Metalcloak 3.5 game changer ride harshness

[Darth Rubicon]

I'm old school and prefer the tire to be at least twice the size of the wheel. I wouldn't go out and buy new wheels if I bought a jeep on 20s, but you can also make the argument that you're negating some of the benefits of going to a bigger tires by running a big wheel. Like your math shows, the 37s have the same sidewall as stock 33s. 37s on a 17" wheel have 25% more sidewall than stock. Easy answer if you have 20s...run 40s.

There’s still a lot of tread on these but when the time comes I’ll definitely make some changes. Unless I find an interesting trade opportunity along the way.

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[Sweetums]

I'm old school and prefer the tire to be at least twice the size of the wheel. I wouldn't go out and buy new wheels if I bought a jeep on 20s, but you can also make the argument that you're negating some of the benefits of going to a bigger tires by running a big wheel. Like your math shows, the 37s have the same sidewall as stock 33s. 37s on a 17" wheel have 25% more sidewall than stock. Easy answer if you have 20s...run 40s.

The only sidewall that matters is over the contact patch, the sidewall at the top of the tire isn't doing anything and doesn't count. 37" tire size is usually more like 36" in actual measurement. So (36" tire)-(20" wheel) = (16" total sidewall).
Now cut that in half, since we are only looking at the sidewall between the lip of the wheel and the ground - and you have 8"
Now drop about 15% off that 8" since your tire deforms on the ground and you have 6.8" of actual sidewall at normal tire inflation.

If we do the math for a 17" rim with the same tire
(36" tire)-(17 wheel) = 19 total sidewall
19/2=9.5
9.5-15%= 8"

The 17" gets 1.2" more sidewall than the 20" wheel. That doesn't seem like much, but if you look at it in terms of percentage, the 17" wheel gets 17.65% more sidewall than the 20".

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

The only sidewall that matters is over the contact patch, the sidewall at the top of the tire isn't doing anything and doesn't count. 37" tire size is usually more like 36" in actual measurement. So (36" tire)-(20" wheel) = (16" total sidewall).
Now cut that in half, since we are only looking at the sidewall between the lip of the wheel and the ground - and you have 8"
Now drop about 15% off that 8" since your tire deforms on the ground and you have 6.8" of actual sidewall at normal tire inflation.

If we do the math for a 17" rim with the same tire
(36" tire)-(17 wheel) = 19 total sidewall
19/2=9.5
9.5-15%= 8"

The 17" gets 1.2" more sidewall than the 20" wheel. That doesn't seem like much, but if you look at it in terms of percentage, the 17" wheel gets 17.65% more sidewall than the 20".

And the math for a stock setup compared to 20s with 37s.

(32" tire)-(17 wheel) = 15 total sidewall
15/2=7.5
7.5-15%= 6.375"

Vs 6.8" for the 20s with 37s.

If 20s with 37s needs more sidewall, so does stock.

So in conclusion, everybody needs bigger tires.

 

[Sweetums]

And the math for a stock setup compared to 20s with 37s.

(32" tire)-(17 wheel) = 15 total sidewall
15/2=7.5
7.5-15%= 6.375"

Vs 6.8" for the 20s with 37s.

If 20s with 37s needs more sidewall, so does stock.

So in conclusion, everybody needs bigger tires.

The thing you're forgetting is the size of the obstacles. A stock Jeep is not going to be taking on obstacles that need a 37" tire. Things that size need more sidewall and lower pressures.

You also knocked a full inch off a 33" tire, that's not the case. At larger sizes you can be down as much as an inch, but at a smaller 33" they are closer to the true size. The discrepancy is percentage-based, not just 1". Take the Falken Wildpeak AT4, the 33" tire on a 17" rim is 32.8" true measurement - your estimate was off by 80%.

From the Falken website:

 

[Zachanadandy]

And the math for a stock setup compared to 20s with 37s.

(32" tire)-(17 wheel) = 15 total sidewall
15/2=7.5
7.5-15%= 6.375"

Vs 6.8" for the 20s with 37s.

If 20s with 37s needs more sidewall, so does stock.

So in conclusion, everybody needs bigger tires.

And if you bump up to 39s on a 17" wheel like on our JLUR. 38-17=21" total sidewall. 10.5" under the wheel. I'll take more sidewall every time.

 

[Darth Rubicon]

I’m glad you guys know the math. All I know is I can drive over a lot more stuff now than I could in my frontier on 33’s.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

The thing you're forgetting is the size of the obstacles. A stock Jeep is not going to be taking on obstacles that need a 37" tire. Things that size need more sidewall and lower pressures.

You also knocked a full inch off a 33" tire, that's not the case. At larger sizes you can be down as much as an inch, but at a smaller 33" they are closer to the true size. The discrepancy is percentage-based, not just 1". Take the Falken Wildpeak AT4, the 33" tire on a 17" rim is 32.8" true measurement - your estimate was off by 80%.

From the Falken website:

Not debating who wheels more. There are tons of guys on 37s that never wheel.

Take manufacturer measurements for both sizes if that's what you're going to use.

From the Falken website, a 37 is a 37:

 

[Sweetums]

Then there's our old-school LJ rocking the 15"s.

34.6-15=19.6
19.6/2=9.8
9.8-1.47=8.33" of actual sidewall with a 35" tire, .33" more than a 37" on a 17" and 1.53" more than a 37" on a 20" rim despite being a smaller tire.

(34.6" measurement taken from a Mickey Thompson Baja Boss MT 35" for a 15" rim. BF Goodrich KM3 is similar at 34.5")

 

[Zachanadandy]

Then there's our old-school LJ rocking the 15"s.

34.6-15=19.6
19.6/2=9.8
9.8-1.47=8.33" of actual sidewall with a 35" tire, .33" more than a 37" on a 17" and 1.53" more than a 37" on a 20" rim despite being a smaller tire.

(34.6" measurement taken from a Mickey Thompson Baja Boss MT 35" for a 15" rim. BF Goodrich KM3 is similar at 34.5")

15's only fit because of the tiny brakes. Definitely wouldn't go bigger than a 35" and expect it to stop. I'll stick with much better brakes and 17s in any tire size.

 

[Sweetums]

You don't really need big brakes when you are going slow off road and not towing.

 

[Zachanadandy]

You don't really need big brakes when you are going slow off road and not towing.

Which is what makes the JLs and JTs so impressive. Our JLUR will hang with any full bodied rig off road, and then comfortably drive 85mph clear across the country home from the trails. With a TJ, LJ or even a JK it was either built for crawling and miserable on the highway or it was decent on the highway. Especially the 8 speed really revolutionized crawling in rigs you can roadtrip and/or daily drive.

 

[Darth Rubicon]

Slightly off topic but I ordered a full set of reds from @Metalcloak and was shocked they called me a couple hours later with a shipping update. I’m so used to begging companies for shipping info months later ( still waiting on a bracket from an unnamed company from my previous vehicle). Countless horror stories of insane shipping times but Metalcloak just earned my repeat business as long as they carry the part I’m looking for.

 

[Sweetums]

Slightly off topic but I ordered a full set of reds from @Metalcloak and was shocked they called me a couple hours later with a shipping update. I’m so used to begging companies for shipping info months later ( still waiting on a bracket from an unnamed company from my previous vehicle). Countless horror stories of insane shipping times but Metalcloak just earned my repeat business as long as they carry the part I’m looking for.

I see what you did there.

 

[Darth Rubicon]

Coming back to this as I’m swapping out shocks today. I just discovered they didn’t even buy the adapters for the rears. So my rear shocks have been topping out over the tiniest rock in the road…

 

[DRHansen]

I had the same unusual experience with Metalcloak. When I received the call stating the order was processed and confirmed a delivery date, I couldn't believe it. I'm old school and still believe customer services drives business, this may have been a little overkill, but I'll take it all day long.

OP, it sounds like you have found the solution and reason for the rough ride. You'll have to let us know if it resolved your ride.

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