Wheel Swap

I have a 2000 XJ with:

P225/75R15 Tires

WJ5S - 15X7.0 Full-Face Steel Wheels


WLYC - All Steel Wheels

I am considering purchasing new alloy wheels. Should I switch to a 16-inch wheel? If so are there any modifications I need to make elsewhere to accommodate the larger tires? ABS? Etc.

Can a Grand Cherokee 16 x 7.5 inch wheel replace the existing wheels without modifications?

What are the relative merits and considerations?

Thanks

I'm not familiar with the wheel designations. From what I know:
Any YJ, TJ, ZJ 15 or 16 inch wheel will go on an XJ. XJ's actually came with 16 inch in either the last year or two years of production. Certain Ford wheels will also fit, I think off of certain Ford Ranger pickups, maybe bronco's, not sure about that though.
As far as 16's go tire wise the selection has gotten better, I see alot of Rubicon good year MT's on some of the other boards up for sale as rubi onwers go bigger.
Stock suspension on the XJ will handle up to a 30x9.50 if the springs are in good shape though you may have to adjust the steering stops with the 30's, just add a couple of washers behind the bolts. Also be aware that the TJ outlaw and canyon wheels came in two different widths, 6 and 8 inches. I have two sets of canyons and two sets of outlaws, both different widths which is why I know.
31x10.50's will fit but you will for sure have rubbage in the back. Some others will or should chime in here. Jeep also has those starburst ? 5 spoke aluminums that came on both the XJ and the TJ, not familiar with them. It seems the best source of jeep wheels are off TJ's that get lifted and the owners want steel wheels and to get rid of the aluminums OEM wheels.

Tires and Wheels

2000 XJ. Currently with 15 inch x 7, 5-114 (4.5 inch) bolt pattern wheels.

I plan on driving my car on roads with very occasional beach and dirt road use.

What size, manufacturer and model tires and wheels do you recommend?

16" tires generally will be more expensive than the equivalent 15" tire. Some times a lot.

Also going from a 15" to a 16" wheel/tire does not make them bigger overall diameter wise, in fact you loose 1" of sidewall width. I think that 15" will 'air down' better than the same [tire diameter] size 16" but I'm not sure and when dealing with sand airing down needs to be considered.
Steel vs aluminum, thats your choice, steel is stronger, aftermarket steel wheels are cheaper and you can beat them back into shape vs Aluminum which is more expensive, can look better/bling factor. Mickey Thompson makes a nice classic II wheel for $99 thru quadratec as well as Dick Cepek for $104, both aluminum. Then there are the Cragar Soft 8's, steel, for under $40, can be repainted and such, I know alot of people who run those.

HMM.

Black vs Chrome


Cragar Soft 8 Black




Cragar Soft 8 Chrome



What do you think?

I don't think I've ever seen a set of chrome wheels that made it through two or three northern winters without some rust showing somewhere. With painted rims, you can rough them up a bit and spray another coat of paint on there.
The wife has 16/225/70's on her 96, TJ rims. A decent compromise between a street tire and something that can do mild off road. I put Michelin MS on them, though I wouldn't buy another set for the winter. The compound is just a touch to hard.

I run Liberty 16" steel wheels - the offset is deeper, but I'm not oversizing yet. No problems. The 16" BFG's are slightly higher in price, but have more sizes available now, and the sidewill issue is nil on a high aspect ratio tire. You may need to change the speedo gear to get it correct as a bigger diameter will come into play.

Check the offset when shopping so you don't lose inner fender clearance or wind up buying spacers to get them just right for you.

16" wheel fit fine... I'm running 16X8 moabs off an 02 rubicon on my 97 XJ with 265/75 16 General Grabbers mounted on them (Basically a 32/10.50)... The only issue is that the Rubicon wheels have 5" backspacing, mine rub just a tad at full lock both ways... I have a set of billet 1" wheel spacers, just havn't carved out the time to install them yet... And yes, as some others stated, 16" tires are usally a bit more than 15" tires...

...

8Mud said:

I don't think I've ever seen a set of chrome wheels that made it through two or three northern winters without some rust showing somewhere. With painted rims, you can rough them up a bit and spray another coat of paint on there.

Click to expand...

Chrome is not worth it in Northeast winters. I was too lazy to swap wheels one winter and paid the price. About 30-45 mins with steel wool pads and chrome polish to take away all the orange surface rust.

There are a set of wheels for sale:

The owner says they are:

the wheels are 15 x 8 5.25 20 offset and 5 x4.5

Click to expand...

The tires are:

DAYTON TIMBERLINES 237-75-15

Will these wheels fit on my 2000 XJ and can anyone comment on the tires?



I do not know what offset means. The bolt pattern looks right, but I am concerned about the 8.5 width of the wheel. Will they rub?

Those are the jeep outlaws, yes they will fit, in fact they were an option wheel in mid 90's. There is another model with 5 big holes that I always called outlaws also, I had two sets of those, one set was from a Ford ranger [big center hole for the locking hubs on fords], they went with the YJ last week, the other set it getting 31x10.50's.

Thanks Rich

If I am only driving occasionally on beaches and dirt roads, should I just as well go with an all weather radials and forgo the added traction of an all terrain tire?

If your concerned with on road caracteristics, the 16's will give better handling due to the shorter sidewalls. The same goes for the aluminium rims, less rotating/unsprung weight will feel more responsive. If you do alot of 4-wheeling, steel will be alot more durable. Kind of a trade off that you will have to decide. As a side note... with gas prices what they are today, keep in mind a lighter tire/wheel combination will probably help fuel milage...

Best solution, keep a set of steelies with good off road tires and a dress set of aluminums with good road tires.

just fyi...the wheels off the grand cherokee starting from '99 (I believe) uses a different bolt pattern then the XJ. I believe '98 (grand cherokee) and below used the same bolt pattern of 5x4.5'' whereas the '99 and up used a larger bolt pattern of 5x5".

With a 3" lift, what size rim and backspacing works best in the Outlaw II's?

(thanks for helping a newbie!)