96 XJ, 16” Jeep Icon Rims& Wheel Spacers

[Blakey]

Did the late model, with 16” rims come with longer wheel studs?

Do I need a specific spacer to fit these rims?

I’ve got 16” factory Jeep Icon rims (from the later model XJs) on my 1996 XJ.
The tires rub on the LCAs and I want to install wheel spacers but am unsure what spacers to buy to suit the Icon rims.
I’ve read that models with factory 16” rims had longer wheel studs.
All the wheel spacers I’ve seen say they fit 1984-2001 XJs with no mention of different stud lengths/spacers for later models.

Hopefully someone can shed some light on this. Cheers!

 

[RCP Phx]

The basic answer is no on xj's, they might have for the rear disc's on the zj's. What size tire are you using?

 

[Blakey]

Tire size is 265/70/R16

 

[XJI6191]

ZJ rear studs are longer - but how they compare with XJ fronts I have no idea.

The late models with 16" wheels do have longer front studs because in mid-'99 XJ's got cast rotors, which have slightly thicker centres than the earlier composite ones.

It's the owners of those that may have to be careful choosing spacers, the fact you have the later 16" wheels doesn't matter.

I can only assume that the Icons don't rub when they are the original fitment, is because they are mounted a fraction further out. In which case, rather than spacers, I'd be thinking about the later hubs & rotors.

 

[Winterhawk]

For what it's worth I have the 16 inch Icons on my '96 and they fit perfect. I don't have 245/70r16's, but will be putting on 235/85r16's on soon. I know they work and about 1.3 inches larger diameter than the 245's. Before buying spacers (I hate spacers) concider replacing the lower control arms for more clearance, or adjust the stop to so it doesn't hit the stock ones. Slightly less turning radius, but not much.

 

[Ralph77]

Well seeing how from the factory they came with 225 70 16's and your running 265 70 16's which are a little over 1.5" wider thinking maybe cause of that?

 

[RCP Phx]

OP, what year was this?

 

[RCP Phx]

Oops, wrong thread!
But yes tire size is the culprit here. My 2000 came with 16"x5" bs rims and when I run 265/75-16's they rub. Then I also picked up a set of 15" w/ 4.5" bs on 33x10.50x15" they just barely cleared. I now run a set of Rubicon rims that are 16"x4.5" bs with 265/75-16's with no rub.

 

[XJEEPER]

If these are the wheels that your are running on your rig (Icon) then they are a 16" x 7" wide wheel.

I've read that the backspacing of the Icon wheel is 5.25" and folks have had success running a 1" billet wheel adapter/spacer to reduce the backspacing to 4.25", which should allow the tire to clear the LCA on full lock.

I've run TJ Rubicon Moab wheels (16x8) on my XJ's for 20 years, first on my 89 XJ with short arms (285/75/16 tires)

and for the past 15 years on my 2000 XJ with long arms (Y-Link radius arms and 295/75/16 tires) On both setups, I've run 1.25" billet wheel spacers. With a net backspacing of 4", neither setup had an issue with rubbing the LCA's. I'm also running factory length wheel studs.

I also run OTK steering and WJ knuckles on my current XJ, so the extra .25 offset allows for TRE/wheel clearance.

 

[RCP Phx]

The Rubicon wheels are......

 

[Blakey]

Well seeing how from the factory they came with 225 70 16's and your running 265 70 16's which are a little over 1.5" wider thinking maybe cause of that?

Yeh, no shit @Ralph77. Hence the topic and the question re wheel spacers…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[75SV1]

I run the 2000-2001 16" rims on my 2000 XJ. I have the WJ knuckles and cross over steering. My tires are about 9-9.5 wide though. I do not run spacers on it. I used the 2000+ hub bearings. I believe they are thinner or less height that the earlier hub bearings. I'd have to check though. If they are, then possibly run the earlier hubs with the earlier rotor.

I have run spacers on some setups. I don't like them. I didn't have any problems though with hub centric ones. Hub centric and those that have 5 bolts to hold to the hub bearing, then 5 to hold the rim on. I did have a spacer that used longer studs. I had the wheel come off at 70 MPH. Fortunately, no one else was collected in that. A few weeks after that, there was some local news, that someone had a wheel come off and it jumped down the bridge, killing someone. Mine was on the rear and a Ford 8.8 conversion.

Edit: I come up with 1.91 to 2.00 for the 2000+ hub bearing. 2.14 for the earlier ones. Might look at WJ's lower control arms.

 

[XJI6191]

Since I raised the issue of late model hubs/rotors, here is the relevant part of my source of info: an earlier post right her on this forum:-

" . . . 2) Older type unit hubs ( Jeep Part number 53007449 ) used 1990 through 1999.5 ( Use Composite brake rotors).

3) New type unit hubs ( Jeep Part number 5016458 ) used 1999.5 through 2001 ( Use Cast brake rotors). .

** You need to match the disk brake rotor type and measurements to the unit bearing/hub type and measurements currently on your XJ. **
Previous owners or a repair shop may have installed different replacement parts. It is possible to have one old type and one new type unit hub.

Cast vs. Composite rotors Identification and Measurement -

Composite rotors should have a rounded off corner at the wheel mounting surface and look like two pieces joined together. Composite rotors have a thin sheet metal like appearance at the holes where the lug nut studs come through and measure about 1/8 "(.125) thick in this area. Composite rotors have an overall height of 3 3/16"."

WJ LCA's will help with the rubbing issue as they have a set in them, as do the rear uppers off something (ZJ?) which I recall was Bleepin' Jeep's solution. However, that shouldn't be necessary.

As for Ralph's point about over-sized tyres, in the Winter my '98 runs the slightly smaller 265's on stock 15" rims, that is compared with the 31" MT's the rest of the year, with no problems. I appreciate that 265 x 15's are smaller than 265 x 16's but still a lot bigger than the OEM 225/235's.

 

[XJEEPER]

Since I raised the issue of late model hubs/rotors, here is the relevant part of my source of info: an earlier post right her on this forum:-

" . . . 2) Older type unit hubs ( Jeep Part number 53007449 ) used 1990 through 1999.5 ( Use Composite brake rotors).

3) New type unit hubs ( Jeep Part number 5016458 ) used 1999.5 through 2001 ( Use Cast brake rotors). .

** You need to match the disk brake rotor type and measurements to the unit bearing/hub type and measurements currently on your XJ. **
Previous owners or a repair shop may have installed different replacement parts. It is possible to have one old type and one new type unit hub.

Cast vs. Composite rotors Identification and Measurement -

Composite rotors should have a rounded off corner at the wheel mounting surface and look like two pieces joined together. Composite rotors have a thin sheet metal like appearance at the holes where the lug nut studs come through and measure about 1/8 "(.125) thick in this area. Composite rotors have an overall height of 3 3/16"."

WJ LCA's will help with the rubbing issue as they have a set in them, as do the rear uppers off something (ZJ?) which I recall was Bleepin' Jeep's solution. However, that shouldn't be necessary.

As for Ralph's point about over-sized tyres, in the Winter my '98 runs the slightly smaller 265's on stock 15" rims, that is compared with the 31" MT's the rest of the year, with no problems. I appreciate that 265 x 15's are smaller than 265 x 16's but still a lot bigger than the OEM 225/235's.

^^Unnecessary rabbit hole exploration to solve for the original post/question.

Run a high quality 6061 billet aluminum bolt-on wheel spacer/adapters (Spidertrax or equivalent) of 1.25" width to bump out your Icon wheels to stop the tire rub on the LCA's.

Stock wheel studs work just fine with these spacers, my 20+ years of use with zero issues are proof. I've run the exact same spacers on my 89 XJ early style hubs and on my 2000 XJ with 2003 TJ hubs to mate with WJ knuckles/brakes.

Tighten the open end acorn nuts which attach the spacer to the hub flange to the same torque spec as the aluminum Icon wheel. (I've always torqued mine to 95 ft/lbs)
1994 FSM ==> 80 to 110 ft-lbs
2000 FSM ==> 85 to 115 ft-lbs

Wheels/bolt-on spacers that are property installed and torqued don't loosen and fall off.

 

[XJI6191]

Well that'll teach me to try and be helpful.

Personally, I would advocate avoiding spacers if at all possible, as they have, generally, been considered "a bad thing" almost from the moment they appeared on the market (premature bearing wear being the usual reason given). In fact, I think, anything over 5mm is an inspection fail here, because they're considered dangerous.

Must admit I was rather surprised to find that they are still alive & well in Jeep circles, but accept that they are used properly & responsibly.

 

[techno1154]

Well that'll teach me to try and be helpful.

Personally, I would advocate avoiding spacers if at all possible, as they have, generally, been considered "a bad thing" almost from the moment they appeared on the market (premature bearing wear being the usual reason given). In fact, I think, anything over 5mm is an inspection fail here, because they're considered dangerous.

Must admit I was rather surprised to find that they are still alive & well in Jeep circles, but accept that they are used properly & responsibly.

I have heard the same thing for years, here on as well back in the early 2000s.

I had a pair of 2" on my front D30 to bring it to the width of the rear JK D44 which is 4" wider than an XJ diff. I was also using the JK front hubs. I did not have a single problem in almost 50,000 miles on that configuration. As suggested by XJ1691, torque them to the same torque as you would the wheels. As a precaution, I removed the wheels and re-torqued them again after about 1,000 miles.

 

[XJEEPER]

Well that'll teach me to try and be helpful.

Personally, I would advocate avoiding spacers if at all possible, as they have, generally, been considered "a bad thing" almost from the moment they appeared on the market (premature bearing wear being the usual reason given). In fact, I think, anything over 5mm is an inspection fail here, because they're considered dangerous.

Must admit I was rather surprised to find that they are still alive & well in Jeep circles, but accept that they are used properly & responsibly.

It appears that the "spacer" definition is open to interpretation and based on your comment and reference to 5mm, you are clearly talking about a different component that I am.

I DO NOT and would NEVER advocate running spacers that simply sandwich between the wheel surface and hub surface like these:

The spacers that I have run with ZERO issues for over 20 years are also known as hub-centric 6061 billet aluminum wheel adapters which in my case, are not adapting wheel bolt pattern, only functioning as a spacer.

These units are marketed as "wheel spacers" and are a safe and time proven component when manufactured with quality materials, hub centric design and installed with the proper torque values.

 

[XJI6191]

Same thing, different dimensions &, I suppose, for a different purpose &, of course their thickness (3mm ones are also available) means, almost by definition, they must be like the one illustrated.

Seeing that picture reminded me of a variation which was probably why they had such a bad press; they had hex holes, so they located on the hex shoulders of the stud extenders. Scary!

 

[XJEEPER]

Same thing, different dimensions &, I suppose, for a different purpose &, of course their thickness (3mm ones are also available) means, almost by definition, they must be like the one illustrated.

Seeing that picture reminded me of a variation which was probably why they had such a bad press; they had hex holes, so they located on the hex shoulders of the stud extenders. Scary!

Right.

One is not hub-centric and is merely sandwiched between the wheel and the hub mounting surface, which allows for movement and the eventual loosening of the lugnuts. Definity sketchy and should be outlawed.

The other is hub-centric and bolts directly to the factory studs, torqued to factory wheel specs. Then the wheel is bolted to the studs of the spacer and torqued to factory wheel specs. Safe solution that poses little risk when installed properly and all nuts are torqued to spec.

 

[75SV1]

On mine I had two hub centric spacers machined down to 1" width. Mine were 5 through bolts. I had a failure at 70 mph. Not fun. 2-3 year use.
I have run hub centric as pictured above on both front and rear. No real issues. Also, I have used the 5 on 4.5 to 5 on 5, with no issues. I still don't like to use spacers, though. Especially on the front. Even though my failure happened on the rear. Also, I use blue Loctite on the thread to the hubs.
I am running a Ford 8.8. So, some spacing is needed. I did install the Yukon kit a few weeks back. Seems good. I only have a few miles on them though. I do need to torque the lug nut to 90. I'm at 75 lbs. Don't know why that sticks in my head. For some reason on another vehicle, aluminum rims are torqued less than steel rims.