Failed "Low CG" Build

I thought I'd share my experience of trying to fit 33x10.5's on a 2" BB.

The original build plan was this:
- Keep the 2" BB already on the Jeep
- Ditch the 30x9.50 BFG at's (which did not rub at all with no trimming) for some 33x10.50 KM2's
- New 15x8 wheels with 3.75 BS
- Re gear to 4.56 in the 30 and 8.25
- Add an ARB to the 8.25

Supposedly there are some people running this and love it, but here's what I found...
- The shop didn't have the KM2's, so they gave me Toyo MT's for the same price . I really like these tires, they're aggressive and quiet on the road. The 4.56 gears are perfect for the 33's.
- I cut the fenders up to the washer bottle in the front and used the cut and fold in the rear. A 24 tpi jig saw blade worked great for this. I also used a Dremel with a cut of wheel for some of the tight spaces.
- We mounted up the tires and couldn't turn the wheel all the way to full lock. The tires hit at the back of the fender well. So, I broke out the Dremel and took off about an inch more at the rear. On level ground you can turn full stop now.
- However, there's only about an inch between the inner fender (yes I hammered the pinch seam flat) and the tire.

I can't see how this setup could ever really work unless you bump stopped so there was only a 1" gap between the upper and lower stop in front which would be really impractical for a street-driven rig.

Since funds are low now, I see three options:
- Get the Teraflex long arm with 4" springs, it's not much more than short arm kits with adjustable arms even though it's not a true long arm
- Sell the Toyos and get some 31's, but I DD this rig and think the 4.56 would suck on the highway with 31's. I know it was really bad with the 30's on the drive home from the shop!
- Try out some 32x11.50's, but I think this would still require more lift

Anyway, that's my experience for what it's worth. I don't see how the 2" and 33's can work without a stretch in front. I suspect either my suspension has sagged or others actually have more than the 2" lift advertised. Sorry there's no pics, I have them but it seems like you've gotta have them online somewhere before embedding them...

If anyone has advice feel free! Thanks

i did 32's with this same setup, but had rims that were a little wider and stuck out more than stock. i ran a stock bumpstop with a hockey puck glued to the spring bucket on the axle, with no issues. 4.56's won't be too bad with 32's, but i ran 4:10's with an ax15 and it was perfect. i eventually lifted more, but more because i kept hanging the crossmember on ledges i kept the 32's though. good luck! if you're running an automatic, the 4.56's should be fine.

I can see it working fine up front with the fenders cut out that much. I am looking at going up to 4" and will probably be running 33's when the 31's wear out. I am going with KM2's if I do since I can get them in a 10.5 width.

you're doing it wrong.

i ran 10.5s on 15x7s (which you should have anyway with a 10.5 wide tire) with 4.5" BS and had plenty of room.

if you hit the inner seam at barely below ride height, you definitely aren't running 3.75" BS

thechief86 said:

i did 32's with this same setup, but had rims that were a little wider and stuck out more than stock. i ran a stock bumpstop with a hockey puck glued to the spring bucket on the axle, with no issues. 4.56's won't be too bad with 32's, but i ran 4:10's with an ax15 and it was perfect. i eventually lifted more, but more because i kept hanging the crossmember on ledges i kept the 32's though. good luck! if you're running an automatic, the 4.56's should be fine.

Click to expand...

It's an AX-15, 1999, 4.0, 231. Thanks for the info

My bet is you need rims with more backspacing or a wider axle, as others said.

I fit 33x11.5s on rims with 0 offset (in this case, I find offset speaks more about how the tires will end up fitting, it's mathematically related and you can easily determine yours based off backspacing and width) under 3.5" of lift with absolutely no problems... by that I mean I cut off or bent over any sharp metal that hit the tires. No bumpstops in the back (rubs badly when I hit a speed bump at 15-20mph, would not if I had bumpstops), stock bumpstops in the front. I don't really care if the tires rub on the inner fenders a bit though, and I know they are. I've lost a slight bit of turning radius due to the tires hitting the LCAs and sway bar a bit, but none due to fender interference. If I go down to 2" I'll run the same tires, just need to hammer/cut more metal or maybe actually install some bumpstops...

93XJLI said:

you're doing it wrong.

i ran 10.5s on 15x7s (which you should have anyway with a 10.5 wide tire) with 4.5" BS and had plenty of room.

if you hit the inner seam at barely below ride height, you definitely aren't running 3.75" BS

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Toyo's website and BFG list an 8" wheel as the correct size for the 33x10.50

I'm positive the wheels are 3.75 BS because I just bought them and measured them. The tires stick out of the body by about 2-3 inches on each side. Seems to me I'd have to go with 1.25 inch spacers to get wide enough to make a difference and even then it would still be tight.

8" wheel is fine. and your already a .25" negative (or is it positive? either way the tire sticks out past the center line of the rim) offset. thats not the problem.

rokk99 said:

Toyo's website and BFG list an 8" wheel as the correct size for the 33x10.50

I'm positive the wheels are 3.75 BS because I just bought them and measured them. The tires stick out of the body by about 2-3 inches on each side. Seems to me I'd have to go with 1.25 inch spacers to get wide enough to make a difference and even then it would still be tight.

Click to expand...

How did you measure the bs? By stating that they stick out past the body by xx inches doesnt make them backspaced by xx inches. I'm sure you did it the right way but I'm just checking. I would think that just throwing on some extended arms made for 3-4.5" of lift would give you a slight front stretch with proper geometry. Can anyone else comment?

I measured the BS on the wheel itself, I was just saying that the tires stick out which is what happens when the wheels have less back spacing.

Some longer arms would give me a little stretch up front. I'm a big fan of adjustable stuff so it can be fine tuned. I think part of the problem is that with the 2 inch lift and the stock lower arms the axle is already moved back a small amount. Thanks

I skimmed over all the post pretty quickly and I think rokk was the only one to suggest different control arms. Are you running the stock arms? Maybe a combination of adjustable arms and wheels with the correct backspacing would work out for you.

Lol, I was the one to suggest the arms. Rokk is the OP.

keep the arms, change the jeep. hahaha.

if your rubbing on the control arms with 3.75" of backspacing you measured wrong. i run 12.50s and dont rub the control arms with 4" of backspacing. i also ran 5.25" of backspacing on 9.50s with no rubbing. this is the rims fault... not the control arms. ill take that back, im no longer familiar with how boxy the stock arms are, i havent ran them for years. but something just doesnt make sense.


BUT... control arms may fix your problem with rubbing in the fender.

the rubbing is in the back of the wheel well and not on the control arms. The tire doesn't even come close to the control arm. There's more room up front than towards the back, so moving the axle about an inch forward of stock (I think it's about an inch back of stock now) should help... and probably create some new problems

I set up a photobucket acct, so here's the link to pics.

http://s1046.photobucket.com/albums/b466/rokk99/

going forward will help. but i hope you dont plan to unhook the front swaybar.

rokk99 said:

the rubbing is in the back of the wheel well and not on the control arms. The tire doesn't even come close to the control arm. There's more room up front than towards the back, so moving the axle about an inch forward of stock (I think it's about an inch back of stock now) should help... and probably create some new problems

I set up a photobucket acct, so here's the link to pics.

http://s1046.photobucket.com/albums/b466/rokk99/

Click to expand...

Longer control arms are what you need to provide clearance for a 33" tall tire in a space originally designed for a 28" tire.
A good way to adjust the arms is to put the body on jack stands, remove the front coil springs, bolt the wheels back on and then cycle the suspension every which way to check for clearance.
This is when you should set up your bump-stops to protect the shocks and tires.
You also need to set the caster and front yoke angles at the same time.

Moving the axle to far forward will cause interference between the passenger side sway bar mount and the drag-link and also between the sway bar links and the coil springs. It's all about tweaking, modifying and compromise.
You can get a little more clearance at the pinch seam by massaging the area with a BFH.

lazyxj said:

You can get a little more clearance at the pinch seam by massaging the area with a BFH.

Click to expand...

emphasis on BFH.

a few whacks with a mini sledge and you wont have a problem.

rokk99 said:

the rubbing is in the back of the wheel well and not on the control arms. The tire doesn't even come close to the control arm.

Click to expand...

Your rubbing because the tires stick out too far. You need more backspacing (make the track narrower); 4.25 would be about right. Think about it; with the wheels turned full lock, your inside tire is set farther back than stock with the backspacing you have. If you went back to stock backspacing, you wouldn't hit the inner fender, but you would hit the control arm. You have to find the right balance.

you can definitely clearance that seam more as well, mine is completely flat. i am running 33x12.50s on a saggy 3" lift and i don't rub back there at all. i rub on the awkward bulge in the front of the inner fender and even on one of the steering box bolt heads but that's it and even then it's just enough to scrape off paint. i also have 3 (yes 3) hockey pucks qlued to the coil perch to help with bumpstopping. it still has plenty flex, i use all of my 9" travel shocks and it begs for more lol.

i also have pro-comp arms and they are really only ~.25" longer than stock arms but it really helps with the caster #'s.

also i vote you don't have enough backspacing as well, i have 15x8 ar black wagon wheels so they are probably 4.5-4.75" BS cause i think that's a popular # but yeah they work well.

mine was fine on 32's with no swaybar, but i had put the hockey puck in there with the stock bumpstop. the droop was nice.