How wide a tire can you run on a 15x8 wheel?

BigClay

BigClay

Knower of useless ZJ things
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Location
Winston-Salem
I am looking to upgrade tires to Pitbull Rockers. I was going to go with 35x12.5r15 radial, but I am leaning towards wanting a bias tire... but the only bias 35 tires they have are 14.5" wide. I already have six 15x8 wheels (two are brand new) so I don't want to invest in a new set.

Would you run a 14.5" wide tire on a 8" wide rim? What can/will happen with this combo?

My rig is 90% offroad, with occasional street driving to the gas station and pressure washer, oh and the mall :lol: :flipoff2:
 
I run 42x15-15 TSL's on 15x8 rims on my cab truck. One advantage is that it becomes much harder for the tire to burp air or come off the bead, so you can get away with running less air pressure than a wider rim. It also reduces the amount of dirt and bark that usually gets jammed down between the tire and rim.
 
I've gone as wide as a 14.5" wide tire on an 8" wide rim before and didn't have any issues...I didn't do anything too hardcore with them though.
 
The problem is how tall the tire is. The taller the tire then you can got with a narrow rim. I run 44 x 18.5 x 15 on a 10" rim, but I'm not sure I'd run a 35x14.5 on a 8" rim. If you do it will wear out the middle of the tire quickly.
 
I ran 35x12.50 on 8" rims many miles on and off road without any problem. I don't think a wider tire would be a problem. I agree it would be harder to knock it off the rim and maybe it would require different tire pressures but mostly offroad use encourages lower preesures anyway.
 
A friend of mine runs 35x13.50-15 Krawlers on 15x8 CJ steelies and ive never seen him lose a tire, and he runs like 8-10psi on the trail so i agree that it holds the tire on better, as for wear ive never run a set up like that so i cant help there.
 
if the rig is 90% offroad then tire wear shouldnt be a big factor
 
I run 35x15 TSL's on a 15x8 steelie, run them in the single digits and have yet to lose a bead, but yes, the middle did start to wear early
 
I run 37x14.5x15 Creepies on a 15x7 wheel with a DIY beadlock kit. That makes them almost 8" wide. It works great for me. I just run lower pressure on the road so it does not wear the centers out.
 
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