spacer lift vs wheel offset

[wanderer]

So if I understand this correctly a lift raises the vehicle to avoid rubbing. Would going with a neg offset on wheels push the wheels out and accomplish the same thing?

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[TJDave]

So if I understand this correctly a lift raises the vehicle to avoid rubbing. Would going with a neg offset on wheels push the wheels out and accomplish the same thing?

That depends on where you are rubbing, and why. Wider tires on stock wheels could rub on control arms, like mine did. Wheel spacers or non-factory backspacing/offset can fix that.
Larger diameter tires can rub on fenders, that is where more lift will help you.

 

[Renegade]

So if I understand this correctly a lift raises the vehicle to avoid rubbing. Would going with a neg offset on wheels push the wheels out and accomplish the same thing?

It’s not that simple. A lift generally creates room for taller tires, and increased ground clearance. You may also need wheels with less positive offset to prevent the taller (and/or wider) tires from rubbing the lower control arms. Many people use negative offset wheels successfully, but depending on the tire/wheel/lift combo, having negative offset wheels can cause tires to rub the fender flares when the suspension compresses. With enough lift, this won’t happen, but there are times when too much negative offset can be a problem. There is generally a range of wheel offset which works well.

 

[wanderer]

I was thinking that some are saying. Their 37s rub on the control arms. But clear the fenders in a rubicon. I have a rubicon. So if I pushed them out a bit. Maybe they would clear.

 

[Renegade]

I was thinking that some are saying. Their 37s rub on the control arms. But clear the fenders in a rubicon. I have a rubicon. So if I pushed them out a bit. Maybe they would clear.

37s will also rub the inner fenders when the suspension compresses. You will need bump stop spacers (approximately 2”) to prevent that.

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