15 inch rims?

[J20girl]

My boyfriend was on another Jeep forum and saw quite a few full sizes on 15 inch rims. Is there a specific brand that fits? I know my current size 16 and id much prefer 15 since the tires are way cheaper lol. I’m looking for just standard black steel rims with lots of offset for 12 inch wide tires. How do they manage this? Is there a secret? Thanks!

Edited to add: my Jeep is an 81 j-20, d60 rear with drum brakes and d44 front with disc brakes. I’ve seen a few JK’s say there are pro combos and a few other brands with 15”S and like 4 inches back spacing so I was wondering if that would work for mine

[Cecil14]

Need to know more about your rig: year, model, axles, bolt pattern, brake size, etc. For most stock rigs, 15" wheels were standard (half ton). Wags/Cheros/J-10s from early 70s on were all 15". The only model that got 16" (16.5" stock) wheels was the J-20. I have seen where people have ground down the stock brake calipers to clear 15" wheels on 3/4 ton axles, it's definitely been done, but you limit your tires at that point.

Let us know what you're running and we can help more with your options.


aa

[J20girl]

Need to know more about your rig: year, model, axles, bolt pattern, brake size, etc. For most stock rigs, 15" wheels were standard (half ton). Wags/Cheros/J-10s from early 70s on were all 15". The only model that got 16" (16.5" stock) wheels was the J-20. I have seen where people have ground down the stock brake calipers to clear 15" wheels on 3/4 ton axles, it's definitely been done, but you limit your tires at that point.

Let us know what you're running and we can help more with your options.


aa

Oh yes I do have an 81 j-20, Dana 60 rear and Dana 44 front. I’ve read that many JK’s can run pro comp 15’s and they have one that I believe is the same bore size as mine as well. I don’t care too much if I’m limited I’m just looking for cheap steelies to throw on until I can get my 40’s and nicer rims. All my favourite tires also come way cheaper in 15”s It’s coming up on winter here in canada and the tires on it are like 12 years old, tires for 15 inch rims are also cheaper and waaaaaay easier to get here that’s why I want to make the cheap switch right now so I can run some decent 35’s and cheap rims for a while lol, thanks

[babywag]

I'd go to 17" wheels...ton of new take off wrangler tires 4 sale around here!
17" tires seem to be much easier to find as well.
YMMV

[J20girl]

15’s are way cheaper out here, And not hard for me to find at least. Bought 3 different sets for other jeeps. That’s why I’m asking lol, I’d much prefer the 15 price

[babywag]

Bummer, around here 17" dirt cheap...

https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pts/d/4-tiresgood-yearto-99/6745342830.html

[tgreese]

You are swimming against the current to go to a smaller wheel diameter. Cars and trucks have been uniformly increasing the diameter of their wheels at least over the past decade or two. You should have many fewer different tires to choose from with a 15" wheel.

I also doubt that there are any 15" wheels made with 8-lug centers. In its day, the J20 got the 8-lug axles and 16" wheels because of the increased GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) of that vehicle. Wagoneers and J10s from the same era have significantly lower GVWRs and 15" wheels. The load rating of the wheel rims and centers goes together, and it's unlikely you'll find the lighter 15" rims with the higher-rated 8-lug centers. None of the OEMs made them, AFAIK.

You may be able to have wheels made to this spec, but that will blow any cost advantage away. Maybe you could go aftermarket: I went to Summit Racing and looked for 15" wheels with 8 lug centers and 6" or 7" width. They do exist. Out of 216,000 offerings, I found 8.

https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/wheels/section/wheels?SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending&N=4294920860%2B4294920859%2B4294920795%2B4294920357%2B4294920832%2B4294920320

[J20girl]

You are swimming against the current to go to a smaller wheel diameter. Cars and trucks have been uniformly increasing the diameter of their wheels at least over the past decade or two. You should have many fewer different tires to choose from with a 15" wheel.

I also doubt that there are any 15" wheels made with 8-lug centers. In its day, the J20 got the 8-lug axles and 16" wheels because of the increased GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) of that vehicle. Wagoneers and J10s from the same era have significantly lower GVWRs and 15" wheels. The load rating of the wheel rims and centers goes together, and it's unlikely you'll find the lighter 15" rims with the higher-rated 8-lug centers. None of the OEMs made them, AFAIK.

You may be able to have wheels made to this spec, but that will blow any cost advantage away. Maybe you could go aftermarket: I went to Summit Racing and looked for 15" wheels with 8 lug centers and 6" or 7" width. They do exist. Out of 216,000 offerings, I found 8.
https://www.summitracing.com/search/...2%2B4294920320

As I listed there are many and yes of course I’m going aftermarket, pro comp is one of the many I found that has it but are also cheaper. I was wondering if there was a brand that specifically worked for this situation that’s all. I also saw someone suggest Chevy 1ton rims so I was seeing if anyone suggested that or had experience. And I’ve also said, way easier to find 15 for me here and they’re cheaper! My boyfriends TJ runs 15’ and can buy 35 general grabbers for $250 each that’s what I’d love to do as this is just a solution because it’s winter and I need tires to get to work lol!! I’m just looking if there is suggestions as I really don’t want to run 16 but will if I have to! Just seeing if there’s some way lol

[joe]

I'm with the others, you're going to be hard pressed to find 8-hole 15" wheels for anything let alone some that will bolt up to a Jeep. I don't know of any auto manufacturer that ever used 15" 8-holes?? Only option I could maybe see are custom wheels. I would talk to Stockton Wheel in Calif and see what they can do for you. Good luck but I think you're hunting unicorns.

[Cecil14]

There's plenty of them out there, here are 58 results on summit:

https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/wheels/wheel-diameter/15-in?N=4294920357

I'm not aware of any OEM that used them, but that's not really an issue here.

I have seen plenty of threads around the internet (some even here, though nothing for quite a few years now) of people running 15s on 8 lug axles. I don't recall any of the details, but there is nothing ground breaking here for sure.

I would say look at all the wheel places you can find, starting with Summit for some manufacturer ideas maybe. You're going to need to do a lot of measuring to make sure everything will clear, brakes are probably going to be your biggest hurdle. Just get the specs on the wheels you like and see how things measure out.


aa

[J20girl]

I'm with the others, you're going to be hard pressed to find 8-hole 15" wheels for anything let alone some that will bolt up to a Jeep. I don't know of any auto manufacturer that ever used 15" 8-holes?? Only option I could maybe see are custom wheels. I would talk to Stockton Wheel in Calif and see what they can do for you. Good luck but I think you're hunting unicorns.

I know of many brands that do 8 lug 15’s definitley not a unicorn. I was just looking to see if there was a magical rim that may be made specifically for this reason or just happen to fit this application really well. But I have 3 or so I’m going to try and one of them will hopefully fit!

[J20girl]

There's plenty of them out there, here are 58 results on summit:

https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/wheels/wheel-diameter/15-in?N=4294920357

I'm not aware of any OEM that used them, but that's not really an issue here.

I have seen plenty of threads around the internet (some even here, though nothing for quite a few years now) of people running 15s on 8 lug axles. I don't recall any of the details, but there is nothing ground breaking here for sure.

I would say look at all the wheel places you can find, starting with Summit for some manufacturer ideas maybe. You're going to need to do a lot of measuring to make sure everything will clear, brakes are probably going to be your biggest hurdle. Just get the specs on the wheels you like and see how things measure out.


aa

Yea I saw a few but all were pretty dead so no where to ask specifics but I did get some good answers on a different page I’m on and will probably only have to shave the front calipers a bit! I’ll probably post pictures when I start my build thread