16" or 15" rims?

OK.... taking the 32" or 33" tires aside, what about rims?? Since I will be replacing rims while doing tires, is there any benefit to 16" cs 15"?? I have watched quite a few prior rim threads and it seems that each has some benefits over the other, and quite often there was conflicting info posted about rims. So here's the big one: is 16" better then 15" or the other way around? If buying new rims, which one would you choose for 32" tires and which one for 33"? And which backspacing??

I like the idea of 15 inch rims because everything being equal, the tires are a lot more expensive for 16 inch (at least in canada) i have 3.75" of backspacing and i like it! just my 2 cents

dude,

Do 20s or go home

hinkley

26" are way cooler, then you can run low- pro's on a lift.

just kidding, stick with 15x10, there is a wide selection of weels in this size, and you can get tires much easier and cheaper.

If you're going with 33X12.5 just get some 15X8" rims. 16s don't make sense unless you go with a 35" tall tire.
Don't get the black rockcrawler wheels, be different.

Jes

getting all mechanical engineering and all, my understanding is that 16" rims are for holding more cab weight, but most importantly for better handling on road. this is becuase there is less "bounce" on the tire making there be less vertical friction on the tires. basically, if a tire bounces less, then you have better lateral traction. This is why we see many porsche, lambo's whatever with 18" rims stock. Also to why a lot of the new SUV's have 16 or even 17 rims, because they are built for those soccer moms who think they have an offroad capable truck. on the other hand, 20" rims on a porsche would not be good, becuase there isn;t enough bounce to have a comfortable, good handling ride.

overall, 15" rims are the best bet for 32's or 33's, and will allow you to air down with less probability of losing a bead.

16" rims have a little less sidewall, a little less sidewall flex. Not radical but noticeable, every little bit helps, when the old Jeep wanders some on a straight road.

OK... so then assuming 15" wheel what backspacing/width would be recommended for 32's and what for 33's. As far as I recall from prior discussions it's recommended to stay withing 4" or so between the thread width and rim width so 1050 thread would sit fine on 7" rim while 1250 be perfect for 8". What about 1150 in the middle?

how about 17's.


Hunter

Hunter-Lynchburg said:

how about 17's.


Hunter

Click to expand...

ummmmmmmmm no

no one menttioned that if you want to upgrade the brakes you will have more uptions if you go to 16's, your hands are pretty much tied if you have 15's to do any major improvements to the brakes. If your xj is a daily driver you may wish you had some decent brakes after all the weight you add with bumpers, winch 33's etc. If you don't commute in it then get 15's and save your self some money and have more choices in tires like everyone mentioned.

Do you plan on polishing your thurdy? Like getting WJ knuckles? If you do not then stay with 15's if you are then get the 16's.

Otherwise flip a coin and stop wasting bandwidth!

Kejtar said:

OK... so then assuming 15" wheel what backspacing/width would be recommended for 32's and what for 33's. As far as I recall from prior discussions it's recommended to stay withing 4" or so between the thread width and rim width so 1050 thread would sit fine on 7" rim while 1250 be perfect for 8". What about 1150 in the middle?

Click to expand...

If you have the money for the slightly more expensive tires, get the 16" rims because you can get 285/75/16 tires. These are 33x11.3" tire...essentially your 32x11.5 with a inch more height.

This is a perfect XJ tire size. Not too fat that you have to trim excessively, not too narrow to be pizza cutters. They look really sweet on 16x8 rims, and I would choose 4.5" backspace, 4" if you want a wider track (although this will be harder on your D30 ball joints).

If you are doing 15" rims, you can put 32x11.5 on a 7" rim, but it does kind of defeat the point of the wider tire over a 33x10.5 (I heavily preferred the 33x10.5 size on a 7" rim over the 32x11.5). I'd get an 8" rims for 32's or 33's in 15" sizes.

Nay