15 OR 16

[Lowfill]

Was looking on craigslist for a 15 inch wheel to match up with what Ihad, and got wondering if I should look at 16 inch wheels. I am planning on puttiing 31 inch tires under the cherokee, and I am wonderingif now would be a good time to swap out wheels. Anyones oppinion would be appriciated.
Phil

[Java]

16. way more choices for that size.

[dscowell]

I person prefer the look for 15s but the thing is companies are slowly moving away from the tire size. Offering less sizes and types for 15s. Don't get me wrong though they'll always make tires for 15s but you may find a tire you are interested in but won't have 15s as an option. Id say if you can find one cheap stay 15s but if there is a set of rims you have your eyes on and want to get might as well move to 16s.

[Lowfill]

Thanks guys for the info. Was looking at a set of 16's with 31 inch tires. There are 3 issues with them. they have FORD centercaps, got to fix that. They are alluminum wheels instead of steel, and the tires are treaddwright retreads. The last one is not that big of a deal, read a lenghthy review of them from this forum, and they were given glowing remarks. Not sure about alluminum, versis steel.

[dscowell]

There is a couple difference between aluminum and steel wheels. Aluminum wheels are lighter and come in a larger variety of styles. Being lighter they'll give you better gas mileage but being lighter they are also weaker so there is the possibility of bending a wheel. Steels are stronger, much cheaper and the most common in the offroading community. Reason being that they are the most popular is the strength. But I doubt you will be doing hard enough wheeling to bend or dent a rim. Also aluminum is know for getting better gas mileage but I doubt it'll make that much of a difference. Personally I prefer the look of aluminum wheels. Steels don't really come in any variety. But if you are looking for good cheap wheels steels are the way to go.

[Mark]

Was looking on craigslist for a 15 inch wheel to match up with what Ihad, and got wondering if I should look at 16 inch wheels. I am planning on puttiing 31 inch tires under the cherokee, and I am wonderingif now would be a good time to swap out wheels. Anyones oppinion would be appriciated.
Phil
Not sure but 15s have been around for a while whereas 16,17,20 are new.but 14s you can hardly even find anymore I guess it's just a matter of choice,I have 15s and can go all the way to 33 with 15s..guess if you just want a change then you could go with bigger rims.not much help but good luck!

[jayson44]

tire sizes are available up to 42" for 15s...so the tire availability isn't that much to consider. and pricing between 15s and 16s isn't that much either. I had posted this very same question only a few months back. I'm going with 16s, only because the tire I want (new BFG KO2s) aren't available in a 35/15 yet, but are in a 35/16.

again, not much difference either way. go with whatever you can find or whatever you like. :)

J.

[ILuvtheMountains]

I would go with 16s for the seemingly wider choice of tires and probable availability of tires when needed.
I have aluminum wheels and have hit them on rocks many times and not yet bent a rim and even though the material scratches easily, the scratches don't rust!

[xaza]

One added benefit to the 16 inch rim is the ability to upgrade front brakes for more stopping power. Stock 15" rims with their offset often require modifications to caliper for clearance. We blew a sidewall on a tire about a year ago and had a ton of difficulty finding a used 15" tire to get us through the rest of the weekend. Of course we didn't have much for options in a smaller mountain town but experienced same thing when looking for a trail spare for my XJ locally. Finding used tires is getting more difficult in any size but the 15s seems to be very few and far between.

[Hypoid]

I am planning on puttiing 31 inch tires under the cherokeeA) Update your profile.
B) Tell us all about that Cherokee. :)

[FINOCJ]

I would go with 16s for the seemingly wider choice of tires and probable availability of tires when needed.
I have aluminum wheels and have hit them on rocks many times and not yet bent a rim and even though the material scratches easily, the scratches don't rust!

x2! and I run 15s on my cj but size selection is very limited in tall but narrow tires (say 33x10.5).

[Shadowmaker]

These days 265/75r16 is pretty cheap and available and I think it is pretty close to a 31" tire. I ran a 285/75 on my Cherokee with a 4.5" lift and I was very happy with it.

Check out this site for metric sizing info...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc

[Lowfill]

ok guys thanks again for all the info. I am planning on updating the profile completly once I am done with the mods. Just for info purposes, 2000 jeep cherokee,forest green 226k on the odomiter. Should have by this weekend, 1 smitty built front winch bumper w/bullbar, roughch country 3" lift with full rear springs, smitty built rear bumper with reciever, and spare tire rack, sway bar disconects, and hopefully next week rock sliders from offroad armor, 16" wheels with 31" treadwright tires, and 1' spacers.
Hopefully that will get the wife and I up to see some pretty scenery, mines, and ghost towns.
Thanks again all Pictures to follow this weekend. Build time.