Tires/wheels

[mj2stay]

'86 manche, 3" lift 2.5L engine, 2 wheel drive. I've got stock rims, P235/70 R 15 tires. I want my tires to be as wide and even with my fender flares, and possibly a little taller without any complications or any more modifications. I'm thinking it would take bigger rims as well as tires? Could anyone tell me what it would take to make this work?

 

:???:

[Deleted user]

as far as rims go, you don't need to go taller, maybe a little wider. measure how far in the tires sit from where you want them. couple ways yu can make up the space difference. just going to a wider tire as long as the rim will hold it, or get a rim with less back spacing, or just use wheel spacers... www.redrock4x4.com has a tire convesion chart so you can find out how tall and wide your tires are

[WahooSteeler]

What's the width on your current rims? some of the results will depend on what the offest is etc. as to how far out the fill the wheel wells in relation to the flares. Tire-wise you can go 31x10.50s no problem with that lift, even 32s. But, the 32s will likely rub on your LCAs on sharp turns. as far as filling out the wheel wells, again, the 31s will do that nicely. the rears will still be tucked in a little in relation to the flares.

[mj2stay]

You know, I was thinking the rear wells looked deeper than the front. If I went as wide as I wanted in the rear, the tires would extend past the flares in the front, correct? That's not so bad I think. And 31's will work on my stock rims? I like the idea of taller tires. I'm trying to keep everything as stock as I can. Also, would bigger tires be hard on my 4 banger and tranny?

[WahooSteeler]

you'll want at least 7" wide rims for 31s, that's ideal. less than that may not be good, 15x8s work too. 31s will make a big difference in your get up and go, it depends on what tranny you have and more importantly what gears you have in the rear. what tranny do you have and do you know what gear ratio you have in your rear axle?

[mj2stay]

Sorry, but all I know at this moment is just that it,s a 4 speed tranny and I don't know the gear ratio of the rear end. Am I asking for trouble with this bigger tire quest? :eek:

[Pete M]

Yup. The most common ratio with the 2.5L and 4spd manual trans is 3.55, which is too high of a ratio (too low of a number) for that engine and bigger tires. There's a chance you've got a better ratio, but you'll need to confirm it. The most common ratio for a 2.5L with the 5spd manual (same trans but with overdrive) is 4.10. That would help with the larger tires. Being 2wd it'll be half the work too. :D Look for any MJ/XJ/YJ/TJ rear axle with 4.10s in it. And if you're wondering, changing gears in an axle is one job better left to the pros, and it can be very expensive. :( Plus then you'd be wasting all that money on a Dana 35.

 

As to the tires sticking out, the bed of an MJ is actually wider than the front (the front and rear axles are about the same width). A solution would be to buy a pair of wheel spacers to push the rear rims out to better visually match the front. (make sure the spacers are "hub-centric" and of decent quality).

[BLHTAZ]

Getting aftermarket wheels with less backspacing will move them out. Putting a bigger tire on your stock wheels is not going to make much difference. The ideal thing would be some 31x50's on a 15x8 wheel with about a 3.75" BS and you will be real close to what you want.

 

This is an old shot of mine with 3.5" lift, 15x8 wheels with 3.68" BS, and 31x10.50 tires...

 

[Eagle]

You still haven't mentioned the width of your factory rims. For a 4-cyliner 4-speed, I expect you have the steel rims with 9 rectangular holes around the outer portion of the web. That rim is a 15x6. All other Jeep rims for the XJ and MJ were 15x7. You can run 31x10.50s on the factory 7" rimes, but they are too wide for the 6" rims. And you wouldn't want to run 31s with a 4-cylinder 4-speed anyway.

 

Frankly, I think you are about as big as you would be happy with right where you are. Tires with a larger diameter would only reduce your final drive ratio still more, and the 4-cyl 4-speeds weren't rocket ships in stock trim. One option would be to look at 60-series tires. Keep your outside diameter but get a wider tire. Just be careful that the wider tire doesn't rub the inside of the rear wheel wells.

[mj2stay]

O.K., but with wider tires, I'll need wider rims, right? Yea, the stock rims are the steel ones with the 9 rectangular holes. What I want is whats in Comanche Addicts' pic(Mighty Joe), but with my drive train, it looks like that's all I'll do is want! :mad: :fs1: :???: :dunno: :doh: :drool: :grrrr:

 

With 60-series tires, is there is a certain rim size or are there different types and sizes? I mean, the rim/lugs should be off-centered and have more tire/wheel to the outside so as to keep the inside from rubbing the leafs, or should I be carefull of salesmen who just want to move rims and set me up with rims that have the lugs "centered" and then have another problem to deal with. I think, I'll try the spacers on the rear first since that's the cheapest way, and if that doesn't work, I do the 60"s with black rims!