Jeep Patriot Forums banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

15" wheel project

Jump to Latest
1 - 18 of 18 Posts

the_mad_rshn

· Registered
Joined
·
124 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
Hello all,

I am a new Jeep owner. Just bought my '14 Patriot Lat 4x4 in Feb. I love the car, but right then I realized, I was not a big fan of the tires. At the time we had a few big snow storms here in VA and I noticed that my new vehicle does not perform as well in snow in the 4x4 mode as my old Rodeo. So I started looking in to new, bigger tires and a possible lift. I ended up picking up a set of 5, used wheels for $125 locally from CL. They are from Wrangler TJ. The rims are called Gambler, 15x8, 5.25" backspace. The tires, 30/9.5, which I will replace right away with 235/70R-15, if ican fit them on the front. The wheels seem to fit perfectly on the back, but the fron calipers are on the way. It looks like I would have to either grind the calipers or install 1.25" spacers. I wonder if I can just install the spacers up front and not in the back. As you can see from pics of the trial install, the rims look super-mean. I just love the look. In the future I would love to install the 2 inch lift, but I will wait for a deal.

I also want to thank all of you guys for such a great amount of information. Thank you very much (in my best Elvis Presly voice).

Any advice on this matter is appreciated too.
Let me see if I can attach pictures here.








Cheers,
Mad
 
Discussion starter · #2 · (Edited)
Ok. So not working well so far. After looking at the wheel and the caliper more carifully, I noticed that there is not enough room not just the diameter wise, but also the caliper sticks out too far so that if I want to have the rim pushed against the disk , one would have to grind the side surface of the caliper, making it too thin, impossible. In other words, I need to buy a 1.25" wheel spacers :-(
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
Discussion starter · #5 · (Edited)
So I got the 1.25" hub centric wheel spacers for Wrangler TJ wheels. The center bore is 71.5 mm in size. I also ordered hub centric adapters with ID 67.1 and OD 71.5 to put between the hubs and the spacers. I had a couple of free hours tonight so I decided to do another test run with the 30/9.5-15 tire mounted and, man, it worked well. It looks like the tire rubs slightly agains the plastic cover right on the seem right before the full lock. I drove around the parking lot and I heard/felt nothing. So my guess is if I install the 235/75R15 tire, it will not rub at all. Here are some pictures of my progress:







BTW. I took evrything back to the stock. I need to get new tires mounted first.

Cheers,
Mad
 
Discussion starter · #6 · (Edited)
Done

Hey all,

So finally I am done. Phew!!!
I spent several days looking for the right used tires. And today I was able to find the set of 4 Michelins LTX that looked almost new for the price of a one new one. They are 235/75R15. I installed the spacers and the hub centric adapters under the spacers, so now the whole setup is more rugged. I need to recheck everything after 25 miles. Make sure that the bolts are holding everything well. By the way, I weighed the original 17 inch wheel and the new one. It is 43.8 lbs vs. 48.8 lbs respectively.

I took the car for a short ride down the street at about 60 mps and then to the dirt road area. at first it felt weird a bit. Like the car would not stay straight on its own, but later the feeling went away. I also noticed the ride being much smoother on asphalt and on the gravel and dirt. The same, familiar bumps felt non-existent at times. WOW. I guess I understand now why some of you like the 15 inchers so much. I do now. Oh, yeah. Almost forgot the important thing. The wheel does not rub anywhere in the wheel well. From the picture all the way at the bottom of this post you can see that I still have about 1/4" or a little more between the edge of the tire and the famous seem.

I forgot to add that I also installed 4 MOPAR used TPMS sensors from Ebay for 20 bucks and they work so far. Looks like the Jeep accepted them right away.

Here is a picture with the OEM wheels that I took of my ride yesterday in Shenandoah National Park, Skyline Drive, VA.



Below are pictures of what my ride looks like right now. I love it, man!!! :pepper:














 
#8 ·
Looks great already. Hope you find a good deal on a lift, that would really finish the trail look your going for.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Sandstone said:
Looks really good, congrats on the nice setup!

:D Sorry, had to smile at that.

Yeah, that extra sidewall can make a noticeable difference. Be interesting to see how the MPG's do with a little taller tire. Notice any change yet?
Click to expand...
I haven't clocked the MPG yet, simply because I haven't driven long enough after the conversion, however I did notice that my speedometer is about 5% skewed :-(

Cheers,
Mad
 
#12 ·
Man it looks great!! I'm trying to go the same route and install 15" wheels I found these off a TJ they are calling them ravine but don't look like yours to me. Hope I can make the purchase and make it work out like you did!

Dang can't post pic of them
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #14 ·
#15 ·
#18 ·
If I understand you correctly ,you have 1.25" spacers in front and 2" rear?

Either wat, it looks damn good! I just ordered 1.25" for my 20x8.5 ET45 wheels. Exited to see how it fits, but I'm a little worried that the front wheel will poke more than the rear wheel? Or will it be equal both front and rear?
 
1 - 18 of 18 Posts
About this Discussion
17 Replies
8 Participants
Last post:
famguy
Jeep Patriot Forums
posts
678K
members
55K
Since
2006
Join our community to discuss the Jeep Patriot & Jeep Compass. Find answers to all your Jeep Patriot technical questions.
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Jeep Patriot General Discussion Engine and Drivetrain Newbie Check-In Suspension and Tires Electrical and Audio