Lookin to Puchase New Wheels and Tires

Well, here's my story:

This summer (2011), I bought some tires and wheels; I was in such a hurry to get something bigger on my Jeep, I didn't bother to do much research. Now here I am over a half a year later and I'm stuck with a set of five wheels and tires that don't work real well.

I purchased a set of Dick Cepek AT FC-II (35x12.5x15) and a set of crager steel wheels (Mohave style) with a -2" back spacing.

I had nothing but problems with these from the start. I don't know if they just are unable to be balanced or what (I had a pro shop road force balance them), but when I drove with them I would get a horrible shimmy (death wobble). I spent the next three months and close to $1k trying to figure out what the issue was with no success.

Long story short, I need to sell them and look for something else. I haven't tried them on the new new 2012 I just bought because I'm actually worried that if I do, it might shimmy again and cause other issues (I had to replace my track bar and other parts on my old Jeep because of these tires). This Jeep is my daily driver and it sees off road about 40% of the time.

I would like to purchase a wheel/tire combo that I can take in mud/snow/sand and be able to crawl (I'm heading to the Moab next spring) and also be able to travel long distances. (Wisconsin to Utah and back). I would like a MT tire, but I"m not opposed to AT's.

I would like to have a bead lock wheel this time around. I'm also looking at maybe going a bit smaller width wise (10.5 instead of 12.5?) maybe. I was looking at the AEV wheels; I see a lot of Jeeps with those.

A few questions I had for you guys out there:

1. Have you ever experienced issues like I had with the bad shimmy/death wobble with tires? How did you fix it?
2. What would you suggest for a wheel/tire combo?
3. Steel or alloy? Why?
4. Can a 10.5" wide tire fit on a 17x8.5" wheel? Beadlocked? Is it safe? (I know people who have done it, but I dunno what to think)

Steel wheels + large heavy tires are harder to balance than most. My next set of wheels will probably be alloy not only for the weight, but for a better balance. Fixing a shimmy is most likely a balance issue, but could be from a warped or bent wheel or a tire that has a poor wear pattern or out of round. Sometimes you can balance larger tires with balance beads, but that may not be your issue.

long rant warning....

1. Death wobbles: I had death wobbles, but it was not wheel/tire related. For me it was more of a track bar/geometry thing (I think).

2- Wheel choice: Nothing against AEV, I owned a set and my best friend still runs a set on his JK....However, they really aren't hard duty use wheels when compared side by side with other manufacturer's beadlocks. I now view them more as an occasional "weekend warrior's" wheel. After I trashed my set I went back to Walker Evans and realized why I love them, they are made for serious use. Had the back order on Spiderlock wheels not been so outrageous, I would have purchased those. In fact I really wanted ATX Slabs (which are really Spiderlocks) but they were not yet in production for purchase and the only set being run was on Mel Wade's EVO1 JK from Off Road Evolution. So, Walker Evans it was. Find a wheel you know you can walk out to your rig everyday and say "damn, I like the way those look". Spiderlocks, ATX Slabs, Racelines, Trail Ready, Walker Evans are all serious competition wheels that have sponsored racers riding on them. That speaks volumes about a wheels ability. I have never seen a sponsored offroad rig racing on AEV's. I will leave it at that.

3- Tires: If you really are going to wheel a lot the MT may be the choice, but don't count out the AT's because they are not an off road tire. Plus most guys go for more a aggressive tread than they probably really need, because we are men, and that is how we roll. First consideration is availability, can you actually buy the tire in the size you want. Second, are you brand loyal? When it comes to tires, I am not so much stuck in any one camp. I like BFG, Goodyear, Nitto, Toyo, (and now) Falken. I have run all the brands I listed, minus the Falkens (plus some others I would never recommend). But I have seen first hand what the Falkens are capable of. Also, these brands listed are probably the most mentioned and recommended on any Jeep forum out there and that is because they have a decent reputation in all environments, some better than others. I bought Goodyears, because they were available and cheaper than the others, and had high marks in the terrain I drive.

4- Wheel material: Steel is cheap, somewhat repairable on the trail....but it is heavy. So couple heavy wheel and heavy tires, like Robar said above, it will be harder to balance. And more importantly I look at the rotational mass and unsprung weight, the more you can do to reduce both of these on any type of vehicle, the better that vehicle will react under steering, braking, acceleration etc. I vote always on a high quality aluminum wheel that I see on sponsored race vehicles. If a 700-1000+ HP Class 1 Trophy Truck running the BAJA 1000 or SCORE race can run Walker Evans, Racelines, ATX, etc., they will probably suffice for me.

5- Tire size: This is what I run on a 17x8.5 rim = 40X13.50R17C2 121Q B So I see no reason why a 10.5" tire would be a problem. I f you are going to run less than 10-12lbs psi in a tire in serious rocky conditions (see any wayalife video for example of "serious") you probably want beadlocks. As for legal....well I have my take on that and lets just say I have been on beadlocks on my jeeps and tow rigs for almost 15 years now with no issues. I figure if the Trophy Trucks driving the Baja peninsula at 100+mph speeds on beadlocked wheels, they will most likely work for me around town and on the hwy. Lately around town in Scottsdale, AZ I have not had the chance to get air at 70mph and land under full throttle conditions.....but you never know, at least I have wheels that allow me to do it. Now I just need the engine that will get my big ass 40" tires above 70mph :blush:

Thanks for all that great info GCM 2. I will look into what you have suggested and will probably buy something you have suggested also. I first need to sell the mistakes that I bought and that could take some time. http://wausau.craigslist.org/pts/2800393766.html

That was my old Jeep, I loved how they made the Jeep look, but it was for the most part un-drivable with those wheels/tires. Way to much wobble. I don't even want to try and put them on my new Jeep because I'm afraid they will wobble to much and break something else just like before.

I really wish I lived near the west coast because I know there are all sorts of four-wheel drive shops out there; Believe it or not, there isn't much here in Wisconsin for pro shops; just a bunch of rednecks with garages and tools. A pro shop could probably take one look at the Jeep and tell me what's wrong and fix it.

Well I actually just moved to WI so we might be able to work something out since my current 35" Mickey Thompson ATZ's are getting pretty worn down. So depending on price we might have room to talk. If you want to switch out to some other tires sooner rather than later I have a set of 33" Mickey Thompson MTZ's that still have quite a bit left on them that are just taking up room in my garage. I know they aren't 35's but they are MTZ's.

Here's a question. Would it be a bad idea if I put on my half inch wheel spacers and then put my 12.5 wide tires even though the wheels I'm using already have a two inch back spacing?

What kind of control issues would I potentially be facing?

Does this question make sense?

zeddjb said:

Here's a question. Would it be a bad idea if I put on my half inch wheel spacers and then put my 12.5 wide tires even though the wheels I'm using already have a two inch back spacing?

What kind of control issues would I potentially be facing?

Does this question make sense?

Click to expand...

1/2" spacer? If it's one of those slip on spacers then it would be a bad idea. Those are never very safe.

Robar said:

1/2" spacer? If it's one of those slip on spacers then it would be a bad idea. Those are never very safe.

Click to expand...

Yea it is. I run them with my stock Rubicon wheels/tires because I wanted the tires a bit more widened up.

http://www.roughcountry.com/wheel-spacers_1091.html

All the tires that I'm looking at that are 35" tall are 12.5" wide which means that I'll have to buy new wheels too. There is no way to afford both new without selling my other ones first.

Is it going to be ok to buy those 35x12.5R17 Nitto Mud Grapplers and put them on the stock 7.5 Rim?

According to this post in the JK-Forum, people do it all the time with no real issues.

My worries are since I'm still learning a lot about the off road tech, I worry about popping a bead. I plan on driving from Wisconsin to Utah and back for EJS this year and there will be a lot of highway travel (70mph+); I don't want to blow tires before I even get there.

I value all of your opinions, because you guys have been doing this for a lot longer than me.

i run 35/12.50R17 goodyear MTRs with my stock rubicon wheels. Have (i think, i forget) 1 and 1/2 spacers They are from RC I believe, as spidertrax where on backorder at the time.

nacho said:

i run 35/12.50R17 goodyear MTRs with my stock rubicon wheels. Have (i think, i forget) 1 and 1/2 spacers They are from RC I believe, as spidertrax where on backorder at the time.

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Sweet!! Thanks for your feedback Nacho. That is exactly what I wanted to hear. I'm glad there are people out there that do this setup.

How do you like those MTRs? Do they ride nice with your wheel setup? Long distance driving ok on them?

Questions

Anyone have pictures of what a 12.5 inch (preferably Nitto Mud Grappler) tire looks like mounted on a 7.5 inch wide wheel (preferably the stock 17 inch JK Rubicon wheel)

I'm trying to get a sense of what it looks like. People are telling me that it is going to really balloon out and look ridiculous, but I'm not sure if that's really that true. Would be nice to see what one looks like.


I'm about to order the 35x12.5R17 Nitto Mud Grapplers and mount them on my stock JK Rubicon wheels which are 7.5 inch wide.

Since I'm heading out to the Moab for EJS, I will be putting over 3k miles on them, how bad wear do these have you guys think? Is it a bad idea?:question:

Well I got my new Nitto Mud Grapplers today and put them on right away. Good news and bad news.

Good news: I love them; they look great and I field tested them already, love the hum they generate-not too loud, not to quiet.

Bad news: I cannot make a full left or right turn without the side lugs hitting hard on the front control arms. I already have a 1.5" spacer on there, so now the only thing I can think to do to fix this is find at least a 2" spacer if I can find one (I'm thinking).
I also need to do something for the spare; it will not fit on the OME tire carrier. (this is miner because I have a buddy that is going to be making me a tire carrier this summer)

Any idea's on the bad news?

New wheels w/ less back spacing. The oem wheels have like 6.5" back spacing with 1.5" spacers you have 5" of back spacing. Find some new wheels with about 4" or less back spacing. You could also adjust your turn stops, but then your turn radius would be diminished.

zeddjb said:

Sweet!! Thanks for your feedback Nacho. That is exactly what I wanted to hear. I'm glad there are people out there that do this setup.

How do you like those MTRs? Do they ride nice with your wheel setup? Long distance driving ok on them?

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The mtrs are ok, not great, near good. they ride fine, seem to wear ok. my biggest issue with them is the unpredictable traction on rocks. There are better options IMHO.

oh ya, they rub a little on the lower control arms at full steering lock.