Do you crave the ultimate off-road thrill ride without the brain-torturing worry of your jeep’s wheels? Riding in a Jeep feels terrific.
Whether you are taking an off-road tour or enjoying the exquisite highway views, being in a Jeep eliminates the fear of getting stuck or losing stability.
However, in some isolated incidences, you will experience a little bit of discomfort in your four-wheeled monster. Consequently, an urge to upgrade the jeep will hit you.
In most cases, you will feel the need to interchange the current wheels with better-performing ones. When performing these wheel upgrades, the essential thing is making sure that the preferred wheels are interchangeable with your jeep’s original wheels.
You intend to improve the vehicle’s performance and stability, not making it worse, right? So, be keen when selecting the wheels you intend to use in the interchange.
Factors To Consider When Changing Jeep Wheels
Jeeps are expensive vehicles compared to others. Their off-road feature, however, makes the extra cost worth it. One of the features that convert your Jeep into an off-road king is its incredibly powerful wheels.
The huge wheels equip your jeep with extraordinary off-road stability giving you a pleasurable ride on all terrains. A fantastic feature of a jeep’s wheels is the aesthetic value they add to your badass vehicle.
With the right wheel, you will get first-class performance and durability on all types of roads. But after using for a while, the wheels may tear, and the need to be interchanged arises.
When doing the interchange, you need to make sure you get the perfect wheel that emphasizes your jeep’s fancy appearance and simultaneously maintains stability.
Material
It doesn’t matter what type of road you are using; your jeep will conveniently get you to your destination. Additionally, if your aim is enjoying wilderness adventures, invest in wheels made of high-quality material.
The wilderness environment is harsh. You will come across sharp stones, thorns, and tree trunks that can damage the wheels.
Thus, when interchanging the wheels, you need to ensure the wheels are from a strong, reliable material. Most wheels are made from alloy, and they work efficiently even for vehicles that aren’t capable of taking off-road drives.
This is because they are light making it easy to start and stop the car, and in this case, they are economical when it comes to fuel.
The light feature on the alloy reduces the pressure on the vehicle’s suspension and, in this case, less heat on the brakes when driving in extreme conditions.
It would be best if you had steel material wheels for a jeep as they are heavier, durable, come at a better price than the alloy. These wheels are capable of withstanding almost all the forces.
Bolt Patterns
Jeeps come in different models, and each model has its unique features. For this reason, other models have different bolt patterns depending on the jeep’s intended performance.
For the jeep, wrangler wheels have a pattern of 5×4.5 or 5×5. By this, it means five lugs, and the lugs are evenly spaced. Each lug has a diameter of 5 or 4.5 inches.
Jeep CJ has a different pattern, which is 5×5.5. While ZJ, XJ, and WJ have a varying pattern. Therefore, before choosing any wheel, ensure the bolt patterns are similar to your jeep’s for compatibility.
The rim size and width
You can interchange wheels with the same diameter but different widths. Besides, a wider wheel provides a big ground-touching surface area, which increases your vehicle’s stability.
So, does this mean that any wide wheel is suitable for the jeep? There are a few things to consider when choosing the width of the wheel. One is the clearance of the vehicle.
When you get a wheel that exceeds the vehicle’s clearance, then you are in a fix. However, there is a solution to this challenge. You can add a lift to the car, which will increase the vehicle’s clearance, and for this reason, you can fit the wheel you desire.
If you want a wide wheel but don’t mind about its height, you can add spacers to the vehicle. These additional spaces increase your jeep’s allowance. All you need to ensure is the spacer and the lift kit balance well with the wheel to maximize their stability.
But on the downside, adding all these things are extremely expensive. Use a Jeeps Tire Pressure Monitoring System to ensure you get the wheels that adhere to the road safety and ensure you are safe. Also, ensure you follow the tire manufacturer guideline when interchanging the tires to ensure your safety.
Offset and backspacing
You need to understand a few things for those planning to add the lift kit and the spacers. These are the measurements involved in determining how much distance you can cover with these upgrades.
One on the side, there is an offset, which is the length between the mounting pad to the centerline on a wheel. The lower offset is the further distance it can mount, which is safe for a lifted vehicle.
On the other hand, backspacing is the length between the mounting pad and the wheel’s inner edge. It protrudes less to the wheel when it has less backspace and risks rubbing between the vehicle and the wheel, causing a fire.
Before installing a lift and the spacer, ensure the measurement is right, and the space between is enough to avoid accidents.
Bead Locks
It is possible to get low pressure on extreme terrains. The bead locks ensure the tire doesn’t roll off the rim as they grip the tire and hold it in a stable position.
There are two types of bead locks; the one fitted outside where they use a clamped ring on the outside helps grip the tire. The other is the inflatable, which is placed inside the tire.
Bead locks are not recommended for on-road as they are heavy, making it hard to maintain your jeep’s on-road balance. They can sometimes fail when the vehicle is at high speed and causes deflation, causing an accident.
Hub-Centric and Lug Centric
The two terms will help you make the perfect decision for wheels, but the problem is they are a little confusing. Hub centric describes the space in the center bore that can fit the axile.
In this case, the hub helps keep the wheel in a centered position on the other side; the lug helps in flushing the wheel against the mounting plate.
The hub center also helps manage the jeep’s weight, maintaining balance, and ensuring perfect performance. The lug centric centers the wheel using the lug nuts. Consequently, many jeep wheels made from alloy tend to be compatible with other vehicles.
Jeep And Ford Wheels
Jeep and ford are two types of vehicles that share some similarities but still differ in several ways as they come in a different model.
They may share some parts, but you have to be keen when it comes to the wheel. Both wheels are suitable for tough terrains, but their compatibility depends on the manufacture of both vehicles.
An example, the 97 wrangler rim fits the two-wheel-drive Fords of 93. This applies to the back wheels only. Another example is the 82 wrangler wheel that fits the front and rear wheels on the 74-82 Ford.
Jeep Wrangler
For jeep wranglers, the wheels are interchangeable with almost all the other jeep models. Also, different generations of jeep wranglers are interchangeable when it comes to wheels.
So, in a case where you upgrade your jeep but still want the wheels from the previous jeep, there is no harm in using them. If you’re going to be on the safe side, always go through the above guide to ensure they are compatible.
Conclusion
There are so many options when it comes to jeep wheels. You can always check from other generations from the same models or other models and different generations or even other types of vehicles.
All you need is to ensure the wheels are compatible using the above guideline to ensure the wheel you put is safe and brings out the jeep’s best to ensure more fun and safety.
