cadams91

Hi all. I am thinking of upgrading the tires on my jeep from Cooper S/T MAXX 265/70/R17 to 35x12.5 BFG TA KM2 Tires.

I currently have 17" Rims. I am wondering if it will be better to run with the 17" rim or get 15" rims and the tires to suit. (I can get the 35x12.5 for 15 or 17" rims)

Cost is not an issue here. I just want to know if there is a real difference or not.

Can someone please explain what that difference is and the benefits of both? If not can someone please point me in the right direction.

Cheers guys.

14Sport

Well obviously there will be more sidewall with the 15s. I personally run 17s with those same tires for these reasons.

1. I read an article by a tire expert who warned that any more than 9" of sidewall can cause a vehicle to get squirrelly in high speed evasive maneuvers. I have on two occasions had to make these evasive maneuvers within the last 5 years as wrecks happened right in front of me on the highway. 35" tires with 9" of sidewall = 17" rims.

2. 15" rims limit your brake selections. I have a BBK which I would not have been able to do if I had 15" rims.

3. 15" rims limit your tie rod selections. I haven't had to upgrade my tie rod yet but am planning for the future.

I'm sure others will have reasons why or why not as well.

Mark Doiron

I run 16s and for the past 100K miles or so with 35s. Haven't had any events where I thought that the extra sidewall height caused squirelly performance, but the Duratracs tend to run smallish--I probably really have about nine inches of sidewall. 14Sport's point about the big brake kit applies to 16s, however. But I do run an aftermarket tie rod (Currie). Have to be careful where wheel balance weights are placed or the tie rod end will scrape them off the wheel. Small issue readily addressed. With more tyre sidewall, when you air down you'll have a bit more rubber to flex and grab onto things. However, the sidewall will bulge out more. Two factors for that: More protection for your wheel from being scraped, but that protection comes with the vulnerability for that sidewall to be more easily punctured.

kenb1023

If you already have the 17s I would stay with that. I dumped my 18s for 15s with 33" Duratracks for cost reasons. My next move on wheels is to go to 17s with 35 or 37 Duratracks

mrmunsin

I have ran 35x12.5 with 15 inch cragar soft 8's for over a year now with an inch and a half spacer haven't had a single problem with them. I also just replaced my stock tie rod and drag link with metalcloak parts with no clearance issues.

14Sport

I know the Synergy needs at least 16" rims which is why I said limits. Especially since that's the one I plan to get...lol

Invest2m4

Keeping it simple, there is no real benefit offroad with 15s. There will be some loss of on-road handling (relative to the 17" - though may not be that huge). People buy 15s because they are cheaper, that simple. You will be limited on wheel selection and will need a min amount of backspace. The resale won't be great as it is a very small minority that run 15s on JKs. There is also always some potential to get something jammed in the wheel and brake. You'll barely be able to get a feeler gauge in there (which tells me it is just too tight).

Mark Doiron

35s are the biggest they make.

kenb1023

Well that just sucks. Guess I will only go to 35s

cadams91

Cheers everyone. I will stick with the 17" rims for now. Greatly appreciated!.