Rubicon wheels/tires rub with 3" lift...?

[boosst]

I just put some rubicon wheels off of an 06 on my Comanche. They have the factory 245 tires on them and are pretty much warn out. When I put them on, I noticed it had some 1" spacers on it..I left them on and my tires rub on the backside of the inner fender. Would removing these spacers help? I was told the truck had a 3" lift which seems about right from what I have seen.

[87Warrior]

Ditch the spacers. They are not necessary on a lifted truck with the 245s. Not to mention the Moabs have less backspacing than most Jeep wheels causing the tire to stick out more.

[Incommando]

Most factory wheels have about 5-5.25" of backspacing while most aftermarket wheels have about 4" of backspacing. Rubicon or other factory wheel will tuck the tires under the vehicle more than most aftermarket wheels. Removing the spacer from the Moab rim (5" BS stock) will put the tire 1"CLOSER the the inner fender and confound the problem, if I am thinking right?

 

Most new 245/75/16's are about 30.5" tall and about 10" wide. They should fit most stock trucks and if a truck is lifted 3" should not be having rub issues. They are a tad shorter and narrower than the 31x10.5's that most run with 3" of lift or so.

[87Warrior]

I interpreted the problem as rubbing on the back of in inner fender, directly behind the flare.

[Incommando]

Oops...my mistake. Reading comprehension fail. Yep, rip dem spacers off!

 

Just for those reading this later and my own curiosity:

 

Do you think that stock control arms are pulling the front axle back, causing the contact? My 4.5" lift with 32x11.5's with spacers on similar rims had no issue but the aftermarket arms put the axle back into place...

[boosst]

I will remove the spacers and see what happens.

 

Also, if my tire is not centered in the wheel well(will have to look at it), then adjustable contol arms would move it back to center to help prevent this? If the spacers fix my problem but the tires are more towards the cab...is it ok to leave it if I don't rub?

Thanks

[Incommando]

The general consensus is that at 4.5" + of lift you need to add longer lower control arms to re-center the axle. Plenty of people get by wit 2", 3", or even higher without doing it though. I'd say if taking off the spacers takes care of your rub problem you are good to go. If the front tire is moved way far back in the wheel well arms may be needed. You can use less expensive fixed, but longer, lower control arms if you need them.

[87Warrior]

My personal opinion is that with 3" of lift you need adjustable arms. Not only are they stronger, but allow better suspension travel and allows you to get the axle set precisely under the truck.

 

In theory, if your tires don't rub the back of the inner fender (towards the cab) with stock CAs, you shouldn't have a problem when compressing the axle as it gets pushed forward.