'08 JK 18" wheel swap

I have a '00 XJ lifted 3" on 31's mounted on steel wheels. I just found a set of '08 JK wheels and 32" tires for cheap. My question is, does any one see an advantage to 18" alloy rims? Is the weight difference significant? I imagine that I can get spacers to make the bolt pattern work and additional fender trimming may be required. But is it really worth it? All feedback is appreciated!

Spidertrax WHS-013 spacers - The 1.25" negative backspacing provided by those will set the backspacing at 5" providing 0.5" of less backspacing over stock that will help make up for the 32" tires.

As for rim weight going to the alloy rims will be worth it. As well, those larger rims will make it much easier to fit larger brakes in the future.

I am putting the 2013 JK Rubicon rims and tires on my Comanche.

How about tire selection? Is there good support from tire mfgs for the wheel?

for wheeling... im a firm believer that 37s are minimum tire size for a 17 inch rim. you just dont have enough side wall to effectively use the tire and safely retain the bead when you air down with anything smaller. 18s are useless IMO, but thats just my opinion. and the lack of sidewall compared to rim just looks goofy to me as well.

if you want them for the street, spacers are easy enough to find.

Maybe try selling/trading the 18's for for some 16/17 MOAB's. The 16's will bolt on, the 17's will need an adapter like the 18's

Thanks for all the input. I agree with the sidewall thought. I just needed some good reasons to pass on what seemed like a deal too good to be true. As far as picking them up and trading, I'll just wait for now.

How cheap? For street tires and the right price id do it. I have a set of 18" charger rims that I stripped and painted duplicolor gunmetal gray, and they look awesome, will get wrapped in 33" GY duratracs for the road, and I'll put something more aggressive on the steel 15" I have for the trail.

255/70R18 '08 JK Sahara wheels/tires

Ran them as they were available when I needed tires (came off my wifes '08 Sahara). The wife liked the look, the neighbour loved it ... me ... not so much. But I will say they were excellent highway tires, smooth and quiet ... I could hear any and all driveline issues ... now, with the ones shown below I just hear tires, fine by me.

285/70R17 on '09 JK Moabs painted black ... gonna get them powder coated in satin black if I stay with them.


I like this much better, although I now get a little rub on the LCA's at full lock, eventually I'll either move to a new set of 15" wheels or have the future 3-link arms clearenced (bent) accordingly.

I'd rather have one set of tires for trail/highway ... although I now have the ability to swap as needed, I'm just too damn lazy in my old coot stage.

Both are mounted using the aforementioned Spidertrax spacers without issues.