Cherokee Tire fit question
- Thread starter XJMatt
- Start date
Purple People Eater
Explorer
Up the suspension another half inch, keep the wheels that the Chrysler engineers intended for the vehicle, and get bumpstops. Don't hack at your fenders just to get a bigger tire size without taking care of prerequisites. Where is it you want to go on 31"s that you can't get to on 30"s?
This is merely an opinion, and should be treated as such.
This is merely an opinion, and should be treated as such.
A lot of xj owners gets rims with a 3.75" backspacing, that allows a larger tire with out rubbing on the control arms. A good source of info is a book called high performance jeep cherokee xj builders guide by eric zappe. The isbn no is 978-1-932494-14-3 item sa109. It covers pretty much everything about cherokees.
mudbutt
Explorer
XJ owner's bible right there........
winkosmosis
Explorer
Keep the stock wheels and put washers to space the steering stops. That way the tires can tuck, and you don't need to trim much... if at all.
I bought a set of OEM alloy wheels (Turbines) to mount my 31's on. I'm getting a little rubbing on full turn, but I'm hoping that aftermarket lower control arms will fix that (I need new bushings anyways). Otherwise, I think I might be good to go. The 31" MT's on the alloys might be lighter than my 30" AT's on the steel rims.
RenoRacing
Observer
Well I've been browsing the forum daily since discovering it a couple weeks ago and have yet to post. I figured nows the time with a funny co-incidence, having to do with the book you guys are referring to. I actually shot the cover photo for that book, along with a bunch of the content photos inside the book. Eric is a guy that I met through a local jeep/4x4 forum years ago. It's funny to hear people all around the country/world referring to it. Pretty cool!
Now back to the topic. I have a 2" lift on my XJ and I'm running BFG's in 245/75r16's on Moab wheels. They're pretty close in size to 31x10.5 but slightly narrower. I get no rubbing on the control arms, although the back will rub the flares slightly when fully tucked. Keep in mind that the lower backspacing you get will give you clearance from the control arms, but in turn will cause you more issues with fender clearance.
For what it's worth, I'd stick with 30x9.5 unless you're getting a good deal on some used 31's or something(the reason I have the size I do). I'm actually looking to downsize in a few months when new tires are needed. That extra 1" of tire isn't going to do much for you.
-Jesse
Now back to the topic. I have a 2" lift on my XJ and I'm running BFG's in 245/75r16's on Moab wheels. They're pretty close in size to 31x10.5 but slightly narrower. I get no rubbing on the control arms, although the back will rub the flares slightly when fully tucked. Keep in mind that the lower backspacing you get will give you clearance from the control arms, but in turn will cause you more issues with fender clearance.
For what it's worth, I'd stick with 30x9.5 unless you're getting a good deal on some used 31's or something(the reason I have the size I do). I'm actually looking to downsize in a few months when new tires are needed. That extra 1" of tire isn't going to do much for you.
-Jesse