This is really more for the full-size Jeep crowd, but if you're dealing with an older Wagoneer, Cherokee, or especially a J-truck, you'll almost definitely need to run your springs inboard to gain a little tire clearance. On the rear, trying to fit tires bigger than a 33x12.50-15 on a 15x8-inch rim will result in sidewall-to-spring interference if the backspacing is much deeper than 4 inches. And on the front, even with the lazy turning radius of the closed-knuckle front axle, you're likely to hit the tires on the leaf springs at full turn. By relocating the front and rear springs under the frame rails, you'll open up a whole new world of tire and wheel combination possibilities.
Personally, we're not huge fans of the "comp cut" thing, but sometimes there's just no getting around the need to lose the rear of your tub in the name of tire clearance. However, rather than totally chopping the rear of your body, it may be possible to strategically utilize protective corner armor with relocated wheel openings, as mentioned elsewhere in this story. Several companies, including Poison Spyder Customs, Blue Torch Fab, Gen-Right Off Road, and others, offer the corners with modified, relocated, or completely uncut (blank) wheel openings, so shop around before you break out the saber saw.
Yet another method of adding wheelbase to a CJ, YJ, or TJ is Blue Torch Fab's rear stretch kit. The kit, PN BTF 07031 for CJ and PN BFT 07017 for YJ and TJ, utilizes new spring frame mounts and a new rear bumper with integrated shackle mounts to allow the use of XJ rear springs turned backward. The kit doesn't include provisions for brake lines, shock mounts, and so on, but it's an easy way to mount the XJ springs to take advantage of their deeply offset centerpin design to move the rear axle back 6 inches.
Contact: Blue Torch FabWorks,205/521-7333, bluetorchfab.com
Not really. In fact, do the exact opposite if you can. How, you ask? Cut, and cut some more. How much will really depend on your Jeep type and your desired tire size. The point is, it's okay to make raggedy, jagged lines in your sheetmetal as long as you go big on the rubber.
Whether you're using a simple bolt-on set from a catalog, building them yourself, or some combination of both, installing a set of tube fenders and doing away with the factory flare setup really gives a lot more room for the front tires than you might think. This is a set of ubiquitous Poison Spyder Customs Tube Fenders for a TJ, although the company has applications for everything from a CJ up through a JK.
Contact: Poison Spyder Customs, 303/777-4820, spydercustoms.com
Technically, if your rig is narrow enough and your axles wide enough, you wouldn't need to trim your fenders at all to run tires as big as you like. This YJ owner narrowed the whole shebang, much like Premier Power's Pat Gremillion did to his Bronco back in the early '90s. You are old enough to remember that, right?
If you're a JK owner, just pop off the factory plastic fender flares and saw away. We're betting you can fit at least 35s on a JK easily with no lift and maybe 37s if you go hard with the jig saw. Send photos if you do, 'cause we love to be proven right.