Thelt
Full Access Member
How much should I pay for a set of them? I think they would look good on my Jeep.
Soft 8s or comparable
- Thread starter Thelt
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LibertyOrDeath
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kj924
Administrator
Me too!!(yeahthat)
One word... DON"T!! Why?? Stamped steel wheels are hard to balance and being lug centric doesn't help the situation. You can get hub centric rings, but then you'll have to run without the hub caps. No thanks.
I liked the look very much and had chrome 17x8 Soft 8's on my JK for exactly 5,000 miles. When I first bought them I immediately went back and had them re-balanced because of bad shimmy felt under the entire Jeep, not just in the steering wheel. They were just okay for the first 3,000 miles. Since having them rotated I have had them re-balaced twice, road forced balance once and re-balanced again at a different shop.
This past week I was on a wheeling trip to Ouray, CO and talked with other JK owners. One who had Soft 8's and two others who had 37" tires on alloy wheels. The Soft 8 guy said he too was having a balance problem while the guys, with the larger tires, had no issues with their lighter alloy wheels.
Last week before going on my trip I ordered some 16x8 Eagle Alloy wheels with a super shine finish and 33x11.5" BFG M/T KM2's to go with them. I had them installed today... no more shimmy!!
My '08 JK with 17x8 Soft 8's and 32x10.5 BFG M/T's. Looks good, but one heck of a shimmy problem...
Eagle Alloy 16x8 rims and 33" BFG M/T KM2's. No more shimmy...
I liked the look very much and had chrome 17x8 Soft 8's on my JK for exactly 5,000 miles. When I first bought them I immediately went back and had them re-balanced because of bad shimmy felt under the entire Jeep, not just in the steering wheel. They were just okay for the first 3,000 miles. Since having them rotated I have had them re-balaced twice, road forced balance once and re-balanced again at a different shop.
This past week I was on a wheeling trip to Ouray, CO and talked with other JK owners. One who had Soft 8's and two others who had 37" tires on alloy wheels. The Soft 8 guy said he too was having a balance problem while the guys, with the larger tires, had no issues with their lighter alloy wheels.
Last week before going on my trip I ordered some 16x8 Eagle Alloy wheels with a super shine finish and 33x11.5" BFG M/T KM2's to go with them. I had them installed today... no more shimmy!!
My '08 JK with 17x8 Soft 8's and 32x10.5 BFG M/T's. Looks good, but one heck of a shimmy problem...
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Eagle Alloy 16x8 rims and 33" BFG M/T KM2's. No more shimmy...
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tjkj2002
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Almost all aftermarket rims are not hub centric rims.I never had any issues balancing my tires on aftermarket steel rims and I beat my rims pretty good.When you get past 35" tires it becomes very hard to balance the wheel/tire combo's no matter what rim or tire you use.
Unique Steel makes the Crager steel rims so save some money and get the Unique Steel series 297 rims(same as Crager soft 8's),mostly found at Discount tires.Got my 16x7 set of 5 for $50 each.
Unique Steel makes the Crager steel rims so save some money and get the Unique Steel series 297 rims(same as Crager soft 8's),mostly found at Discount tires.Got my 16x7 set of 5 for $50 each.
Take it for what it's worth, just trying to relay my experience with the steel wheels on my JK
Agreed, but lug centric stamped steel wheels are more prone to balance problems than the lighter alloy wheels. Also, like I mentioned above, several guys I talked to in Colorado this week said the Craiger/Unique wheels are known to have a balance problem more so than other stamped steel wheels. They were running 37" tires on alloy wheels and had no issues.
The Soft 8's I had in fact were Unique wheels. Discount Tire told me, they took over the brand. They also replaced them for my new alloy wheels free of charge, but in doing so I did spring for new tires on the smaller 16" Eagle Alloy's.
My old 17x8 Unique Soft 8 wheel...
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You also asked for comparable = Black Rock Wheels They have American made steel & alloy rims - most to fit a KJ. (15", 16", 17") Their black rims are matte black (not glossy like the Cragars) and include the best looking (black) wheel caps made. Cragar's (ie; soft 8's) don't include center caps.
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tjkj2002
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Funny thing is many of the OEM steel rims are made by Unique Steel
.I've run Unique Steel rims for the better part of 20 years with no balance issues besides when I had Interco TSL's and Bogger's installed but those tires are virtually impossible to balance anyway.
tjkj2002
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Made by Unique Steel also
Those Black Rock rims look really nice. And are made in the USA!!!!
Yep! Ontario, California.
robcamposss
New Member
has anyone had issues putting these on an 05 KJ renegade? guy at the truck/off road parts place by me said that they don't work. he said he's had a lot of experience with them and these just don't fit/work on KJs. seemed odd
anyone find that they don't work? or anyone have them? and if you do hav them did u need to do any mods to make them work?
anyone find that they don't work? or anyone have them? and if you do hav them did u need to do any mods to make them work?
If you get the right back spacing/ stay with 7 inch wide then lots of folks run them on Lifted KJs
robcamposss
New Member
yea thats what i thought but this guy made it seem impossible. o well know where i wont be going for information and parts
