Question: I just stumbled upon your site and i like it a lot. I have recently purchased an 07 Wrangler x 2door. I see that you claim i could run 32’s as long as I check the back spin. My question is, what is back spin? I have never heard that term. Do you have any recommendations of what to run? I will be buying new wheels too, and I think I will stay with 16’s and I would like something like a BFG mud terrain. Would a 265 75 16 fit? thanks for your help, OJ
Answer: The term is backspacing not back spin. Backspacing refers to the inward offset of a wheel in relation to the wheel mounting surface (see image). Wrangler JK wheels are typically 5.5″ backspacing (you should measure yours to be sure), many after market wheels use 4.5″. Less backspacing will help with wider tires but will cause the tires to move outward, possibly causing the tires to stick out the flares and/or affect wheel camber and toe in. In can get rather complicated but sticking with a wheel that is as close to stock will lessen the possibility of issues.
The factory Jeep wheels should do fine with a 32X11.50, the Rubicon comes with a tire similar to this. The 265/75/R16 tire you asked about calculates out to approximately 32X10.5 so you should be just fine on a stock Jeep rim. I would recommend asking the tire place to test fit one before you buy since there isn’t any 100% sure answer.
Tip: To measure your backspacing remove one of your wheels and place a flat object across the inner lip of the wheel. Measure the depth to the mounting surface, that’s your backspacing.
Related article: Toe, Caster, and Camber – What does it mean and how to adjust it.
Very helpful thanks.
Hi, me again with more tire questions. I cannot seem to find a 16 in tire that is eqivilant to a 32 x 11.50. they are either 265x 75/16’s which are only around 10.50’s or they are 285 75 16’s which are 32.8’s and probably too tall. Would a 15 inch wheel work just as well as a 16? Or should I stick with the 265 75/16’s?
By the way I wanted to start a new post, but I could only figure out how th post this as a comment. Any help with that would bwe appreciated as well.
I am having trouble figuring out how to post a blog