BillArnett
New member
Yeah, but how about the body roll and tire flex when taking a corner at speed?
JL JOURNAL : Stepping into Bigger Shoes / KMC XD231 Beadlock Install
- Thread starter wayoflife
- Start date
Yeah, but how about the body roll and tire flex when taking a corner at speed?
Better than a set of load range C 40x13.50R17's that's for sure and anyone who knows me complains about how fast I drive with them on my JK's :crazyeyes:
BillArnett
New member
How about compared to the stock tires with no lift? One of my main reasons for getting a JL is that it seemed MUCH nicer on corners when I test drove it compared to my JK (with 35s and 2.5" lift). I'm leaning toward 2 or 2.5 inch lift and 37s (much like Jet Li) and I'm hoping that will still perform better on the highway than my JK. Am I going to be disappointed?
You gotta remember that the JL Rubicon is running 68" wide axles. That's a 1/2" shy of full width and a whole 2" wider than a JK. That alone helps with stability.
BillArnett
New member
I’m full of worries.... And one of them is whether the additional width will be a problem. The Elephant Hill trail in Moab has a very narrow spot just before one of my all time favorite camp spots:
With the wider axles (2.5 inches wider than the JK, I think) plus wider tires (I’m planning on 37x13.5 vs my JK’s 35x12.5) plus less backspacing (another 1.5) I figure my JL be about 5 inches wider than JK. Looking at the above it looks like it will be OK. IF I’m right in my calculations. If you get a chance could you measure the distance between the outer edges of your tires on Jet Li? Then I can measure my JK and see if my +5” is right. Better yet post a photo of Moby Dick in that spot
I’m full of worries.... And one of them is whether the additional width will be a problem. The Elephant Hill trail in Moab has a very narrow spot just before one of my all time favorite camp spots:
With the wider axles (2.5 inches wider than the JK, I think) plus wider tires (I’m planning on 37x13.5 vs my JK’s 35x12.5) plus less backspacing (another 1.5) I figure my JL be about 5 inches wider than JK. Looking at the above it looks like it will be OK. IF I’m right in my calculations. If you get a chance could you measure the distance between the outer edges of your tires on Jet Li? Then I can measure my JK and see if my +5” is right. Better yet post a photo of Moby Dick in that spot
LOL!! Moby is skinnier now but back in the day, he measured an impressive 88" wide. Trust me, that's WAY WIDER than your JL could ever hope to be AND... he ran Elephant Hill without any problems. :crazyeyes:
BillArnett
New member
So long as you just drive around town, yeah, I think you could make it work. If you do any flexing, you will see rubbing.
Aside from never really being a fan of how the Machete looks, I was purposefully looking to run a wheel that had a back spacing that was closer to 5". With 3.5", your tires will stick out quite a bit and rather than tucking up and into the fenders at a full flex, you'd run the risk of rubbing the edge of the fenders instead. Also, less back spacing is harder on the ball joints and unit bearings and this is to say nothing about the measurable change in you'll see in your scrub radius.
OK, so just to confirm, with 5" backspacing, you don't experience any rubbing, and you don't use any spacers. Am I right?
With 37" tires, you will NEED to have at least 2.5" of lift to clear them at a full flex and even at that, you will have to modify your rear fender liners. Aside from that, you will still have some minor rubbing but not on the edge of the fenders if you run 5" of back spacing or there about.
https://jlwrangler.com/showthread.p...-running-2-5-quot-of-Lift-amp-Without-Rubbing
I'm trying to figure out if there's a way (possibly in the near future) to avoid the wheels making contact with the fenders and scratching them and to avoid the rear fender modification. Do you believe with 4" lift (once it becomes available for the JL) this modification will not be needed when using 37" tires?
The amount of lift you run isn't exactly what'll address the rubbing, it's the amount of stuff you have. To avoid any modifications, you'd need to run taller bumper stop extensions to reduce the amount of upward travel you have. Not exactly the ideal solution especially being that a fender modification costs next to nothing, is effective and it'll allow you to keep a lower stance.
Mounting Options??
So, maybe you can...or maybe you can't answer this question. Can you mount tires to the XD231's without using the beadlocks? Before you ask why, my dealership will not mount to a beadlock. So, I want them to mount them without using the beadlock.....then I will make the transformation to the beadlocks in my own environment. Ideas? Thoughts?
So, maybe you can...or maybe you can't answer this question. Can you mount tires to the XD231's without using the beadlocks? Before you ask why, my dealership will not mount to a beadlock. So, I want them to mount them without using the beadlock.....then I will make the transformation to the beadlocks in my own environment. Ideas? Thoughts?
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Nope. The XD231 is a beadlock and a beadlock ONLY.
The brakes on the JL are all new, have 2 pistons up front and a LOT better than what you had on the JK. I have felt ZERO need to upgrade my brakes. Even with 37's, I feel like I have TONS of stopping power.