wheel/tire fitment?

I'm pretty new to the forum, not really familiar with tire/wheel sizing and what not since finding wheels for my last car (sentra) wasn't half as hard...

so I'm pretty much on a low budget, however I don't like the stock sport wheels my liberty came with and I'm hoping to pick up a new pair of shoes soon.

found a really good price on:
30x9.5-15 goodyear MT/R
cragar soft 8 15x7 with either 4" or 5" backspacing. can't seem to find them in 4.5".. maybe they exist and I suck as searching but so far, haven't found them

According to several threads, you can fit 245/70/16 & 235/75/16 on the liberty, and 30x9.5 seems pretty close to those once you convert them... a tiny bit larger but I'm not familiar with how much it affects it

I don't really mind minimal rubbing, however I would like as little as possible. I don't plan on lifting the jeep (for now...). ideally, I would like run 245/70/16 however 16" wheels and tires run on the expensive side (for my budget)

my questions are:
1) will a 30x9.5 fit under stock height? (I've read some threads that say no, other threads, I see that people run them but not too much detail)
2) if yes, then would it be better to run 4" or 5" backspacing on the cragar 15x7? (I don't want the tires sticking out too far)
3) I contemplated 15x8 for a second, I believe that I read that it wouldn't work but other places said it would with 5" backspacing.. ??? would I be able to run 15x8 on stock height? (just curious)

added question:
4) would the wheels off an 08 work? the hub diameter is slightly larger on my 07, but would "slightly" be enough to fit the 08 kk wheels?

thank you! sorry for the newb questions.

30-9.50-15 "should" work as they are 29.5 inches tall and I know 245-70-16s will and they are 29.6, if I was doing it I would try the 4inch back spacing 15 X7 to keep it from tearing off the flares, 5 inch backspacing will work lifted but not so well if not

thanks for the response, added question: do kk wheels fit the kj? same size but different hub diameters (i was told)?? but I've seen some kj owners showing interest in kk wheels through some threads, so I assume it works. any thoughts? thanks!

I run 31x10.5x15 on 4" backspace Soft8's and I can tell you that 4" BS will definetly rub on the flairs.

kj924 said:

I run 31x10.5x15 on 4" backspace Soft8's and I can tell you that 4" BS will definetly rub on the flairs.

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how wide of a wheel though?

tommudd said:

how wide of a wheel though?

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8" rim

Right now, the tire rubs the flair right in the center and even if the rim was narrower, it wouldn't make that much difference, it would still probably rub the flair. Take the rim down to 7" and back space to 5" and I bet it still rubs, at the least gives problems.

16x7 with 4 inch backspacing works great for tires up to 265-75-16 and the proper lift 8 inch wide wheel will rub the flares when flexed for sure unless you install the right amount of bumpstops

anyone with input on kk wheels (the 5 spoke ones) fitting the kj?

I found a local set I'm hoping to pick up if the kk wheels fit, any help would be great please thanks!

Local guy running 30X9.5 BFG MT's on 15X7 steelies with 4" BS
rubbing all over the place
even with the Rustys coil lift
he would need to bump stop the rear so much that he would have less flex than a stock KJ and the front would still rub
Keep the OE wheels and put tires on them
think of it like this
if the rims cost you $40 each and the tires are $100 each then you could spend $140 on good tires for your OE wheels

This is a prime example of what not to fit under your KJ....



This is the rub I get front of rear flair ...31x10.5x15 4"BS on 8" rim

KK have the standard jeep 5X5 inch bolt pattern like the new Wranglers have. Our are 5X 4.5 inch.

No, KK's have 5x4.5s also

spechuy said:

anyone with input on kk wheels (the 5 spoke ones) fitting the kj?

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I am running 08 Liberty wheels with 235/70-16 Discoverer ATR tires with no problems at all.....

JUS 1 MO said:

I am running 08 Liberty wheels with 235/70-16 Discoverer ATR tires with no problems at all.....

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I'm leaning towards a setup like this, do you have any pictures?

I do...

spechuy said:

I'm leaning towards a setup like this, do you have any pictures?

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I got the A/T 'stones in 235/70 R16 and I'm pretty happy with them. Yeah , I coulda crammed more rubber in there, but this footprint is a strong one and the ride has VASTLY improved over the crappy Goodyear ST's... shame on Chrysler Jeep for picking those for their "bread & butter" stock tires,,,,, cheapskates!!!.... Anyhow, I think they look great (a little tougher) and they should be able to get the wife (nurse) out to see her patients (and back in one piece). I'll give a foul weather first impression as soon as the snow flys. thanks fer lookin.... tjd

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Back...

Side...

tjd241 said:

I got the A/T 'stones in 235/70 R16 and I'm pretty happy with them. Yeah , I coulda crammed more rubber in there, but this footprint is a strong one and the ride has VASTLY improved over the crappy Goodyear ST's... shame on Chrysler Jeep for picking those for their "bread & butter" stock tires,,,,, cheapskates!!!.... Anyhow, I think they look great (a little tougher) and they should be able to get the wife (nurse) out to see her patients (and back in one piece). I'll give a foul weather first impression as soon as the snow flys. thanks fer lookin.... tjd

Front...

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Back...

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Side...

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Welcome KJ Country!

BTW?

Nice Rig you got there!

Looks great!!!! (welcome)

Thanks for the greetings...

This 2008 is our second Liberty. First was an '06. The right tires can really make or break not only the performance of these, but also the look too. The wife said last month that she thought her Libby was looking peepwall.gif... boring. I detailed it yesterday and she's much happier now . I had to do something... she was starting to eye my '06Wrangler[-X . tjd

Okay guys, I have a question here. I've been looking through the tire and wheel and lift threads... I have my stock renegade alloy wheels. and the stock size tire on it. I have read some people say they are running a 32" tire on a 2.5" lift, some are running 3-4" lifts and a tire just under 32". I want to get into about a 265/75 16 and I want a truck tire, that is a mud tire (not available in a 265/70/16). rock lizard says that it will rub, and suggests 1" wheel spacers. I want to keep my stock wheels, they look nice, and i don't have to buy them
is anyone running the stock wheels, with this size of tire? what lift do I need to clear them? if those guys claiming they have 32" tires with 2.5" lifts, really do have that set up.... how are they steering?