Observations: 33's to 35's
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Sure ya won't
lol...I wouldn't consider a parking lot dangerous. Although you did almost curb my tire!!!
It's interesting you say power loss is minimal on the 33s. What are you comparing to? Stock 31 street tires?
How heavy were your 305/70/16 KM2s? My Toyo MT in the same size were so much heavier than stock street tires and the power loss is absolutely huge.
I have to floor the pedal all day. I need to consciously force the truck to downshift via a pedal smash up a hill or else I will very slowly accelerate with pedal to the metal.
I will do a similar writeup once I get more miles on these guys for others thinking of heavier tires.
I can hardly imagine the drop in power to 35s... wow!
This is huge. Even a small mass at the edge of the tires is very difficult to get rolling. It's especially evident when the power source is you, like on a bicycle when you mod the wheels.
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Tell you what. I will slide under my LX with a digital caliper this week and post back. Anyone with a LC willing to do the same?
very possible. I ran this type of setup on jeeps for years.
http://4x4xplor.com/homediscos.html
http://www.wranglerforum.com/f5/homemade-sway-bar-quick-disconnects-51982.html
buy a few spare cotter pins if you get grad 5 but buy grade 8 if possible.
Nick,
Great write up. This has helped me confirm staying with my 33s instead of going to 35s. I still want to add a small lift to give me a bit more room in my wheel wells, but given how I drive, it will be more for aesthetics than rock crawling functionality.
Great write up. This has helped me confirm staying with my 33s instead of going to 35s. I still want to add a small lift to give me a bit more room in my wheel wells, but given how I drive, it will be more for aesthetics than rock crawling functionality.
Thank you for this thread.... I've been considering the move up to 35".... and this has me back staying with 33". I have plenty of tread, so I don't have to change for at least 2 years. Up until now, I have been very cautious fearing the exploded front diff... but now that that has been addressed, I feel the next year or so will determine if I decide to step up to a 35. There are ways to address it, such as Dan's body lift, but it is a slippery slope. The steering rack issues seem to be relegated to those going to the 35", gearing seems to be a necessity... it seems like there is a lot of $, problems associated with 2" gain.
On the pro side for 33", I like that I can take 2 spares, 1 underneath, and one on the swing out, and still have a second swing out for jerry cans.
On the pro side for 33", I like that I can take 2 spares, 1 underneath, and one on the swing out, and still have a second swing out for jerry cans.
Don't be scared of the 35's. They work great. Like anything, there is a tradeoff, one utility increases while another decreases. I've used 35's as a DD and it is completely functional although a bit of a pig. If economy and acceleration trumps trail use then by all means go with 33's. I will say that 35's on the trail are very nice. Keep in mind this is the only mod that will increase the height of the lowest point on the truck. Large diameter also makes be obstacles seem small.
The one thing that really hasn't been addressed here that's just as big of an impact is width. I know Nick is liking his 315's. For my use that would be too wide of a tire. If anything, I'd like to go more narrow next time. 285/75 R18 would be ideal. The width adds weight, rolling resistance, and wind resistance compared to a similar diameter but narrower. Also depends upon the terrain of your typical mission, i.e. do you need flotation in soft sand.
As a data point, in a 33" class BFG AT, a 305/70R16 weighs 61 lbs while a 285/75R16 weighs 59 lbs and a 275/70R18 weighs 57 lbs. Switching brands and size class, a 35" in MTR Kevlar in a 285/75R18 weighs 65 lbs while a 305/75R16 weighs 67 lbs.
The one thing that really hasn't been addressed here that's just as big of an impact is width. I know Nick is liking his 315's. For my use that would be too wide of a tire. If anything, I'd like to go more narrow next time. 285/75 R18 would be ideal. The width adds weight, rolling resistance, and wind resistance compared to a similar diameter but narrower. Also depends upon the terrain of your typical mission, i.e. do you need flotation in soft sand.
As a data point, in a 33" class BFG AT, a 305/70R16 weighs 61 lbs while a 285/75R16 weighs 59 lbs and a 275/70R18 weighs 57 lbs. Switching brands and size class, a 35" in MTR Kevlar in a 285/75R18 weighs 65 lbs while a 305/75R16 weighs 67 lbs.
One thing I used to do with my Jeep is just keep a set of dedicated trail tires. I ran 33x12.5 GY MTRs for the street and daily use, then I had a set of 34x10.5 Super Super TSLs that were more like 35s I would swap on to for trail duty. I have 5 extra 100 wheels, and I'm currently looking for a nice set of used Swampers to put on the extra wheels and only throw them on for the weekends. Something to think about if you want the best of both worlds!
^ why would you run an MTR as your street tire? These are not cheap and have a very short tread life, and are LOUD. Not hating, just honestly curious.
It was the old tread design and lasted pretty good if I recall correctly...this was a LONG time ago - I'm guessing around 2001-2002 or so when I was in college. I bought the MTRs used from a Jeep club member for around 2 bills for 4 nearly new tires so I jumped on it. A decade later, I wouldn't want anything more aggressive than Duratracs for a daily driver - which I've found to be great all around tires and for ski trips - but I'd still like a far more aggressive and tough tire for the weekend trips!
I ran 38" sx swampers on beadlocked wheels for the trail and 35" ATs on alumimum wheels for the street. Took 2 minutes to swap them in teh garage with a floor jack and air tools.
Personally, I found that I hated swapping tires before a run and storing an extra set of tires. It was worth it to me to run a more aggressive tire all of the time (Trxus MT, MTR, etc.). I also came to the realization that I really like the sound of mud tires.
I'm with you on that one. To that end, I bought a 2nd iPhone RAM mount just to leave in the truck so I didn't have to swap it out of my DD. I like everything to be ready so trip day is PNP.
mcgaskins said:
I do the same thing with my 100; 33's for the road, and 35's for the trails.
Sent from my Thunderbonner using IH8MUD
CreeperSleeper said:
I would run my 35s daily, but I'm worried about premature wear and tear on the front end components associated with this, especially the steering rack.
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Hey hey!
Welcome to my world
Some points form me:
- I run extended sway bar links, I don’t need the extra articulation so I prefer to keep them on, I had a machine shop extend them by 50mm. the combination of no sway bar, sluggish handling, acceleration and breaking was too much of a risk for me on a daily driver.
- If you get wheel spacers get 1” MAX! I have 1.25 and they are just a tiny bit too wide with the BFG’s the wheel cant go straight up unto the front fender. If you flex one side at a time its fine but if you compress the whole front end the tyres will connect with the fenders.
- I also have no rubbing issues (except mildly on the sway bar) after cutting and pounding the body seam at the back of the wheel.
- I’m in serious need of longer bump stops! I push washers in my stock ones to space them down but it wasn’t enough.
- Your steering rack will eventually go, so budget for a new one.
- Your ball joints will eventually go, so budget for new ones.
Welcome to my world
Some points form me:
- I run extended sway bar links, I don’t need the extra articulation so I prefer to keep them on, I had a machine shop extend them by 50mm. the combination of no sway bar, sluggish handling, acceleration and breaking was too much of a risk for me on a daily driver.
- If you get wheel spacers get 1” MAX! I have 1.25 and they are just a tiny bit too wide with the BFG’s the wheel cant go straight up unto the front fender. If you flex one side at a time its fine but if you compress the whole front end the tyres will connect with the fenders.
- I also have no rubbing issues (except mildly on the sway bar) after cutting and pounding the body seam at the back of the wheel.
- I’m in serious need of longer bump stops! I push washers in my stock ones to space them down but it wasn’t enough.
- Your steering rack will eventually go, so budget for a new one.
- Your ball joints will eventually go, so budget for new ones.
sorry for the zombie post: but...
i am seriously considering going back to 33s after running around with the 35s. get some mpgs, nimbleness, and overall road manners back.
the ability to stuff a 33 spare in the spare compartment is huge for me. i hated having a swingout for my spare.
i am seriously considering going back to 33s after running around with the 35s. get some mpgs, nimbleness, and overall road manners back.
the ability to stuff a 33 spare in the spare compartment is huge for me. i hated having a swingout for my spare.
