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JLU Rubicon on 35s no lift

dave_p

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Looks great! I am waiting on delivery of my first jeep and it's also a Rubi and I'm looking into a similar 35/no-lift setup. Does this logic make sense: If you go from 33's to 35's, the 35's are going to eat up one more inch under the fender, because the other inch of difference in tire size is on the ground side of the wheel. So the MOST flex you can lose is one inch, and that's if the stock Rubi was just about to rub at full flex. So then you have to figure that in stock form they leave a little bit of room -- they wouldn't set it up to rub, right? So that means you should lose LESS than one inch of flex, which can be cured with a bump-stop extension without much performance impact -- or you might lose no flex at all if jeep built in an inch of room stock. Is it this simple? I know I'm leaving out tire deflation but I doubt that impacts the top of the tire. Also - and this could be meaningful - with a fatter tire and a negative offset wheel would you be hitting the outside edge of the fender flare where it bends down? I could definitely see that being an issue if the tires are out far enough but I haven't been close enough to a JL to take a look. My setup (probably similar to yours) would push out the outer edge of the tire about 2.5". Is that where it would rub off-road?
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stylett9

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Looks great! I am waiting on delivery of my first jeep and it's also a Rubi and I'm looking into a similar 35/no-lift setup. Does this logic make sense: If you go from 33's to 35's, the 35's are going to eat up one more inch under the fender, because the other inch of difference in tire size is on the ground side of the wheel. So the MOST flex you can lose is one inch, and that's if the stock Rubi was just about to rub at full flex. So then you have to figure that in stock form they leave a little bit of room -- they wouldn't set it up to rub, right? So that means you should lose LESS than one inch of flex, which can be cured with a bump-stop extension without much performance impact -- or you might lose no flex at all if jeep built in an inch of room stock. Is it this simple? I know I'm leaving out tire deflation but I doubt that impacts the top of the tire. Also - and this could be meaningful - with a fatter tire and a negative offset wheel would you be hitting the outside edge of the fender flare where it bends down? I could definitely see that being an issue if the tires are out far enough but I haven't been close enough to a JL to take a look. My setup (probably similar to yours) would push out the outer edge of the tire about 2.5". Is that where it would rub off-road?

at 35PSI, my 315/70/17 Nitto Ridge Grappler measures out to 33.675 inches. The stock Rubicon Wheel was about 32.625. So yes, you'll pick up very roughly .500 additional inch of ground clearance, if that's what you were asking.

On a Rubicon with stock wheels, you can run 35's with no lift and not have any issues rubbing, even with sway bar disconnected. However once you go aftermarket wheel, that all goes out the window. Others have indicated you can go with an AEV wheel which has an offset of +25 with a 315 and still be ok. But anything lower than that, will rub.
 
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dave_p

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at 35PSI, my 315/70/17 Nitto Ridge Grappler measures out to 33.675 inches. The stock Rubicon Wheel was about 32.625. So yes, you'll pick up 1 additional inch of ground clearance, if that's what you were asking.

On a Rubicon with stock wheels, you can run 35's with no lift and not have any issues rubbing, even with sway bar disconnected. However once you go aftermarket wheel, that all goes out the window. Others have indicated you can go with an AEV wheel which has an offset of +25 with a 315 and still be ok. But anything lower than that, will rub.
OK thanks man that is making sense. So the low/negative offset is causing the rub and that must mean it's rubbing against the outer edge of the fender. Solves a mystery for me and guides my shopping - I was looking at 315s with a pro comp wheel that was -6 offset so now I know I need to lift if I want that wheel and want to go off-roading.
 

stylett9

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OK thanks man that is making sense. So the low/negative offset is causing the rub and that must mean it's rubbing against the outer edge of the fender. Solves a mystery for me and guides my shopping - I was looking at 315s with a pro comp wheel that was -6 offset so now I know I need to lift if I want that wheel and want to go off-roading.
On the contrary, I've read a couple posts where there was a guy running a zero offset and another running +6 (i dont remember which wheels),claiming to not rub being air'd down to 18 psi.

A lot of factors come into play from tire choice, 315 vs 35, what air pressure you air down to when off roading. But the wider consensus from what I've researched and experience is stock wheels (+44) and or AEV wheels (+25) only on stock suspension. at a 0 offset or negative offset, for sure you will rub. There's reports that even the MOPAR upgraded bead locks rub (slightly), and those are +12.

Here's another caveat, I was going to write up a whole post on this but I got lazy. If you run a 315 or 35 on stock wheels with plastic rear bumper (not metal), you decrease the likelihood for additional necessary modifications to support the change. When I switched to 315, I only needed (for peace of mind, though I suspect I would have been ok without) the MOPAR tailgate reinforcement. due to the high offset stock wheel, the spare tire still stays very tight up against the rear tailgate, and you can still utilize the factory bump stops. If you have the rear backup sensors, 2-5 millimeters in tire positioning can be the difference between continued flawless functionality vs getting angry sensors going off every time you put the vehicle in reverse. I had an issue with this that I just fixed a couple days ago, luckily. The likelihood of needing a new tire carrier (Teraflex Alpha HD is the most popular choice) increases once you go aftermarket / lower offset wheel because now your pushing that big chunky tire closer to the "field of view" of the backup sensors.

Hope that helps, happy to answer more questions as I know my post isn't very organized.
 

TheMAnderson

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at 35PSI, my 315/70/17 Nitto Ridge Grappler measures out to 33.675 inches. The stock Rubicon Wheel was about 32.625. So yes, you'll pick up 1 additional inch of ground clearance, if that's what you were asking.

On a Rubicon with stock wheels, you can run 35's with no lift and not have any issues rubbing, even with sway bar disconnected. However once you go aftermarket wheel, that all goes out the window. Others have indicated you can go with an AEV wheel which has an offset of +25 with a 315 and still be ok. But anything lower than that, will rub.
Actually, you'll only pick up 1/2" of additional ground clearance, based on these measurements. From a 1" difference in overall height, 1/2 of that will be below the axle, giving greater ground clearance, and 1/2 will be above the axle, filling your wheelwells a bit more.
 

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TheMAnderson

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I follow your train of thought, but respectfully disagree. On an uncompressed(or unloaded) wheel where you are comparing the diameter, then yes. in full circumference you need to distribute evenly, and you would say your "lift" gain is half of the total tire gain.

But measuring a compressed tire to compressed tire (32.625 stock for speedometer calibration to 33.675 on my new 315) , I believe that is a complete net gain of additional ground clearance.

Edit: maybe we agree on the above, I just didn't articulate in my original post that my measurements were live measurements, vehicle on the ground for when I needed to calibrate my tazer.
Of course the easy way to figure out the net gain in ground clearance is to measure from bottom of diff to the ground before and after, or measure from hub to ground before and after, since the gain of sidewall height above your axle doesn't give you any additional ground clearance...
 

stylett9

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Of course the easy way to figure out the net gain in ground clearance is to measure from bottom of diff to the ground before and after, or measure from hub to ground before and after, since the gain of sidewall height above your axle doesn't give you any additional ground clearance...
thought about it more and agree. Deleted my post.
 

Jteakus

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Been on C rated 315 KO2’s for awhile. My JL is an EcoDiesel so it sat level from factory. After winch install I installed 3/4” spacer in front to get it back level. Also installed Synergy adjustable lower control arms and put some caster in it to help it track true. It rubs a little at full flex in rear. I am planning to install the Daystar 1.5” front spacers (remove 3/4”) and 3/4” spacers in rear. Also some Fox shocks for more down travel. Right now I love how it rides and drives. Tire pressure at 35.5 seems like the happy spot.

CD24461C-9900-43C7-B31B-D2E75E7B4D62.png


47FC5ADC-9EA9-4C3D-8140-3BC0641ECF8D.jpeg
 

AnthemAVM

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Coincidently, I also added new tires today.
Nitto Ridge Grapplers, I chose the 315/70/17 route for the wider footprint (marginally), stock Rubicon wheels, suspension, tire carrier, and tire carrier bump stops. Tazer lite and Mopar reinforcement arrive in the mail tomorrow for recalibration and peace of mind. Also to note, I did not have to adjust my 3rd brake light from the factory setting. It still sits perfectly on top of the wheel.

Jeep Wrangler JL JLU Rubicon on 35s no lift 47FC5ADC-9EA9-4C3D-8140-3BC0641ECF8D


Jeep Wrangler JL JLU Rubicon on 35s no lift 47FC5ADC-9EA9-4C3D-8140-3BC0641ECF8D


Jeep Wrangler JL JLU Rubicon on 35s no lift 47FC5ADC-9EA9-4C3D-8140-3BC0641ECF8D


Jeep Wrangler JL JLU Rubicon on 35s no lift 47FC5ADC-9EA9-4C3D-8140-3BC0641ECF8D
Looks great, where did you go to get them? I am also in Southern California.
 

stylett9

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Looks great, where did you go to get them? I am also in Southern California.
I messaged @Discount Tire on this forum. They have people that monitor forums during regular business hours and respond very promptly. Usually in 15-30 minutes. They will work with you to get exactly what you want and coordinate with the nearest “America’s tire”(same company) for install. I was very pleased with the experience and highly recommend. Excellent pricing too.
 

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We appreciate the referral @stylett9 - it was a pleasure serving you!

@AnthemAVM - if we may be of any assistance, please let us know. Always happy to help!
 

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Apologies if this has been answered. With 30 pages on this thread, can't remember if I saw it.

I just got some Black Rhino Armory 17x9.5, with 4.5" backspacing and -18 offset. I'm planning on getting 315/70/17 BFG KO2's, and am told I'll have rubbing issues without a lift. From what I'm reading here, it seems that's the case. Consensus? Thank you!
 

dave_p

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Check out this excellent video. This guy does a great job and replies to viewer comments. He has the same 315 K02s on the stock rims and he shows all kinds of angles of his tires in this video (4:01 is really good). You're going to stick out maybe 2.75-3 inches more because of the difference in offset, so you could look at these pics and imagine where your tire would sit in these situations. (full disclosure I haven't tried it myself, I'm just trying to figure it out too)
 

dave_p

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After some more research, here's a video counter-argument. I can't see what these two guys are doing differently, but in this video there is some rubbing especially on the rear tire (7:00).
 

dave_p

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Anyone have an opinion on this strategy? I want put 35's on my JL rubicon 2-dr, with -6 offset wheels that I picked out. It looks really borderline whether they will rub or not, but consensus looks like the neg offset will cause a little rub when fully articulated. However the pics of the 2" lift kits out there make the 35's look kind of small to my eye, and I'm looking to minimize the change to handling. I'm going for a modestly more aggressive look (I like the slightly wider stance from the wheels), but not ready to go to 37s to sort of "fill up" that 2" lift. Also with my 2dr I know I don't need to lift as much due to the shorter wheelbase.

Just an inch might cure that rub, so I'm thinking I'll go ahead and put the wheels/tires on, take it off-road, and if I get a little rub I'll go for a spacer lift kit, like this: https://www.extremeterrain.com/teraflex-15-performance-spacer-lift-kit-2018-jeep-jl-2-door.html (or even a 1" spacer if they sell one)

This is my first jeep. Anything wrong with this idea?
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