36x15.5” Wide Tires - They Look & Drive Amazing

[ohthatguy]

For the few running massively wide 15.5” tires, do the smiles generated by the extreme look outweigh the hit to MPGs / performance and stress on components?

I just bought a 392XR and ordered a set of 38x15.5 tires and 18x12 wheels the next day. Hopefully the crazy look is entertaining enough to endure the downsides.

Sponsored

 

[7.62x392]

For the few running massively wide 15.5” tires, do the smiles generated by the extreme look outweigh the hit to MPGs / performance and stress on components?

I just bought a 392XR and ordered a set of 38x15.5 tires and 18x12 wheels the next day. Hopefully the crazy look is entertaining enough to endure the downsides.

Don’t expect the Jeep to handle well with tires that wide, it will wander all over the road and put a lot of stress on the steering and axle components, especially stock components. Also you’ll need a ton of back spacing or wheel spacers to avoid rubbing which will further impair handling and stress components. You’ll definitely want to upgrade your steering components with tires that big or you’ll be asking for death wobble.

The 6.4 Hemi is a surprisingly efficient engine, so while your MPG will be impacted it likely won’t be terrible. I went from averaging about 13MPG to 12MPG when I put 38x12.5s on mine. That said it’s still a massive V8 so no matter what you’ll be at the gas station often.

As for visual appearance, this is subjective but I think tires that wide just look corny. To each is own though.

 

[ohthatguy]

Don’t expect the Jeep to handle well with tires that wide, it will wander all over the road and put a lot of stress on the steering and axle components, especially stock components. Also you’ll need a ton of back spacing or wheel spacers to avoid rubbing which will further impair handling and stress components. You’ll definitely want to upgrade your steering components with tires that big or you’ll be asking for death wobble.

The 6.4 Hemi is a surprisingly efficient engine, so while your MPG will be impacted it likely won’t be terrible. I went from averaging about 13MPG to 12MPG when I put 38x12.5s on mine. That said it’s still a massive V8 so no matter what you’ll be at the gas station often.

As for visual appearance, this is subjective but I think tires that wide just look corny. To each is own though.

Good feedback. Thank you. I’d prefer to tuck them into the fenders but there’s just not enough room. I normally run super wide tires flush at the fender edge but the Wrangler is one platform where it seems like less of a crime to have massive poke.

 

[garyji]

Might want to check Florida law about "massive-poke" When I lived in Jax years ago, the law was no tires outside the fenders for on-road use.

G.

 

[Fouts]

The extreme smiles might be people just holding back the laughing.

 

[3TV]

I ran 38x15.50R-16.5 Dick Cepek Fun Country tires on a lifted and locked F-350 regular cab pickup truck in the mid 1990s. The tires didn't really seem to effect on road handling or power in that pickup truck with its big block 460 ci V8. But fuel mileage was always poor on that truck, typically 8 mpg. The tires worked really well in very deep snow, where you needed to stay on top. You could get way back away from civilization in deep snow on top of a baren mountain ridge, then get stuck where you were in big trouble. The tires worked very well in sand as well. They did not work that well on the slickrock ledges in Moab though. For you, living in Florida, I would think a 15.50 width tire would be a good sand tire. I doubt you'll see too much deep snow in Florida though.

My "off road" tires for that truck were a set of Interco TSL Boggers in a 39.5x18x16.5 size. I once drove that truck from southern Utah to Death Valley California to do the Surprise Canyon trail, and back, with those tires on it. That was an interesting trip, the tires seemed to keep getting louder with each mile. You couldn't hear the radio, and you couldn't talk your passenger.

Oh, one other thing. The only time that truck every broke on me and made it impossible for me to finish a trail was when I was a trail leader at the Easter Jeep Safari. It was a mid-week trail, and we did Pritchet Canyon followed by Behind the Rocks in the backwards direction. We had completed Pritchet Canyon and were going up Hunter Canyon, which connects with Behind the Rocks trail, and my steering box sector shaft broke clean off. That isn't a fix that can be done on the trail. I had to hitch a ride with the second Jeep in line and buy a new steering box and rent a Jeep to come out and fix it the next day. Big tires are hard on steering parts.

 

[DOOKEY]

For the few running massively wide 15.5” tires, do the smiles generated by the extreme look outweigh the hit to MPGs / performance and stress on components?

I just bought a 392XR and ordered a set of 38x15.5 tires and 18x12 wheels the next day. Hopefully the crazy look is entertaining enough to endure the downsides.

392XR + MPG = ÷0

 

[Mastergmac]

If your gonna do it, just do it!

 

[ohthatguy]

The extreme smiles might be people just holding back the laughing.

Yeah, there is probably a point where bigger / wider tires crosses a threshold from good to bad but I’m looking at 38x15.5’s on this rig from YouTuber, GodSpeed ZRZ, and even though it pokes like crazy, it looks pretty good.

AND my wife actually likes it and gave it the green light and she hates me spending $ on wheels and tires.

I’ve got two little girls who love the wrangler so I’ll probably defer to their approval of the change once installed.

 

[JayCeeX2]

Might want to check Florida law about "massive-poke" When I lived in Jax years ago, the law was no tires outside the fenders for on-road use.

G.

I'm not aware of any such law in FL having lived here since 1979. If there is, Ive never seen it enforced. I see vehicles with tire poke everyday on the road here.

 

[Punkn89]

will that thing even fit in a parking space? Lol. Hell, will it fit into a regular sized street lane?

 

[ohthatguy]

will that thing even fit in a parking space? Lol. Hell, will it fit into a regular sized street lane?

Ha, if referring to the one I posted from YouTube, he mentions in a video that he has about 6 inches on either side between the yellow and white lines of the road.

 

[6.2Blazer]

Not sure that the fact they were 15.5" wide makes that much of a difference when you are talking about a 38" heavy mud tire on an 18x12 rim! Don't get me wrong as I'm not criticizing the OP, but have to chuckle just a little when somebody buys an $80k+ 392 XR and then spends at least $4k in completely non-practical tires and wheels but is worried about gas mileage. To be clear, I would love to be in a position to do this and don't blame the person for wanting to do this at all....but asking about gas mileage brings a smile to my face.....

 

[ohthatguy]

Yeah, the MPGs are rough either way. My last car was a twin turbo V8 making around 575 HP and it guzzled premium to the tune of 16 MPGs but this 392 is next level.
This is actually my 6th vehicle with this 6.4 in it (Durango SRT, 2 Chargers, 1 Challenger and 1 wide body Challenger). None were great on gas but all sipped more slowly than this Jeep.

 

[COJeeper]

Headline: Florida man seeks approval from Jeep community to run insanely large tires, thinks the smiles are people who think it's cool but they're really just laughing at him.


:D I kid.

Sponsored