15 or 17 rims for 35"

You had a great point about sidewall Flex. That is why I would choose 15s for 35" tires too.

Cost and tire availability could be considerations too.

Cost of 15s is currently less. May stay that way, may not. The availability of new tread designs will decrease for 15s in my opinion due to the market trend of larger wheels.

One other question - are you going to change brakes for larger tires? If so, fitment of a bigger brake kit could be another consideration for you.

With the rim width, backspacing, etc being the same, tires in 15" rims are a lot cheaper than 17s and you now have the added cost of 5 more rims.

I like 17s simply because I think the aspect ratio looks better with 35s and 17s.

The bigger brakes is a good point. I would imagine that there wouldn't be a very big difference in sidewall flex between identical tires with differing rim sizes other than the ones with larger rims may remain taller.

I also like 17s because I'm not a fan of tires acting and looking like tractor/floatation tires.

To each his own, but if I had to buy new wheels 17s are where I would spend my money.

I'm the the middle of your question with 16"s X10 w/ 4.5" BS This keeps the center of the tread where it is on a stock rubicon wheel. I don't like the 15's because they usually have 3.5" BS and look like mickey mouse ears. To each his own it's your jeep!

JeepnBlake said:

The bigger brakes is a good point. I would imagine that there wouldn't be a very big difference in sidewall flex between identical tires with differing rim sizes other than the ones with larger rims may remain taller.

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All things being equal, you'd be right Blake. FYI - when I looked at 15 vs 17, I found that most of the tires I wanted to run had higher load ranges specified as the rim size increased (so they were not equal). The difference in load range significantly impacts the flex of the tire. Between 15 and 17, I found some tires were rated as Load range C (pretty soft and flexy) for 15s and Load range E for the same tire on 17 inch wheels(pretty hard unless you are ina heaily loaded 1 ton).

My advice is to look very closely at the tire options for the wheels/wheel size you are considering.

I would most likely be going Yellow pads in from and green in the rear, but not upgrading the calipers. My initial thought was 15" Soft 8's and 35x12.5 KM2 or Gdyr MTR w/ K. I do however like the discusion.

JayDub made some good points on load ranges/sidewall. I'd go with 15" personally.

I'm still looking for some 15" bl's for my rig. Wish AEV made 15". :?

I'm really happy with 15" wheels and 35" KM2's. I spend most of my time on rocks and it looks like I will get 3 years out of my KM2's. The smaller wheel allowed my to get a much lower price on tires. IMHO

blkrubi05 said:

JayDub made some good points on load ranges/sidewall. I'd go with 15" personally.

I'm still looking for some 15" bl's for my rig. Wish AEV made 15". :?

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Here are a couple that will work for 15s:

Walker Evans

RockMonster 15" Beadlocks

Staun Interanl style many different wheel sizes supported.

I know there are more, these were just a few I could list.

KMC makes a 15" beadlock. Zach from A to Z Fabrication sells them. Been running them for about 9 months now (10-12 offroad trips) and no issues.

Those look awesome Darrel! I'm running the KM2s as well. What paint did you use for those and did you do anything to the wheels, other than cleaning them, prior to painting?

Big Show said:

Those look awesome Darrel! I'm running the KM2s as well. What paint did you use for those and did you do anything to the wheels, other than cleaning them, prior to painting?

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I had them powder coated for $50 each.

I just went with 17" rims for my C rated 35" MT/R tires. My LJ will be a little less scarry when towing a trailer in crosswinds.

I'm still on 15's because i wanted the Hutchinson beadlocks and the don't make them in 17's for the TJ. Could i run 4-5psi on 17's ? I don't thinks so without wheel damage.

Darrel Mauzy said:

[quote="Big Show":zndne8fi]Those look awesome Darrel! I'm running the KM2s as well. What paint did you use for those and did you do anything to the wheels, other than cleaning them, prior to painting?

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I had them powder coated for $50 each.[/quote:zndne8fi]

Gotcha, thx for the info.