Wheels, Tires, Tire Carrier, and the Story (Chapter 2)
So where did I leave off...ah! Yes! Chapter 2! And I did leave one piece out in Chapter 1 as well. I was also supposed to get a CB Mounting Bracket for the Carrier on the back as i could not reuse the Rugged Ridge one that I had, however, when Unlimited Offroad went to install it, they realized that Teraflex had sent a non-powder coated one, so they had to place a new order to get the right mount, which I had them just send directly to my house, because it is 2 bolts and reattaching the base of the antenna, it was basically all run, so I can easily do that myself. But anyways, but to the story!
So I decided to head on over to discount tire because, when it comes to wheels and tires, I trust no one more than them, and they have always taken such great care of me there that I never even think to go anywhere else! So I asked them to road force balance the tires to see if this could be causing my death wobble issue, and sure enough, just looking at the tires, it turns out that one of the front tires had its weight knocked off somewhere, and the other was no longer round on the inside edge. It was a little weird that I was not feeling either of these when driving down the road regularly I thought, however, this was the issue that the suspension and HD Steering Stabilizer were taking care of the small vibration, but when hitting the straight on seems/bumps, it was magnifying the issue greatly and it was just a progressive wobble that continued to build until I slowed down. And this, you could see with your eyes and feel it with your hands, so Discount Tire said that it was a waste of money to road force balance them, and new tires were definitely going to be in order for me!
Was NOT planning on spent that much money all in one week, but I was going to do itanyways, so I guess I just ended up getting it all done at once...and let's face it, I definitely wasn't sad about some new wheels and tires coming sooner rather than later! Haha! Cus who really WANTS to wait on that? It just made sense to try and spread the money out a little at least.
So I started discussing some numbers (and with tires, that's a lot of numbers! 33s...35s...285s...305s...70...12.5...17s...15s... etc...your get the idea! And that's not even the prices!) and I had already had an idea of the size tire I wanted along with exactly want brand/model tire i wanted, and I had an idea on the wheels! My original plan was to go with 15" Level 8 Bully Pros with either a 35x12.5xR15 or a 33x12.5xR15 Cooper Discoverer STT Pro. Now, this was a tough decision as 33s on a 2 Dr with a 3.5" lift is a bit had to find to compare, and there are so many factors that go into exactly how it sits, but I decided that I was gonna go for 33s, as 35s may bog me down too much and I don't wanna get into too much regearing or put too much stress on the drivetrain, as this is my DD, so I had to keep that in mind! Turned out though, to get the Bully Pros, they would have to be shipped from Cali to the shop in MI and it was going to take a whole week to get em in, and I couldn't be out of commission that long with my DD, so I had to look into some different options. I considered Just going stock rims with the spacers as the stock rims aren't too bad, cuz I had black rims! And it would cost a bit less, but them the sales guy really took care of me wheel, as another Jeep had been in earlier that week for wheels and tires, and ordered a set of 5 MB Razors in Flat Black, and didn't like em, so the shop already had these in!
http://www.wheelsbymbmotoring.com/product.php?wheel=Razor&finish=Matte%20Black
The Sales Rep went and got em out of the back and I really liked what i saw! These wheels had a sweet look to em, and with my Jeep, IMHO, they were perfect! So then I had to get into the size of the tire for the 17" rim now, and I finally settled on a 295/70/17, which should measure out to ~33" tire depending on the psi in it. The tire size calculator from Discount Tire measured it to 33.26", but that is obviously ideal measurement and not real with weight on it. I figured I was going to need to wait a few days, as I was sure these tires in a 295 size were definitely not gonna be stocked at the shop, which they weren't, but i was very surprised to hear the sales rep guy say it would be ready before closing that day! He was going to rush the tires in and make it happen that day! So I was very happy to see this!
I got the call later in the afternoon that DT was taking my Jeep in now as the tires had just arrived and they figured they would call me then because they figured I might want to watch...which they were right! They swapped my TPMS Sensors from the old wheels to these new ones, got em mounted and balanced, and the only issue they had was, the lift that they put it on was not quiet tall enough for the new tires by an inch or so as I have so much travel in the suspension now with the AEV kit! But they were able to get it on, no issue, and they readjusted the Teraflex carrier with my help to get the new 5 wheel/Tire on there snug with no shake or vibration, and there ya have it! a new and very sick looking Jeep! And for the 2-Dr, and I really happy with my choice of 33s, as I think the 35s would have been too much tire for my taste on my Jeep! Proportions wise, It looks just right to me!
And after the drive home and a few other tests up and down the expressway and bumpy roads and starting and stopping...this fixed my death wobble! No even a hint of a wobble any more! It is great! And I am very pleased for DT taking such great care of my and fixing this fast!
