derf Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 So I'm running some ideas through my head about building up my 2WD as a fun sporty truck to run around in. To support a V8 swap or other power increase option, I want to have some good size tires in the rear. But how wide can I go before I start sticking out of the wheel well? I know I can tub the rear and put in some pretty massive tires but I don't want to do that much work. And I don't care about actually going to a track and competing. But it would be nice to make some use of the power on the street. So if I pick the right wheel with the right offset to get the rear tire very close to the frame/spring on the inside, how wide can I go before I get out from under the fender flare? Assume for the sake of argument that the tire diameter will stay close to stock. The only change would be the width. Front tires will probably stay at or near stock size because they fit and work just fine. And I'm not trying to turn this into a race truck in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 you've got quite a bit to play with. MJs have a fat butt. the rear axle is the same width as XJs, but the bed is wider than the back of an XJ and so the tires look tucked-in all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeeptruck636 Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 I have 285’s on the rear of mine and they still sit inside the edge of the flare. There is still some room to go wider but there are not many tire choices in 295, or 305 width, and 315’s may be pushing it. I have off the shelf mustang wheels and everything fits really well. I have all the specs in my build thread. What I would recommend is a 275 because of the amount of tire choices available in a bunch of heights and wheel diameters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 If you are interested in keeping stock looking wheels you can always use TJ Wrangler 8” wheels in either 15” or 16”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 I run BFG radial t/a’s on my 2wd daily driver xj. 255/60 front 275/60 rear. On 15x7 zj Laredo rims, the fronts are even with the flare and the tears about an inch under the flares. MJs you’d have probably 2” covered but with a 1+” spacer in the back you could reduce that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 ZJ canyons up front (7" wide) and TJ canyons out back (8" wide) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted October 22, 2019 Author Share Posted October 22, 2019 1 hour ago, jeeptruck636 said: I have 285’s on the rear of mine and they still sit inside the edge of the flare. There is still some room to go wider but there are not many tire choices in 295, or 305 width, and 315’s may be pushing it. I have off the shelf mustang wheels and everything fits really well. I have all the specs in my build thread. What I would recommend is a 275 because of the amount of tire choices available in a bunch of heights and wheel diameters. I was looking at 275s for the rear. That seems like a popular width. Thanks everyone for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 TJ and ZJ canyons look slightly (noticeably) different in how they’re slotted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 dang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted October 23, 2019 Author Share Posted October 23, 2019 I'm probably going to end up with a set of aftermarket wheels. Still probably 15" rims because big wheels on old trucks just look... weird. We'll see. I'll probably change my mind a dozen times before I get a chance to get started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Sorry for the possibly stupid question/statement, BUT. What is the point of big rear drive tires when the entire truck is nose heavy? I don't see the traction at the rear wheels. Granted, wide tires may make a bad/poor weight bais a little better. But is it really worth the expense? Or do we just toss 500 lbs in the bed to improve the weight distribution? BTW, my Comanche TDI weighs 3020 lbs with a full 23 gallons of diesel. The 91 4.0 was about 3600 lbs with a full load of 23 gallons of gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted October 23, 2019 Author Share Posted October 23, 2019 Why does there have to be a point to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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