Free 33's! Now, to mount on 7" or 8" rims...

[Bob Barry]

The Jeep gods smiled upon me today, as I picked up a free set of 33"x12.5" tires from a guy in my local club (he upgraded to swampers, and these were just sitting around). These will replace the dry-rotted 31"x11.5" tires I've got holding my truck up off the ground at the moment.

Here's the dilemma. I have two possible options for mounting these tires. I can mount them on a set of factory 12-spoke GW 15"x7" aluminum rims, or I can dismount the existing 31's and put these 33's on a set of rusty and crusty 15"x8" wagon-wheels.

Here's the pro's for going with those 7" wide aluminum rims:

* Lighter
* Cleaner
* Sidewall will tuck in more
* When time comes to sell these tires, the aluminum rims may add value
* I can sell those wagon-wheels and the tires on them to somebody else for the whopping $20 I paid for them.

On the other hand, those 8" rims have the following going for them:

* Look cooler
* I can always paint them
* uh, well, that's really about it, isn't it?

I guess it's a no-brainer.

Maybe I just wanted to brag about a free set of 33's... :D

[Glenn_tx]

If they were 5 slot aluminum rims, I'd use those. Since they aren't, I'd use the wagons and slap some black on them.

[Michael]

Woohoo freebees!!!! :D Have fun with them Bob smile.gif

[Cecil14]

If the aluminum rims are already empty I'd say use them. Not really worth the hassel to pull the old tires off nasty looking rims if you've got others ready and waiting for rubber.

On the other hand, if the other rims aren't empty go ahead and pull the 31's and get the rims sand-blasted and either paint them or get them powder coated. They'll last forever that way and look good too. ;)

Anthony

[Bob Barry]

Well, these are just a set of "Get me by" tires, until the weather is dry and warm enough for me to get my 8-lug axles under my truck and mount my 38's.

Three of the aluminum rims have tires on them, but they're oddball ones, two of which I really should discard. The tire shop does free mounting and balancing, so it's no extra work for me either way.

Maybe I'll just keep the 31's mounted on the wagon-wheels to have an extra set of roll-arounds available.

[BIGYELLOW78J10]

Will the 12.5's run ok on the narrow rims?

Just got me thinking bout mounting my 33's on the 15x7's

Later,

Daniel

[Joe J-Truck]

Use aluminum for lighter weight
It makes a big difference since the wheels are unsprung weight and also reduces the rotational mass.