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The Quest to Run 305/60/18 Tires with No Lift.

17K views 24 replies 7 participants last post by  =KZ= 
#1 · (Edited)
On monday, I have a set of 18 x 9.5 +25 Vtec Raptor wheels and 305/60/18 (33" x 12.5") Nitto Terra Grapplers comming. In the mean time I sold my stock 20 inch wheels and tires so the Jeep is up on blocks right now LOL. I need time to work on it though so it will clear those tires. :D

First step I need to do is to get the pinch welds out of the way. I will take before and after pics as I am not sure yet if I will bend the welds or cut them or a combination of both. Then I will mount them up and see how much of the felt I need trim so they do not rub it.

I do not have a lift, I have the stock quadra lift but that does not help clearance when street driving.



305/60/18 Terra Grapplers (worn somewhat) vs 35 x 12.5 18 Procomp Extreme ATs
 
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#4 · (Edited)
Please post pics once you get them installed and trimmed with no rubbing. I'm running 275/65/18s on Mopar rims with factory offset and thats about the max you can run without trimming. Good luck, happy trimming!
I will post pics of the mods I have to do in the inner fenders and the final result. I do not mind cutting the pinch welds and felt liner. Worst case I might have to trim the plastic fender flares some on the inside of the bumper but I doubt it will be that bad. I need another 0.30 of an inch of clearance in the front, rear, and on top vs if I had a 275/65/18. Those 9.5s with +25 vs the stock 8s with +56 means they will stick out 50 mm or two inches more than the stock wheels. I likely will not be able to use the park mode of the QL anymore but we will see and honestly I have no real use for park mode anyway.
 
#6 · (Edited)
The pinch welds are removed and it was a real PITA. The steel alloy they use is both very dense and a lot thicker and harder than I first thought. each side took about 40 minutes. I will post up an after pic of the welds before I cover them back up with the felt fender liner.



Now I need to screw the felt back so it sits flush against the metal.

Here is how it looks like right now.


Unless someone has a better idea I am going to screw the felt back so it is flat against the metal because I tried to flatten it by just pushing on it but it bounces back to its original shape really well.

All in all I have gained over half an inch of rear clearance by removing the pinch weld. The front part of the felt will likely have to be trimmed away and that will give me another half an inch of front clearance as well. I also rolled the inside of the fender where the felt attaches and pulled it out some by hand. You cannot tell in pics and I did not do much yet because it was cold and I was afraid of cracking the paint.
 
#7 ·
I will have new pics later today with the felt flattened out where the pinch welds were so as to show the real amount of clearance I have now. The rest of the mods and cutting is going to wait until I have the wheels and tires on Monday night or Tuesday. I do not want to trim any more than I have to to make them fit with no rubbing. If these work well I might try 325/60/18s next time. :D
 
#8 · (Edited)
The felt is flattened out now and I also adjusted the front part of the felt. All and all I have about an inch more clearance total from front to back in the inside of the fender. As for the top I will see what needs to be done but I am planning on removing the fender flares and carefully pulling the fenders by hand and if I still see any rubbing over big bumps I will mark and trim the inside of the fender flare.

 
#12 ·
Tires are here. Just wasting on FedEx to deliver my wheels. UPS is so much better around here.


Tires are a little squished from being stacked and shipped but the tread width still measures 10.5 inches unmounted. I will measure them mounted as well to see what they measure.
 
#17 · (Edited)
measure it/ i have 9 inch wheels and that looks WIIIIDEEE

https://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html
They measure nearly 11 inches (10 7/8") across the wheel. Normally a 10 inch wide wheel measures 11-11.25" across the wheel. They are really wide for a 9.5. I would call them a 9.75. Backspace as I measure it is 6 3/8-6 1/2 inches. Stated backspace is just under 6 1/4 inches.
 
#16 ·
Well, the wheels and lug nuts came but they did not put the tire pressure monitors in there but they charged me for them. I am beyond annoyed right now. I ordered a set from my local advance auto parts and it will be there in the morning. I am mad that I will not have the Jeep up and running until tomorrow evening.
 
#24 ·
Well, the tires have not made any contact with the upper part of the fender despite running over more speedbumps at about 15 MPH and a couple dips in the road today. I love how much softer the ride is vs the 20s that were on there. The tires soak up way more of the bumps in the road than before. Having driven both my QL equipped Overland and also standard suspension Limited I honestly believe the standard suspension rides a little better overall. The air springs are kinda stiff even in regular ride height.
 
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