I have never read anything that said this was possible, but I think I have pulled it off.
31x10.50 MT/R's on a '95 XJ with the original suspension.
I am wondering if there is something I have not noticed yet, and will I be in trouble?
Here's the story.
I picked up this '95 XJ with 107,000 a while ago at an attractive price. It had not run in a while and had a few problems. It had minor cosmetic problems, some of the tires didn't hold air, the alternator was frozen, the A/C doesn't work, the radio doesn't work right, and it had the lovely issue with the engine mount bolts sheared off in the block on the passenger side.
I replaced the alternator and then had a real joy with the engine mount bolts. Especially after I broke off an easy-out in one of them.
When I got it to almost running condition, I wondered if the 31x10.50 MT/R's I had in the garage would fit. I had been planning to run it a while with stock size tires and determine if the vehicle was solid enough to invest the money for a decent lift.
After removing the flares, I tossed on the MT/R's still mounted to the 4 inch back spacing wheels that had been on my TJ. As soon as I started to flex the suspension, the rear tires said "hello" to the fenders.
I went ahead with the trimming and folding of the rear wheel opening as I had been reading about here and on other sites. The tires still hit the opening, but not by much. By remounting the rear tires to the factory wheels with 5 1/4 inch back spacing, the tires were able to clear the sheet metal and tuck up into the wheel house.
The front tires didn't hit anything, even at full lock, with the 4" BS wheels. With the 5 1/4", they hit the control arms pretty hard.
This resulted in 5 1/4" BS on the rears and 4" BS on the fronts. Everything seemed to clear until I removed the front sway bar and started the articulation test again. Now I have trimmed the front fenders, and it all seems to work.
It looks like I will be able to relocate the rear flares to work. The fronts look like relocation won't be enough, but with some other cutting on the flares they may work. Otherwise, it will be some TJ flares in the front.
Along the way I have also added a factory gas tank skid and factory tow hooks front and rear (on factory brackets).
I still have to address additional skid plates and rock rails.
Is there anything more I am overlooking? Has anybody else done this?
Bruce
31x10.50 MT/R's on a '95 XJ with the original suspension.
I am wondering if there is something I have not noticed yet, and will I be in trouble?
Here's the story.
I picked up this '95 XJ with 107,000 a while ago at an attractive price. It had not run in a while and had a few problems. It had minor cosmetic problems, some of the tires didn't hold air, the alternator was frozen, the A/C doesn't work, the radio doesn't work right, and it had the lovely issue with the engine mount bolts sheared off in the block on the passenger side.
I replaced the alternator and then had a real joy with the engine mount bolts. Especially after I broke off an easy-out in one of them.
When I got it to almost running condition, I wondered if the 31x10.50 MT/R's I had in the garage would fit. I had been planning to run it a while with stock size tires and determine if the vehicle was solid enough to invest the money for a decent lift.
After removing the flares, I tossed on the MT/R's still mounted to the 4 inch back spacing wheels that had been on my TJ. As soon as I started to flex the suspension, the rear tires said "hello" to the fenders.
I went ahead with the trimming and folding of the rear wheel opening as I had been reading about here and on other sites. The tires still hit the opening, but not by much. By remounting the rear tires to the factory wheels with 5 1/4 inch back spacing, the tires were able to clear the sheet metal and tuck up into the wheel house.
The front tires didn't hit anything, even at full lock, with the 4" BS wheels. With the 5 1/4", they hit the control arms pretty hard.
This resulted in 5 1/4" BS on the rears and 4" BS on the fronts. Everything seemed to clear until I removed the front sway bar and started the articulation test again. Now I have trimmed the front fenders, and it all seems to work.
It looks like I will be able to relocate the rear flares to work. The fronts look like relocation won't be enough, but with some other cutting on the flares they may work. Otherwise, it will be some TJ flares in the front.
Along the way I have also added a factory gas tank skid and factory tow hooks front and rear (on factory brackets).
I still have to address additional skid plates and rock rails.
Is there anything more I am overlooking? Has anybody else done this?
Bruce