Can Lifting Your Jeep Correct Tire Rub?

[Jcoke90]

There have been many threads made around this topic, but I have not found an answer to my exact question.

I have recently put 35" (34.4x12.7) Mickey Thompson's with JK hard rock wheels on my JLU sport. Most say that this setup will not rub after taking off the front splash guards, but I do have some rubbing at 95% to full lock on the inside components.

I am planning to lift the vehicle a total of 2.5-3 inches with potentially doing a Rubicon suspension swap. I am wondering if the change in geometry would cause it to not rub any longer, or if I need to use spacers to eliminate the dreadful rubbing. It may be a dumb question, but I figure with Rubicons being able to ride 35s stock with similar, but higher, suspension I thought that lift might have something to it besides the slight difference in backspacing of the rims.

Also, if you run spacers on your JL, how is that going? It frankly makes me a little nervous, and I don't want my tires to stick out way past the flares.

Thank you,

-Jack

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[Sheepjeep]

if you are making contact with things to the sides of the tire like frame, steering, or suspension parts you need wheel spacers

if you are making contact with things around the circumference like the fenders you need to lift

 

[Jamrock]

People have reported 1 - 2 inch increases with the addition of a Rubicon suspension kit. An increase of 2.5 - 3 inches is unlikely.

I don't think increasing the height of the suspension will stop the tires from rubbing against the under carriage. You may have to take a look at the backspacing/offset of your wheels. Backspacing and offset determine how far in or how far out wheels fit on an axle. It sounds as if your wheels fit too far in so they are rubbing against the Jeep's under carriage.

If you do not want to use spacers, you will need to choose wheels with the correct backspacing/offset.

Matt at Discount Tire helped me understand how this works. You could send Discount Tire a private message. They will help you determine your options.

Keep in mind that Rubicons have wider axles than the sport and sahara models so wheels will fit them differently.

 

[Jamrock]

Can't speak to what will work on your Sahara as I have a Rubicon which has longer axles and higher fenders. Here's a picture that explains offset very well.

Here is a quote from another thread. The picture explains how the offset of a set of wheels affects rubbing.

 

[jeepoch]

Jack,

I've posted these same pics on other threads relating to lifting your JL. I'm reposting here to help you see the before and after results. I certainly would never consider anything larger than a 33" tire on a non-lifted Sport. The Rubi's have a slightly taller stock suspension setup, with wider axles and higher flares, thus giving them better tolerance for 35'" tires without a lift. Putting 35's on a non-lifted Sport, to me, looks likes it's only asking for trouble.

I have a Sport S and want to go to 35's in order to join a local Jeep club. I went with what I believe is the proper way to do so, with a minimal 2 to 2.5" lift. I had chosen the Mopar lift (installed at the dealer) just to steer well clear, pun intended, of any warranty issues. I'm still waiting on my 17x9" (-12mm offset) wheels. They are on back order because of this CV 'stay-at-home' mess. I'll be mating them with a 35" All-Terrain tire because my JL Sport is my Daily-Driver. My goal is to off-road whenever I want, but likely won't be cliff-climbing or rock-sliding often. The club may push me a little in that direction, but I'm going to be intentionally more novice about it so we'll see... The goal is to get out there and see a whole lot more of my wonderfully amazing state (Colorado), meet new friends and have fun doing it.

Regardless, I've had about 1K miles worth of experience so far with the Mopar 2.5" lift on my stock Michelin 245/70R17 (32's). You can see that with this lift there is certainly ample room now for a 35" tire. There would be nowhere near enough room without it, in my very humble opinion.

Hope these pics help you in any small but hopefully some meaningful way. And for what it's worth, I really do like the ride with the 32's. If I ever regret the upgrade to the 35's as my DD, I'll very easily go back to my stock wheels and only use the 35's for my off-roading adventures. While the stock ride was awesome, the lifted ride is even better. For me, this lift is a permanent attachment. I'll never leave home, regardless of wheels, without it. It makes my Sport so much better to the point I no longer have Rubi envy. Well except for not having those awesome lockers. Maybe someday, but that's another story for another thread.

Jay

 

[Jamrock]

Looking forward to seeing your pictures of the 35's. Perhaps you can give us before and after pictures from the front of the vehicle. This will allow us to see how much the new tires stick out compared to the stock ones.

Look at these pictures from another thread.

I'm a new Jeep owner myself and while doing some wheel and tire research, my quick and simple understanding of positive and negative offsets are that with a positive offset, (and depending on the wheel width), the less the wheel will poke out from the fender. If you go with a negative offset, the further out the wheel will poke out.

Here is a pic of my stocks (18s) and a pic with my new wheels (17x9, offset -12)..

 

[OnlyOne]

Adjust the steering stops a couple turns. Problem solved. Rubicon axles are wider, giving more turning room. You won’t notice the change, other than no more rubbing.

 

[Jcoke90]

Adjust the steering stops a couple turns. Problem solved. Rubicon axles are wider, giving more turning room. You won’t notice the change, other than no more rubbing.

Thanks for this! Sorry for the late response- I tried this but there was only slightly less rubbing. After resetting them, I broke down and ordered some 1.5" spacers and they do the trick. Thank you so much for the info!

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