NickyV Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 Anyone running wheel spacers on 235 75R 15s with no lift? If so, can you share pics? I’m not sure I want to lift my MJ. But if I do, it won’t be for a while. Too many other projects to tackle first. But I am considering wheel spacers. Not looking for anything crazy. I mainly want to fix that narrow butt look and gain a more aggressive stance that extends just a hair wider than fender flares. At least I think that’s what I want. But I am having trouble visualizing this. So if any of you have an MJ that fits the bill and could share pics, I’d be much obliged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 On my 90 2WD with 2” spacers, no lift and BFG ATs 235/75/15. Tire not even with top of flare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 I will say, spacers on the rear do look better, but before you make that decision, I think you should know why the rear axle is narrower than the front. When you go around a corner, a narrower rear axle does a better job following the front and allows for tighter turns. A wider rear axle means that the rear tires will be outside of the fronts, possibly getting closer to obstacles. The rear axle is narrower for handling reasons. With the relatively small spacers you'd want, you're probably not talking much difference, but just making you aware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 2 hours ago, 89 MJ said: I will say, spacers on the rear do look better, but before you make that decision, I think you should know why the rear axle is narrower than the front. When you go around a corner, a narrower rear axle does a better job following the front and allows for tighter turns. A wider rear axle means that the rear tires will be outside of the fronts, possibly getting closer to obstacles. The rear axle is narrower for handling reasons. With the relatively small spacers you'd want, you're probably not talking much difference, but just making you aware. I suspect AMC wanted to reuse the same pile of Dana 35’s they already had in stock for other vehicles vs spec’ing the correct size for our trucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyV Posted October 17 Author Share Posted October 17 Thanks to all who have replied. For some reason I didn’t realize that the back wheel base was actually narrower. I guess I thought I was something of an optical illusion. D’oh! At any rate, I was thinking I’d put spacers on front and back. Appreciate the pics so far! Anyone else got what I’m looking for? @fiatslug87, do you have any other angles, like from the front? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyV Posted October 17 Author Share Posted October 17 And @89 MJ that’s good to know. If I put equal spacing on front and back does that solve for what you are describing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 4 minutes ago, NickyV said: And @89 MJ that’s good to know. If I put equal spacing on front and back does that solve for what you are describing? Yes, that would solve the problem. But wheel spacers on the front tends to lead to it being harder on wheel bearings and ball joints. Same applies for wheels with a lot of backspacing. 9 minutes ago, NickyV said: Thanks to all who have replied. For some reason I didn’t realize that the back wheel base was actually narrower. I guess I thought I was something of an optical illusion. D’oh! It’s a combination of both, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llhat Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 personally do not see the need for spacers, and as mentioned the change can make for different forces on the wheel bearings and ball joints. Mine's pretty much dead stock it has had 3 sets of wheels, original stock steel, aftermarket aluminum with holes, Mopar counter 'star' wheels, and now i think called canyon spokes. the aftermarket aluminum had less backspacing, were on the truck when i bought it with 235 BFG KO ( back in the 1990's and steel were sent with the truck, the mopar counter wheels had deep backspacing and i had 30 x 9.5 GSA goodyears, the canyon have equal deep backspacing and back again to 235 Falken Rubitrek. only rubbing issue was to the rear E brake cables, zip tied helped. i posted somewhere about the mopar wheel experience and having to drill the screw for the decorative cover over the lugs.. no pics, sorry. device not handy with images of those wheels, don't take a lot of pics of truck with the crappy no clear coat grey paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 the factory difference in axle width front to back is negligible and the effect on handling if they don't match perfectly is also negligible. this might apply to a high end performance car (except that there have been plenty of performance cars that don't have matching widths), but certainly not our our old trucks. do as you see fit. personally I'd add spacers to the rear only and get them to better match the front from a visual perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88towmanche Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 Got spacers on mine - think maybe 1-1/2...have to look it up. Technically there is a puck n shackle 2" lift with but the old saggy leafs & springs it's probably just a bit above factory height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 Here is a 1.25” front andapter along with a KJ liberty rear axle which is 2.5” wider in the rear plus a 3/4 wheel adapter. So basically rear is 2” further out in each side and front is 1.25. I have zero issues with this setup and a great turning radius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyV Posted November 4 Author Share Posted November 4 Hey @ghetdjc320! Maybe I just haven’t been paying attention, but is the KJ rear axle a common mod? I’m sure you chose the axle for more reason than just looks. Why’d you go with the KJ rear axle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyV Posted November 4 Author Share Posted November 4 After doing a bit more research, I'm thinking that what I might want is to get some ZJ springs for the front end, do a little bit of spacing on the front and the back and call it a day. I'm not trying to build a crawler. As I mentioned, this is largely an aesthetic thing if I'm being honest. Snooping around the forum I saw someone mention that just doing a little lift in the front really balances out the look of the truck. I have the 2.5L. Do you all think that doing the ZJ V8 spring swap would get me what I'm looking for there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted November 4 Share Posted November 4 5 hours ago, NickyV said: Hey @ghetdjc320! Maybe I just haven’t been paying attention, but is the KJ rear axle a common mod? I’m sure you chose the axle for more reason than just looks. Why’d you go with the KJ rear axle? Not sure how common they are but they are good swap candidates. 3” .25 wall axle tubes, factory disks, 29 spline shafts and side adjusters for the ring gear. The wheel bolt pattern and width are excellent for a Comanche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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