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Anyone considering 34”?

Reeb65

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I initially went with 285/75x17 E's BFG KO's which were fine but offered little to no noticeable difference on the stock wheel which
i was looking into what tires I might get when the Falkens need replacing on my Rubicon.

The stock tire is 285/70x17 and I was looking for a little more sidewall so I typed in 285/75x17 into the Tirerack’s website and came up with several including the famous BFG’s. These are also E rated which would be a plus when I end up putting a cap and RTT on the truck. These tires are about 34” in diameter versus the factory 33’s.

I really don’t think I want a wider tire like some here like (to each their own).

Any comments?
I like you did not want a wider tire and went with a 285/75x17 E BFG KO2 on the stock wheel. After having the tire for about 1,000 miles it began to wear on me how little the difference there was between the 285/70 and the 285/75 and made the switch to 315/70/17 C BFG KO2's which look a ton better..it just fills out the wheel wells better. Maybe its the difference the the load rating but the 315's ride better. And by a stoke of luck Discount Tire only charged me a mounting fee for the bigger tires.

285's.jpg


315's.jpg
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GladiatoRic

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I initially went with 285/75x17 E's BFG KO's which were fine but offered little to no noticeable difference on the stock wheel which


I like you did not want a wider tire and went with a 285/75x17 E BFG KO2 on the stock wheel. After having the tire for about 1,000 miles it began to wear on me how little the difference there was between the 285/70 and the 285/75 and made the switch to 315/70/17 C BFG KO2's which look a ton better..it just fills out the wheel wells better. Maybe its the difference the the load rating but the 315's ride better. And by a stoke of luck Discount Tire only charged me a mounting fee for the bigger tires.

285's.jpg


315's.jpg
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I like the 285/75/R17 it's better in heavy rain on the highway just being 11.2' wide made a difference mine are 33.8' so close to 34' nitto ridge Grappler . they wear very straight & long lasting perfect for sand which serves my needs. if you like a narrow tire Nitto trail Grapplers have a 35' 11.5' 17LT C 118Q is 34.76 dia.
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I ran the 285/75-17 KO2s, but ended up going 315/70-17 in the end. The fuel economy difference was almost zero. The 285/75 measures 33.5" unmounted and 33.0" on the Jeep. The listed dimensions of tires are always on a specific wheel width, at specific PSI, and including the bulge of the sidewalls. You and I measure totally differently, in a straight line, with weight on the tire, at different PSI usually. That's why a "34" only measures 33 on the Jeep.

Anyhow, the 285/75 is a nice option, but personally after running both there is no reason at all in my mind not to just do the 315/70.
 

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I ran the 285/75-17 KO2s, but ended up going 315/70-17 in the end. The fuel economy difference was almost zero. The 285/75 measures 33.5" unmounted and 33.0" on the Jeep. The listed dimensions of tires are always on a specific wheel width, at specific PSI, and including the bulge of the sidewalls. You and I measure totally differently, in a straight line, with weight on the tire, at different PSI usually. That's why a "34" only measures 33 on the Jeep.

Anyhow, the 285/75 is a nice option, but personally after running both there is no reason at all in my mind not to just do the 315/70.
EDIT: aahhhhh nevermind: if anyone wants to chime in with first hand experience feel free to read on. Otherwise, all the searching in the world just adds more and more "i dont rub at all" and the next guy says "i rub at full lock and when flexing" etc etc. I think the smart thing to do is go with the 34, see for myself, and then in a few years sell em cheap and upgrade to 35's if the 34's cause no trouble.

I have been going crazy trying to decide this same thing as well. I'm a stock height Sport S with max tow. I'm bent between 285/75 or 315/70 OR 35/12.50. I plan to do a MILD spacer lift to maintain my coils for max tow purposes. I probably don't need max tow capability anymore to be honest, used to tow my F-body on an open trailer a few times per year, but now it's just utility trailers with some older garden tractors and attachments (maybe 4,000lbs at the most). That all being said, I don't care about gas mileage, what I do care about is loss of acceleration, hunting for gears, and RUBBING! I want to keep a MILD rake, so i'll be doing something like a 1.5" spacer up front, and maybe .5" or .75" in the rear....followed by cutting those fender to bumper extension pieces. That all being said, everyone claims 35s on a stock sport S with max tow wont rub...but I haven't found too much stating they wont rub when off road flexing and steering specifically. Decisions decisions. WXman, I'm also leaning toward keeping my stock sport s rims for now, since the upgraded rubicon rims i want are a bit pricey and rare to find around here. Not in the market to drop 2,000 on rims and tires. SOOOOO, i'm bent. hahaha. Half of me is saying if i'm going to end up with a 34...just go the extra size, but the other half is saying somehow i'll find a way to make them rub, or i'll go crazy with the horrible acceleration. Anyone have more input?
 
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Reeb65

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EDIT: aahhhhh nevermind: if anyone wants to chime in with first hand experience feel free to read on. Otherwise, all the searching in the world just adds more and more "i dont rub at all" and the next guy says "i rub at full lock and when flexing" etc etc. I think the smart thing to do is go with the 34, see for myself, and then in a few years sell em cheap and upgrade to 35's if the 34's cause no trouble.

I have been going crazy trying to decide this same thing as well. I'm a stock height Sport S with max tow. I'm bent between 285/75 or 315/70 OR 35/12.50. I plan to do a MILD spacer lift to maintain my coils for max tow purposes. I probably don't need max tow capability anymore to be honest, used to tow my F-body on an open trailer a few times per year, but now it's just utility trailers with some older garden tractors and attachments (maybe 4,000lbs at the most). That all being said, I don't care about gas mileage, what I do care about is loss of acceleration, hunting for gears, and RUBBING! I want to keep a MILD rake, so i'll be doing something like a 1.5" spacer up front, and maybe .5" or .75" in the rear....followed by cutting those fender to bumper extension pieces. That all being said, everyone claims 35s on a stock sport S with max tow wont rub...but I haven't found too much stating they wont rub when off road flexing and steering specifically. Decisions decisions. WXman, I'm also leaning toward keeping my stock sport s rims for now, since the upgraded rubicon rims i want are a bit pricey and rare to find around here. Not in the market to drop 2,000 on rims and tires. SOOOOO, i'm bent. hahaha. Half of me is saying if i'm going to end up with a 34...just go the extra size, but the other half is saying somehow i'll find a way to make them rub, or i'll go crazy with the horrible acceleration. Anyone have more input?
I can help some on the acceleration end. I went from the stock Falken M/T's to the 285/75 BFG KO2 which was about the same weight (61 pounds ish). Obviously no difference detected. Then I went up to the 315/70's C which weigh about 64 pounds. I would say there is a difference but its barely detectable and not noticeable. On my last truck (Ram 1500) I added Nitto Trail Grapples which I loved but where much heavier than stock. The handling and acceleration difference was very apparent. My point being the the weight is one of the major factors that degrades performance and handling so if you are considering a large tire and want the keep your current performance look for a tire that has not spent a lot of time in the buffet line.
 

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EDIT: aahhhhh nevermind: if anyone wants to chime in with first hand experience feel free to read on. Otherwise, all the searching in the world just adds more and more "i dont rub at all" and the next guy says "i rub at full lock and when flexing" etc etc. I think the smart thing to do is go with the 34, see for myself, and then in a few years sell em cheap and upgrade to 35's if the 34's cause no trouble.

I have been going crazy trying to decide this same thing as well. I'm a stock height Sport S with max tow. I'm bent between 285/75 or 315/70 OR 35/12.50. I plan to do a MILD spacer lift to maintain my coils for max tow purposes. I probably don't need max tow capability anymore to be honest, used to tow my F-body on an open trailer a few times per year, but now it's just utility trailers with some older garden tractors and attachments (maybe 4,000lbs at the most). That all being said, I don't care about gas mileage, what I do care about is loss of acceleration, hunting for gears, and RUBBING! I want to keep a MILD rake, so i'll be doing something like a 1.5" spacer up front, and maybe .5" or .75" in the rear....followed by cutting those fender to bumper extension pieces. That all being said, everyone claims 35s on a stock sport S with max tow wont rub...but I haven't found too much stating they wont rub when off road flexing and steering specifically. Decisions decisions. WXman, I'm also leaning toward keeping my stock sport s rims for now, since the upgraded rubicon rims i want are a bit pricey and rare to find around here. Not in the market to drop 2,000 on rims and tires. SOOOOO, i'm bent. hahaha. Half of me is saying if i'm going to end up with a 34...just go the extra size, but the other half is saying somehow i'll find a way to make them rub, or i'll go crazy with the horrible acceleration. Anyone have more input?
Sounds like you're doing exactly what I did. I have 2" spacers up front, 0.75" in the rear. With the winch bumper it has a MILD rake which is what I wanted since I do haul and tow.

315/70-17 or 35x12.50 will rub on a totally stock Max Tow. Even with a small spacer lift in the front, mine rubbed and I ended up trimming the lower air dam. The 1.5" lift in the front may still require minor trimming. It'll be close.

As far as acceleration, hunting for gears, etc....it will be very noticeable. The stock Max Tow tires are 31" tall and weigh 33 lbs. A 315/70-17 goes 34" tall and mine weighed 68 lbs. That's a HUGE difference and that's at each corner so you ARE going to feel the added sluggishness and weight. Having said that, I did get used to it and it didn't make the Jeep miserable. 8th gear obviously won't happen as often. But it's livable. I lost 2.5 MPG or so average on my weekly commutes.
 

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I ran the 285/75-17 KO2s, but ended up going 315/70-17 in the end. The fuel economy difference was almost zero. The 285/75 measures 33.5" unmounted and 33.0" on the Jeep. The listed dimensions of tires are always on a specific wheel width, at specific PSI, and including the bulge of the sidewalls. You and I measure totally differently, in a straight line, with weight on the tire, at different PSI usually. That's why a "34" only measures 33 on the Jeep.

Anyhow, the 285/75 is a nice option, but personally after running both there is no reason at all in my mind not to just do the 315/70.
It’s the width that i like I’m in Houston & we get heavy puddling on the highway the wider the tire & the tread design the worst it is . This size is a good compromise, most 33” tires are not 33” same with 35” tires it depends on the tire manufacturers. Nitto has a stiff sidewall a very heavy built tire i run 30psi per chalk test, on my JK they ran 27 Psi.
 

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It’s the width that i like I’m in Houston & we get heavy puddling on the highway the wider the tire & the tread design the worst it is . This size is a good compromise, most 33” tires are not 33” same with 35” tires it depends on the tire manufacturers. Nitto has a stiff sidewall a very heavy built tire i run 30psi per chalk test, on my JK they ran 27 Psi.
What is the chalk test?
 

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I’m getting my 305/70/17 A/T’s mounted tomorrow on my Sport S / no lift other than Rubi takeoff suspension and shocks.
 

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I’m getting my 305/70/17 A/T’s mounted tomorrow on my Sport S / no lift other than Rubi takeoff suspension and shocks.
305s are what I am leaning towards. Please post picks and reviews when you have them and able to. Thanks
 

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I’m considering a set of 295/70/18 for my overland when it arrives. Tire calculator shows it will be 34.3”, which should hopefully fit the overland with no lift.
 

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I’m considering a set of 295/70/18 for my overland when it arrives. Tire calculator shows it will be 34.3”, which should hopefully fit the overland with no lift.
It should be fine.
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