PEAK PUTTERS

Looking for opinions on 15 vs 17 in wheels for tires in the 33-35in flavor. My natural instinct is 15`s for sidewall flex, sidewall flotation and rim protection. But, the cheap a$$ in me sees tons of 17" takeoffs on Craigslist. It also seems like the trend in the off-road tire industry is toward 17`s.

What are your thoughts?

I think a lightish rig is works better with 15" wheels and C rated tires for flex and flotation.

100% agree with Steve. 15's are the right answer.

Full disclosure: I disagree with anything over a 15 for any tire smaller than a 37 for a wheeler. Tow pigs are different.

I agree with staying at 15's for tires under 37" for off-road. I think a cheap set of black Pro-Comp steelies is the way to go. The industry standard for truck wheels is highly marketed towards 17's and larger because most trucks and JK's these days come with 17's or larger, and it's easy for people to finance new shiny wheels wrapped with heavy Toyo's

I have a white 15x8 rim with a 5 on 4.5 BP if you need one for a spare. You can have it.

OK, I'll be different.
When I ordered 35x12.5x15 tires for the Azer, I got 35x12.5x17. At that time everything was on back order and it's either run 17 or wait.
I actually have had good luck with them, haven't noticed any difference between them and 15s, maybe a little extra help (I'm stretching here) the 1" of extra rim height adds.
Now these are load range C on my pig of a Blazer but they do work well for it.

I do think 35 is probably the breaking point where the sidewall gets to thin with smaller tires.
If I was going to run 35s or smaller, I'd run 15s just for the significant cost savings.

The trend in wheels in general is moving towards 17's. With larger brake systems and other components being added to the wheel area on new vehicles they just need the space. 15" tires will be around for a while but they are headed the way of 16.5's, your selection will get less and less, though it will be years before that becomes an issue. If you're looking at regular wheels it's not a big loss if you have to switch at some point due to availability of tires, but if your looking at an expensive set of bead locks you may want to think about what tires you can get 10 years from now.