Non-Rubi/Willys wheels and "curb" appeal

[aldo98229]

Interestingly, my buddy's 2018 JLUR has a new set of KO2s (replacing with the same 33 size that came with his standard) and I guess due to lug size difference mine look wider, though they are both 285/70R17s. You can see it in the last pic.

Your Quadratec wheels are (a) one inch wider than his Rubicon wheels, and (b) have one inch less backspacing. Plus your Sahara has slightly narrower fenders.

All those differences help make your tires appear bigger.

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[GrayWolf.Overland]

All great inputs on the wheels/tires combo for Saharas. There are many combos that look good on different Saharas, sometimes based on color combo. I actually really liked the stock wheels that came with my Sahara, and the Dueller tires were a pretty good balance of quiet (for a Jeep) and performance on-and off-road, but decided to look for a bit more aggressive/larger tire when it came time to replace them that would give me more traction off-road.

Also found that the choices of tires for 18-inch wheels was definitely more limited than 17s, and in general they were more expensive, so decided to purchase a set of Quadratec Hardrocks. They are popular amongst Jeepers and the price was good for the look and quality, IMO. Have been very happy with them so far.

For my tires, I purchased Mickey Thompson ATZ P3s in 285/70R17 form, so gained approaching an inch of diameter and over an inch of width vs stock. Really improved the look, particularly with the big lugs, and they are pretty awesome. 10-ply and strong as an ox. I recently ran over a 2 1/2" nail that stuck 3/4 of the way in the tire at an angle, but lugs were so big it never reached the air chamber and I just pulled it out with plyers. Off road they are amazing. I've attached the before and after pics for appearance comparison.

Interestingly, my buddy's 2018 JLUR has a new set of KO2s (replacing with the same 33 size that came with his standard) and I guess due to lug size difference mine look wider, though they are both 285/70R17s. You can see it in the last pic.

The choice is yours and whatever rocks with your style and JL color is good! Only thing I'd never do is get low profile tires on big rims. That ride has got to bite the big one, would not do well off-road (if it ever went off-road), and just looks dumb. IMHO only. LOL

Love the side decal (mountains). Can you share a link to where you got that from

 

[Glovetown]

Do you need wheel spacers to avoid rubbing if you replace the stock JL Sahara tires with 275s or 285s?

No you don’t

 

[ObiMatt87]

Love the side decal (mountains). Can you share a link to where you got that from

Absolutely! Got it from an Etsy vendor. Have been very happy with how it's held up. Challenging to get on by yourself like me, but I did it and it was totally worth it. I get compliments and looks all the time. Link to his shop is here:

Mountain and Treeline Vinyl Decal Jeep Sticker RV Decal | Etsy

 

[ObiMatt87]

Your Quadratec wheels are (a) one inch wider than his Rubicon wheels, and (b) have one inch less backspacing. Plus your Sahara has slightly narrower fenders.

All those differences help make your tires appear bigger.

Good point on the wheel width, Aldo. I knew they were wider/had less backspacing when I bought them based on the Quadratec info on the site. Forgot about how that might impact the look of the tire once mounted. Obviously it does!

Ironically, my front fenders are the high tops a la Rubicon, though the back ones are still stock Sahara. I dinged up the right front fender a while back pulling into my garage (Long story, but I have to angle to the right about 30 degrees, then straighten immediately to park in my bay of the garage based on how our cul-de-sac lot is shaped and the associated driveway shape for the detached 3-bay garage--just caught the right side bricks as I entered. D'oh!), so ordered a whole new set and had them painted to match the originals. The shop did a great job. I didn't have the rear ones done at the time, as it was a bit expensive, but may do that at some point. The Mickey Thompsons do have bigger side lugs, so that also contributes to the width. They are pretty impressive in person.

 

[Mccorm67]

I loved by Sahara wheels but when I found a set of Rubi takeoffs for 400 bucks with tires, I couldn't resist (I actually got more back from my Sahara wheels then I paid for the rubi takeoffs).

Stock

Rubi takeoffs on stock height

Rubi takeoffs wheels with rubi takeoff suspension (61/62, 91/92) with teraflex 1" front and .5" rear spacers.

Thanks for all of the info. Just to clarify, when you switch a stock Sahara to Rubi tekeoffs, is it necessary to change the suspension as well? Sound like not, but wanted to confirm. Tx!

 

[bondijoe]

No need to change suspension, Rubicon takeoffs (33” tires) fit Sahara as is.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

There is only half an inch difference in tire heights between the two. My sister put Rubicon take offs on her Sport with no issues.

 

[calvinf1]

Thanks for all of the info. Just to clarify, when you switch a stock Sahara to Rubi tekeoffs, is it necessary to change the suspension as well? Sound like not, but wanted to confirm. Tx!

If I understand correctly, you are asking if the rubi rims will require suspension work... quick answer is no as you can see in the middle picture (that was before the rubi suspension). It was only after I swap the rims that I decided to do the rubi suspension as well (since I found it for 100 bucks locally).

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