18" or 17" Wheels?

[Killer]

Looking to the hive mind for opinions;
I have a 23 Sport S w/Dana 44's and have been looking at the Vision Tactical Wheels and pairing them with Milestar Patagonias, so here is my quandary;
with the larger axles, I'm conscience about poke so I'm looking at two combinations;
1) 17x10 -25 offset wheels with 35" Patagonias (A/T) or
2) 18x9.5 -18 offset wheels with the same 35" Patagonias

My belief is that wheel diameter should be 50% of the tire size and while I'm starting with 35's, there is a good chance I go to 37's in the future. I know 17" wheels and 37" tires will go together fine, but I don;t see too many folks with 18's, mostly 17's and when tires size increases, 20's. I"ve looked at the offset calculator but wondering if anyone else had the same questions of 17" or 18"?

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[Batlou]

I run 17's with 37" tires so when I am aired down I get more spread and better traction. I am not an expert but that has always been my understanding of why to go with 17's over 18 or 20.

 

[Discount Tire]

Looking to the hive mind for opinions;
I have a 23 Sport S w/Dana 44's and have been looking at the Vision Tactical Wheels and pairing them with Milestar Patagonias, so here is my quandary;
with the larger axles, I'm conscience about poke so I'm looking at two combinations;
1) 17x10 -25 offset wheels with 35" Patagonias (A/T) or
2) 18x9.5 -18 offset wheels with the same 35" Patagonias

My belief is that wheel diameter should be 50% of the tire size and while I'm starting with 35's, there is a good chance I go to 37's in the future. I know 17" wheels and 37" tires will go together fine, but I don;t see too many folks with 18's, mostly 17's and when tires size increases, 20's. I"ve looked at the offset calculator but wondering if anyone else had the same questions of 17" or 18"?

The 17" set up is the most popular fitment out there right now. I get where you're going with the 18" set up, but quite frankly there are not as many options available right now in an 18". Everyone is on the 17" band wagon. Sound like you are on the right track though!

 

[HooliganActual]

@Killer

+1 to what @Discount Tire said...I mean...it is their business to know

I have been wheeling Jeeps for 40 years and you don't see lots of 18" wheels out there because the tire options are fewer. What would keep me from moving to 18" wheels is this:

Yes it may be available at my local Discount Tire or could be ordered and installed at my convenience; but when I'm on Day 2 of a 2 week trip and have blown a tire in the middle of nowhere, my chances of getting something for a 17" wheel so my trip can continue are much better.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

I'd pick 17s between 17s and 18s.

Can you get an 8" wide wheel to help with less poke?

 

[rharr]

man i miss the days of 35's on 15's, mmm donuts.....

 

[Rusty PW]

17's. More selection of tires, plus tires are cheaper.

 

[Rusty PW]

man i miss the days of 35's on 15's, mmm donuts.....

Do I miss the 38's on the 16.5" diameter rims. No.

 

[Killer]

I'd pick 17s between 17s and 18s.

Can you get an 8" wide wheel to help with less poke?

Taking a look into it further now. Thx.

 

[Sarge502]

I have 35s on 18s and love them. Perfect world I would go 37s (still on my 18s) but I don't want to regear. I'm content with my 35s even if they were on 17s.

Reason I'm on 18s is cause the Overland comes stock with 18s and shortly after purchase I got rid of the rental car looking tires and bought new Coopers for the stock wheels and ran that for awhile. Rather than buying all new tires when I decided on an aftermarket wheel, I just stayed with 18s and remounted the tires to the new wheel.

But mine are 18x9 with a 0 offset. I don't like a lot of poke. Just enough for me.

Obviously there's more tire options with 17s and both wheels and tires are cheaper. But 18s aren't terrible if you did decide on it

 

[Camaroboi13]

Another vote for 17s, tires are way easier to get than with 18s. I went straight to a 37 on mine.

 

[Rusty PW]

Another vote for 17s, tires are way easier to get than with 18s. I went straight to a 37 on mine.

What rims are those? And specs please.

 

[Camaroboi13]

What rims are those? And specs please.

I bought five of these for $300 bucks new when they were discontinued. Simple, easy to keep clean. I love them.

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