Jeep Liberty Wheels

[xj88superjeep]

The Cragar steel wheels are way cheap brand new from quadratec and look great and (someone please tell me if I'm wrong) I think steel is better than alloy on the trail.

 

[4wdParakeet]

Oh yeah you'll be fine. I wheeled the piss out of my KJ and it held up great. The thing about alloys I have seen is when they do go it's a new wheel. If a steel wheel gets bent you can sometimes bend it back to shape. Alloy breaks not bends. I watched a guy try and basically bounce his grand over a rock and it broke a chunk out of the side of the wheel. I wouldn't have a problem running them though and never did. Rock rash is a little harder to deal with though. A black steelie you can just rattle can after a run.


Parakeet

 

[xj88superjeep]

Oh yeah you'll be fine. I wheeled the piss out of my KJ and it held up great. The thing about alloys I have seen is when they do go it's a new wheel. If a steel wheel gets bent you can sometimes bend it back to shape. Alloy breaks not bends. I watched a guy try and basically bounce his grand over a rock and it broke a chunk out of the side of the wheel. I wouldn't have a problem running them though and never did. Rock rash is a little harder to deal with though. A black steelie you can just rattle can after a run.


Parakeet

LOL, I caught that after I posted my comment...

 

[seanyb505]

KJ 16 inchers on an XJ. http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=945572 Backspacing is fine, and they dont rub on anything at full lock.

 

[vortex]

Well thanks for all you guys told me.

-PJ-

 

[casm]

The 4WDHardware catalog says "Libertys must use a minimum of a 16" wheel to clear the brakes".

Hm - this is tangental to the thread and it's not my intention to hijack, but this has me thinking: would the brakes from a KJ D30 bolt up to an XJ D30? God knows the 9" brakes on the XJ range from mediocre at best to useless at worst if you're running larger tyres. Even if they're only an inch larger, that's a substantial gain in stopping power.

Granted, the KJ is IFS, but if the bolt pattern at the hub is the same this may make for a good brake upgrade for people already running larger rims - but see below for the corollary on that.

Of course 4WD is the Macdonalds of offroad shops, so I'd be inclined to believe someone who has seen one with 15" wheels. :dunno:

Precisely what I was thinking. I'm having a hard time believing that a KJ with 15" rims would use a physically-larger disc or caliper than one with a 16" rim - while it makes sense for a few reasons, the main one that shoots it down (economy of scale in manufacturing) makes me think they likely used the same ones across the range.

That's my rumination for the day; now back to the regularly-scheduled thread.

 

[4wdParakeet]

That wouldn't be bad to look into. I know you can switch the rear discs out on the XJ's with the 8.25. I may have to try that the next brake job.


Parakeet