Going bigger on a 98...

[dharmabum]

Ok I picked up a 98 XLT last week, it's going to be my DD, kid shuttle, and occasional jeep hauler. So far I like it, it has a few issues which I've been fixing as I go, rusted brake line, bad COP, rotted control arms, AC not cold but it was pretty cheap so it's all good. Anyways its going to need new tires somewhat soon and all my jeeps are lifted, locked etc... so the Expy needs to be a little bigger. I am thinking of a TT and 2" spacers and I'll look for a set of used 17" tires from someone or 16" if they come with rims. I'm not crazy about the stock rims anyways so are there any cheap aftermarket rims like black steelies that fit nice and what size tires are recommended? I've seen 285/70/17 on stock rigs and 315/70/17 on anything from a 2" lift to 7". It will probably come down to what I find used for cheap but just looking for what size is a good fit and pics are always great.

 

[KWT2000]

285's will fit with no problems... to go up to 35's or 315's you will need some trimming or a body lift..

im running 315/75/16 with TT and 3" spacers with the 3" body lift but i am going to squeeze some 37's on it shortly

post up some pics when you get a chance

 

[Expeditionary]

ummm witha tt and 2 or 3" spacers i would personally go with 295s, or 285s since they're not gonna rub much if at all
I know people aren't gonna like this but
if its going to be a pavement princess and you want badder looking tires go with A/Ts
If you actually plan on doing any kind of offroading in it go with some quiet M/Ts

 

[nvycrmn]

you are obviously not new to the offroad world. as for your tow vehicle, i would do like you said with the TT and a 2 or 3 inch spacer. But I would not try to stuff a whole lot of tire in there. leave room for payload! haha.

 

[dharmabum]

Yea I've built about 20 jeeps in my time, but three kids means I can't use them as a DD anymore. I'm not looking to go huge, just something to give it a little boost and be a bit more aggressive. It will only see dirt fire roads and minor off roading with the kids plus I need to be able to hook up a trailer and haul. If 285/70 17s fit stock what would be good with a 2" lift? What's the equivalent tire size on a 16" rim? Ideally I'm hoping to find a lightly used set someone is selling cause they went bigger on their F150 or something.

 

[KWT2000]

Yea I've built about 20 jeeps in my time, but three kids means I can't use them as a DD anymore. I'm not looking to go huge, just something to give it a little boost and be a bit more aggressive. It will only see dirt fire roads and minor off roading with the kids plus I need to be able to hook up a trailer and haul. If 285/70 17s fit stock what would be good with a 2" lift? What's the equivalent tire size on a 16" rim? Ideally I'm hoping to find a lightly used set someone is selling cause they went bigger on their F150 or something.

when i got mine stock height it had 295/70/17 on stock rims and it looked mean just not enough clearance for what i do and no rubbing

 

[Thermo]

Another thing to keep in mind is that when you go with bigger tires, you are going to loose some towing ability. So, in this case, going with smaller tires is going to be beneficial. The tranny is the weak link when towing. Rule of thumb I use is to ratio out the tire diameter and then multiply it by the rating of the stock truck. Stepping up to 35's, I never let my truck tow more than 5,000 pounds. More limiting, probably, but I am still on the stock transmission. Now, this all assumes that you have stock gearing too. You redo the gearing and that will change things too. That is a different story all together.