha. After reading more I'm considering going with 4.10's and 32's instead of 31's. Everywhere I've read has said that 32's and 4.10's is a nice combination and I do enjoy a more filled wheel well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 it's the fun of the internet. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 31s with 3.73 gears is the exact same overall drive ratio as stock tires with 3.55 gears (in other words, stock with automatic). My personal view is that 3.73s are perfect with 30" tires (and 235/75-15s, which are almost the same as 30s), 4.10s are right with 31s and maybe 32s, and 4.55s for anything larger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 31s with 3.73 gears is the exact same overall drive ratio as stock tires with 3.55 gears (in other words, stock with automatic). My personal view is that 3.73s are perfect with 30" tires (and 235/75-15s, which are almost the same as 30s), 4.10s are right with 31s and maybe 32s, and 4.55s for anything larger. then it looks like I will eventually be swapping axles either way. Kind of best in the long run, I guess, since I want to pull a trailer with it and even though I don't plan for it to be a heavy one I would rather have an overly strong axle over a weaker one. Gears are just a plus side. I'm guessing for the spacers a safe compromise would be to buy one set of 1.25" and see how I like the way they look on the front and then slap em on the rear and order some for the front if I liked how they look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 how much lift? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 1.25" Spidertrax spacers on the rear only, and 4.10 gears w. 31" tires w. the auto. Perfect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 I currently have 2 brand new rugged ridge XJ 2" lifts that I picked up for extremely cheap. I was going to try one of them out to hopefully achieve 1" of lift considering the XJ shackles only lift MJ's about 1" and this MJ is 2wd so hopefully it will level the front out to looking like a 1" lift would on the front. If I go with 31's that would be what I would keep. 32's I would go with a full 3" lift with adjustable TB and longer LCA's. And Hornbrod your MJ is the main influence upon wanting 31's, spacers, and 4.10's! :D and a roof visor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 keep in mind that Don only has rear spacers. you'll probably have some rubbing issues up front if you add spacers to a truck that is essentially stock (4wd height) on 31s. 31s juuuuust barely fit a stock 4wd on 31s with stock rims. spacers opens up your scrub radius and pushes the corners of the tires into your fenders while turning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 And Hornbrod your MJ is the main influence upon wanting 31's, spacers, and 4.10's! :D and a roof visor! Thanks Knuck. Keep in mind that with a lift over ~2-1/2" you will most likely need an adjustable track bar to recenter the front axle - I did. With any lift you'll need some shim(s) behind the LCA's to correct the caster. Neither is a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 keep in mind that Don only has rear spacers. you'll probably have some rubbing issues up front if you add spacers to a truck that is essentially stock (4wd height) on 31s. 31s juuuuust barely fit a stock 4wd on 31s with stock rims. spacers opens up your scrub radius and pushes the corners of the tires into your fenders while turning. that MJ's stance is EXACTLY how I want mine to look. That's 31's on stock 4wd height? It looks kind of lifted to me honestly haha. And if I was to get over a 2" lift I would do it right instead of cheaping out. Trac bar, arms, full leaf packs, ect. No sense in having to redo it all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 front was bone stock with WJ lower control arms, rear was a custom pack but stock height. rims are TJ canyons which are 8" wide but same backspacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 keep in mind that Don only has rear spacers. you'll probably have some rubbing issues up front if you add spacers to a truck that is essentially stock (4wd height) on 31s. 31s juuuuust barely fit a stock 4wd on 31s with stock rims. spacers opens up your scrub radius and pushes the corners of the tires into your fenders while turning. Correct. There is no need or reason to run spacers on the front, and you'll be creating more problems for yourself if you try. On factory rims, you can run 31s in the front with no rubbing on the flares or sheet metal (there will be slight rubbing on the lower control arms at full steering lock). Run rims with less backspacing, or spacers, and the tires will hit the flares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 front was bone stock with WJ lower control arms, rear was a custom pack but stock height. rims are TJ canyons which are 8" wide but same backspacing. TJ Canyons are what I have on this MJ. Personally my favorite rim style. Luckily I also have all four WJ arms waiting to be put on. After installing this fender today repairing the body damage from the deer I see now why spacers on the front would cause a bunch of trouble. So the 1.25" ones are going straight to the rear and I'll go from there! Thanks as usual guys :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddout Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 keep in mind that Don only has rear spacers. you'll probably have some rubbing issues up front if you add spacers to a truck that is essentially stock (4wd height) on 31s. 31s juuuuust barely fit a stock 4wd on 31s with stock rims. spacers opens up your scrub radius and pushes the corners of the tires into your fenders while turning. That does look perfect to me. Subscribing as a reference for when I'm able to finally track down mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 I made a build thread for it somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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