Few questions before starting my build thread...

[Joe2478]

Finally getting around to putting some time/money into my 2006 Rubicon. It's stock right now with the exception of the AEM brute force intake I put on it right after I got it. I've also posted these questions on jeepforums.com, so if you post there as well, you may have already seen these.

As I'll probably remind you every now & again, especially when I start getting too technical, I'm in no way mechanically inclined, so I'm working with a learning curve here. You'll probably be able to tell by some of my questions.

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So, I've got a couple decisions to make before I place my orders.

1. Tires

I'm still not sure whether to go with 33" or 35" tires. From all the research I've done so far, I'm not worried about clearence because I'm looking at a 4" suspension lift. My only two concerns are a. rubbage & b. stress on the axles/engine/etc. I don't think rubbing is going to be an issue because of the wheels I'm looking to get, but wait until #2 until I get into that. The stress part is because several coworkers of mine have told me I should be EXTREMELY careful even thinking about going to 35" tires becuase they may be too large for my axles/engine to handle them.

I've spent a LOT of time the past week on both this website & jeepforums.com and seen a bunch of stock Jeeps, not even Rubicons, with 33" & 35" tires without a problem. So I don't even know what to believe. Should my '06 Rubi w/ 4" lift handle 35's fine?

2. Wheels (and wheel adapters)

Here's where I'm maybe getting too picky for my own good and it's causing more problems. I was hoping to find a 16x8-16x10 wheel I'd like so I wouldn't have to buy everything at once. The idea was to get the tires & lift, use my stock wheels for awhile, and eventually get the new wheels. Well, I can't find a single 16" wheel with a 5x4.5 bolt pattern that I like. Fine then, right? Stick with the stock and eventually I will. Problem. The wheels I did find only come in 5x5.

Which lead me to discovering wheel adapters. Essentially spacers that change the bolt pattern. (With the adapters giving me an extra 1.25", this is why I said earlier I wasn't too worried about rubbage.) Well, I ran into the same thing here I ran into the 35" tires. Coworkes telling me to avoid spacers/adapters like my life depended on it. Again, "too much stress" on the axles/engine. And again, I see people using spacers left and right on the forums. So again, I don't know what to believe.

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One thing I should probably add is that I do realize I need a bunch more stuff if I ever plan on doing some hardcore off-roading, which I eventually do plan on. But for the timing being, ignore that factor. This Jeep won't be seeing anything too crazy anytime soon. Off-road trails at the most. Just wanted to put that out there before I get a laundry list of stuff I need before I can start rock climbing.

So here's the rundown on what I'm thinking about buying. By all means, give whatever advice or comments you can. I've learned more in the past two weeks about my Jeep then I have since I got my first Jeep in '02, but I know I have a lot more to learn.

Lift: Skyjacker 4" Economy Lift Kit with Hydro Shocks
Tires: 315/75R16 Firestone Destination M/T (Had 31" Destination M/Ts on my 2000 TJ & loved 'em)
Wheels: 16x9 Teflon American Racing ATX Artillery 5x5
Wheel Adapter: Spidertrax 1.25" Wheel Adapter Kit

*Please note the links aren't necessarily where I'm buying them from. Some sites (i.e. tirerack) are being a pain when trying to link to them.

[socalkenny]

You will be able to run 33's without any problems on the axles that you have right now, without changing anything. To run 35's you will probably want to regear, but your axles can handle it as is (mpg and performance may suffer though).

I recommend that you stay away from wheel adapters. If you can't find what you want in a 16" wheel, then just go to a 15" wheel. I would also recommend that you do the tires and wheels together to save mount/balance costs

[irish1371]

tell your co workers you drive a jeep not a ford, you'll be fine. 33 or 35 will work on your rig w/o issues untill you get hard core. 35's will kill you r top end power a bit on hills but not too bad you should be running 4.10's in the axles already.

Your engine will handle either size tire just dandy. I run 33" on my tj sport atm with 3.73 gears and get around fine unless it's a MAJOR hill then I just use 4th gear for a bit.

don't know where you are looking for wheels but the lists of sizes you are seeing more then likely is not a full list. you can get rims in your wheel pattern in 16" 8 or 10 wide. I bet every frigging wheel manufature out there makes em, if they ever sold a rim geared to the jeep crowd. call them and ask you'll find what you need

no wheel spacers needed. as long as you buy from a good company(spidertrax ect) there is nothing wrong with spacers. just an extra step you wont need when you get the right size rim

[Jeffb_79]

You should be fine running 35s on the rubi 44's. I would plan on upgrading shafts/gears at some point in time though. I would also plan on upgrading your brakes and steering... I would probably do that 1st if it's going to be more a street queen than an offroad rig.

I'm not a big fan of wheel adapters. You've got a few options... go up to a 17" wheel with the proper bolt pattern, upgrade your rear shafts with ones that have a 5x5 bolt pattern and upgrade your front hubs to ones with a 5x5 bolt pattern.

[Joe2478]

Thanks for the responses. I'm definitely not as worried anymore about going with 35s. A friend gave me a Regearing 101 course last night so I'm good to go with that now. Something I'll definitely be looking into very soon after putting the new tires on. Upraded steering & brakes are also something that's been suggested several times, so I'll definitely be doing that as well. Probably after the regearing.

So here's the dilemma with the tires.

Scenario #1: 17" wheels & 315/70R17 tires

So I liked Mamba's M3 wheel, but the Destination M/T's tire that fit's it is out of stock everywhere. The local Firestone stores say they don't even have any in warehouses in NC, VA, PA, MD or DE. And I've checked every online tire store I can find. lol So I bump down to...

Scenario #2: 16" wheels & 315/75R16 tires

No 16" Mamba M3 so I go with the ATX Artillery. No 5x4.5 (5x114.3) bolt pattern. That's why I started looking into the wheel adapter to go 5x5. But what the hell, I'll try to go down again to...

Scenario #3: 15" wheels & 35" tires

...and Firestone don't make Desintation M/T's that fit a 15" wheel.

So you can see my frustration with trying to find a tire/wheel combo I like. I'm pretty sure at this point I'm going to go with the 315/75R16 tire so that it'll fit my stock rims. This way I'm in no rush to get wheels. Sure, I'll have to pay to have them mounted again down the road when I eventually do buy some, but it's better then buying something now I don't really want.

tell your co workers you drive a jeep not a ford, you'll be fine.

I've said this so many times over the last couple weeks. lol

[Jeffb_79]

I'd avoid the 15" wheel idea. You'll end up needing larger wheels when you upgrade your brakes.

[gearhead1985]

if your going to run 35's you will be fine on a 17" rim the side wall will be the same size as a 31 on a 15" rim and IMHO i like the rim to be half the size as the overall diamater of the tire looks good and there is not tomuch side wall flex while turning on the road