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Wheel/tire Advice Needed

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Old 06-17-2013, 07:44 AM
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Default Wheel/tire Advice Needed

I have a bone stock '10 JKU Rubi that I'm going to put some new shoes on. I'm not lifting as that it is my daily driver and I don't see doing it in the somewhat near future. That being said I'm going to go with 33's and a Terra Flex leveling kit. Question is do I stick with my 17" Moabs, or go with a 16" or 15" rim? I was considering putting on some 15" black steelies with a 33/12.50/15's and calling it a day being that that option seemed the most economical.

As per tires I was considering General Grabber AT2 vs. Nankang Mudstars MT.

Any feedback, thanks!
Old 06-17-2013, 07:49 AM
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It all depends on what you want to do with it. I went 15's because the tires were cheaper and used ones were extremely plentiful in my area. Shortly after doing 15's and new tires then I found a deal on some 17" rubi wheels so I bought them too. The rubi wheels got street slicks and the 15's got the play tires.


Tires are a whole new arena- think long and hard about what you'll be doing with the jeep before going to one end of the spectrum or the other for tires. People cry that mud tires are terrible DD tires but I had Mickey Claws as my DD tires for 36k miles and wouldn't mind doing it again.
Old 06-17-2013, 07:50 AM
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IMO I would go with the 15" wheels because tires will be ALOT cheaper than buying them for a 17" wheel.
Old 06-17-2013, 07:53 AM
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I would keep the stock 17's and get a set of 1 1/2" wheel spacers. There are more tire choices in the 17" size...
Old 06-17-2013, 09:22 AM
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I just recently installed a TF leveling kit, and went back and forth over the wheel / tire decision for months before that.

My original plan was to install Spidertrax spacers on my 18" Sahara wheels (which I did do) and buy tires. It is not 100% true that larger wheel size = more expensive tire. It is true in many cases, but not all. I was leaning towards BFG AT KOs for my tires, and if you price them in a 275/70-18, they are WAY cheaper in that size than many 17" and smaller sizes. I assume this has to do with that being a common OE size or some similar reason.

I ultimately dumped that plan for 2 reasons - I wasn't completely thrilled with the idea of running the spacers, and most of the tire choices for 18" wheels were E rated, which I didn't want.

In end, I decided on a 16" wheel, and am very happy with the way it turned out.

Click image for larger version

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Old 06-17-2013, 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by rainmn
Looks good, it is amazing how simply changing the wheels/tires and adding a leveling kit can change the overall look.
Old 06-18-2013, 08:56 PM
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Originally Posted by rocklax
I have a bone stock '10 JKU Rubi that I'm going to put some new shoes on. I'm not lifting as that it is my daily driver and I don't see doing it in the somewhat near future. That being said I'm going to go with 33's and a Terra Flex leveling kit. Question is do I stick with my 17" Moabs, or go with a 16" or 15" rim? I was considering putting on some 15" black steelies with a 33/12.50/15's and calling it a day being that that option seemed the most economical.

As per tires I was considering General Grabber AT2 vs. Nankang Mudstars MT.

Any feedback, thanks!
I was in the same boat you are in now...did the tf leveling kit, popped on new shocks and went with 15" wheels because the tires were much more affordable. did the 33x12.5x15 cooper discoverer stt and love it Click image for larger version

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Old 06-19-2013, 02:43 AM
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Looks good. The more I see pics of JKU's with leveling kits and 33s I like. While not as sexy as 35s by any means, I think with the kit and right tire/wheel combo it actually looks pretty good.

FYI I ended up going with DuraTracs and black 15" d window rims.



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