Wheel and tire height

[tlo154]

I see 17-20 inch rim sizes and 33-37+ tire height. Which is the better combination to maintain ride comfort, least noise and fuel economy? I have a 2020 JLU. I do not do serious off roading. Basically everyday driving.

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[GATORB8]

Stock.

 

[AcesandEights]

More sidewall provides more flex, which can be looked at a couple different ways. It provides more cushion, but it also provides more roll to the side.

A 17" wheel with a 33" tire has approximately 8" of sidewall height (33 - 17)/2 = 8" That will provide some good flex/cushion. A taller wheel means less sidewall (33 - 20)/2 = 6.5" , which provide less flex/cushion, so a stiffer ride. HOWEVER, that's a good thing when you're talking about cornering at speed. You don't want your tire (sidewall) to allow flex/roll and you want a smaller, harder, tighter feel (think sports cars). So, it's a trade off.

Additionally, the sidewall has a rating, a stiffness or load capacity. You'll see "C" load ratings, which means they flex more than an "E" load rating.

So, do you want a tire that doesn't flex, you feel more of the roadway, you are more "connected" to the road. Or, do you want a more comfortable ride, a tire with more flex.

Off road, you almost always want more flex.

It's really personal preference thing.

Noise is more about tread pattern and softness of the tire. Buy a radial tire (not bias) and a highway, or all-season pattern. It will also help with gas mileage.

Gas mileage will be more about tread pattern and height (revolutions per mile, distance around the circle). Buy a smaller (stock size) tire.

 

[Heimkehr]

maintain ride comfort
least noise
fuel economy

I do not do serious off roading. Basically everyday driving.

Proportionate (i.e., balanced) sidewall height...nothing low profile
Non-aggressive tread pattern
Lightish alloy wheels

 

[stumblinhorse]

For your priorities you should look at P(passenger)tires not LT(light truck) tires. 18” is a good size for a P rated on road tire. I wouldn’t go anywhere close to 33s , so like a 255/65/18 or so would be a good size for your stock gearing.

These would not be good for anything off pavement other than gravel or dirt roads.

 

[rcadden]

Good advice here already.

I went from the stock 18" 32s on my Sahara Altitude to 17" 33s Rubicon KO2 take-offs and couldn't be happier, personally. Cost me ~1-2 MPG, but the ride is much smoother (more sidewall), they're no more noisy on the hwy than my stock Dueler A/Ts were, and they're capable enough to handle any of the off-road stuff that I'm likely to throw at them. I'm not a hardcore rock crawler, but I do like to hit up the local off-road parks periodically.

Best part is that you can easily get a full set of 5 Rubicon takeoffs for ~$1-1.2K easily on FB marketplace, with little to no mileage on them. Stupid cheap in today's market.

 

[tlo154]

More sidewall provides more flex, which can be looked at a couple different ways. It provides more cushion, but it also provides more roll to the side.

A 17" wheel with a 33" tire has approximately 8" of sidewall height (33 - 17)/2 = 8" That will provide some good flex/cushion. A taller wheel means less sidewall (33 - 20)/2 = 6.5" , which provide less flex/cushion, so a stiffer ride. HOWEVER, that's a good thing when you're talking about cornering at speed. You don't want your tire (sidewall) to allow flex/roll and you want a smaller, harder, tighter feel (think sports cars). So, it's a trade off.

Additionally, the sidewall has a rating, a stiffness or load capacity. You'll see "C" load ratings, which means they flex more than an "E" load rating.

So, do you want a tire that doesn't flex, you feel more of the roadway, you are more "connected" to the road. Or, do you want a more comfortable ride, a tire with more flex.

Off road, you almost always want more flex.

It's really personal preference thing.

Noise is more about tread pattern and softness of the tire. Buy a radial tire (not bias) and a highway, or all-season pattern. It will also help with gas mileage.

Gas mileage will be more about tread pattern and height (revolutions per mile, distance around the circle). Buy a smaller (stock size) tire.

 

[tlo154]

Thanks for your explanation. I really like the taller wider look, but I’m not sure I want to give up ride and handling. My Sahara came with 255/70R 18’s.

 

[rcadden]

Thanks for your explanation. I really like the taller wider look, but I’m not sure I want to give up ride and handling. My Sahara came with 255/70R 18’s.

Can confirm that just putting Rubicon take-offs on your Sahara will be a quality move. If you don't have too many miles on it, you can also sell your Sahara wheels+tires to offset the cost.

More info is in my build thread, but I paid $1K cash for a 5-pack of Rubicon take-off 17" wheels + 33" KO2 tires. $300 for Discount Tire to swap my TPMS sensors and mount the new wheels/tires.

Then I sold my stock Sahara wheels+tires (with <10K miles) for $600

So I was able to upgrade for basically $700 out of pocket.

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