33"s and "XJ's"

[RCP Phx]

One of the most respectable in the business told me early on that you can't put 33" tires on an XJ without trimming.Well Im finally getting the picture,now comes the question(and more work).Does anyone have actual numbers on how much the wheel opening needs to be opened up????TIA ,Ron

 

[Eagle]

It depends on how much you want -- or are willing -- to extend your bump stops. You can eliminate interference by limiting suspension compression, or by removing the offending body panels.

I've spoken with two guys from Rhode Island who ran 33x9.50s on 3" of lift.

 

[RCP Phx]

Im still rubbing the back of the front flares when turning thru a mild bump.It wasn't even a possibility before at 5.5"s,and now its still rubbing at 6 3/4"????Bump stops havent even come in to play yet.It was also rubbing bad on the front when fully stuffed.Im taking it out tomorrow to flex it up and see where all the conflicts are now!

 

[Goatman]

The plastic is easy to trim, inner liners and flares, so have at it. You can trim quite a bit from the bottom of the wheel wells with no ill effects, so have at that, too. A little ways up from the bottom of the wheel wells, you can pound the pinch seam flat, which keeps the integrity of the unibody intact but adds quite a bit of clearance.

When I've increased a tire size, I carried a good tin snips on my next couple of trail runs and trimmed a little every time I rubbed, you could trim what you think and then do the same thing.

 

[RCP Phx]

Ive been wanting to extend a set of factory flares but I still havent been able to locate a set.

 

[Goatman]

Extend them for what? Just trim the flares enough so that you don't rub, you will hardly notice that they look any different from stock flares. You may be talking about cutting the wheel wells higher and raising the flares up some. I've run 33's with 6.5" of lift and 35's with 8" of lift, and I still haven't raised my flares. I've never hit them on the top, I always hit them on the bottom.

 

[RCP Phx]

Actually I meant "Lengthen",it seems the biggest issue is the "opening width".

 

[Goatman]

Don't be afraid.........just keep trimming.

 

[MudDawg]

I run 12.5 x 33 Cooper M/T's...the issue came with wheel opening width...I imagine mine came out like Goatman's did...sounds very much the same...I don't have any problems now, but I admit I don't do rocks and logs...you can finish out the wells when you are done...

 

[Boz88xj]

With 4" coils up front (AND A LOT OF TRIMMING JUST FOR FUN) im fitting 33x12.50 GeolanderMTs just fine. Theyre on 15x8 wheels with 4" of backspacing.

Approximately the same lift height in the rear, maybe 4.5" and all i did to trim was make the radial slits and bang the lip up. If you do it nice, even without flares it still looks stock... Well stock without flares.

 

[mattk]

If you want to know how much you have to trim, put on the lift you want and the rims and tires you want to run and trim until they fit.
Flex the suspension, turn the wheels lock to lock and see what hits and where. Then cut. Every truck with each control arm setup and different tires and backspacing will be a little different.
mattk