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10.5 vs. 12.5 wide tire

Nannook of the north

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What were the BFG tire rated C,D, or E I've never ran anything under E rated tires on any Jeep I've ever owned and on my 4th set of BFGs and I have never had a sidewall issue. I have heard of the lower C And D rated ones having issues, but that's across the board in pretty much all tires

Also I found the Goodyear MTR mud tires with Kevlar to be a great tire off road, I would not particularly put them on a daily driver, but I ran a set on my XJ and they were great off road tires and you would behard pressed to tear a sidewall in those
Believe they were D rated
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brianinca

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I took the 33x10.5 KM2's off my YJ and put the 33x11.5 Falken AT's from my JTR on with JK Rubicon rims and a 1.5" spacer/5on5 adapter.

I prefer narrower tires because the steering is sharper and overall handling is better. We used to call them "pizza cutters" because they do look a bit odd, it was a bummer when BFG dropped the 33x9.5 size. I don't think the "cutting through the mud and snow" is a thing, airing down and getting better flotation and traction clearly is. On a light vehicle the tire patch with 10.5's is adequate and with plenty of sidewall airing down works great.

The handling is very different with the wider AT's and shorter sidewall, I was surprised how MUCH different over the 4th when we all went up to the mountains/lake. Long freeway/highway drive up and down. Having more road grip on a short wheelbase Jeep isn't a feature, it's a bug, and having a lot more wheel scrub when turning slows things down. However, a modern AT rides WAY better on the freeway and of course noise is drastically reduced. Worth it for a free set of shoes for my YJ.

I get wanting narrower tires on a JT, I simply don't understand 20" rims on a tire less than 40" diameter. 33's on a 17" rim is really pushing it, as far as I'm concerned!
 

Nannook of the north

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I took the 33x10.5 KM2's off my YJ and put the 33x11.5 Falken AT's from my JTR on with JK Rubicon rims and a 1.5" spacer/5on5 adapter.

I prefer narrower tires because the steering is sharper and overall handling is better. We used to call them "pizza cutters" because they do look a bit odd, it was a bummer when BFG dropped the 33x9.5 size. I don't think the "cutting through the mud and snow" is a thing, airing down and getting better flotation and traction clearly is. On a light vehicle the tire patch with 10.5's is adequate and with plenty of sidewall airing down works great.

The handling is very different with the wider AT's and shorter sidewall, I was surprised how MUCH different over the 4th when we all went up to the mountains/lake. Long freeway/highway drive up and down. Having more road grip on a short wheelbase Jeep isn't a feature, it's a bug, and having a lot more wheel scrub when turning slows things down. However, a modern AT rides WAY better on the freeway and of course noise is drastically reduced. Worth it for a free set of shoes for my YJ.

I get wanting narrower tires on a JT, I simply don't understand 20" rims on a tire less than 40" diameter. 33's on a 17" rim is really pushing it, as far as I'm concerned!
Give me sidewall or give me death!
 

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I have the 35 10.5 kendas and they are great tires especially for the price. But man do they throw rocks. I've always had 12.5 on all my jeeps but I'm liking the 10.5 a lot more. Lighter, quiter, better mud performance and will do better in the snow and less hydroplaning
I agree though I have seen little mud and only in snow once. I have been extremely satisfied with my kendas. Have over 7000 miles on them and just starting to show wear and ready for a rotation. You are right about the rock chucking, in a a variety of directions and at high velocity. They track very well and feel the same on wet or dry road. Always ran BFG in the past on other rigs.

I had wider tires on my tundra and I have noticed the gladiator climbs gravel roads in two wheel drive that the tundra wouldn't climb unless in 4WD. I don't know if this is because of a narrower contact patch or something else different. Also tries to hydroplane less.
 

Russler

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I know this is not the specific size you are asking about but thought it would give you a little bit of a reference of what a tall/thin set up looks like. I went with the Nitto Ridge Grapler 37x11:50 on a -1 offset 18" wheel (actual size is 36" x 11.2" at 30psi) Almost every time I have someone approach me about my truck they mention they like the look of the taller/skinny tire. I would think this group could post pics of both options for you and hopefully that helps make your decision. Good luck with your decision making.

IMG_2823.jpg
 

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Nannook of the north

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I know this is not the specific size you are asking about but thought it would give you a little bit of a reference of what a tall/thin set up looks like. I went with the Nitto Ridge Grapler 37x11:50 on a -1 offset 18" wheel (actual size is 36" x 11.2" at 30psi) Almost every time I have someone approach me about my truck they mention they like the look of the taller/skinny tire. I would think this group could post pics of both options for you and hopefully that helps make your decision. Good luck with your decision making.

Jeep Gladiator 10.5 vs. 12.5 wide tire IMG_2823
I have those in 35 12.5 on my Cummins great tire
 
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d k

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I can't argue against that point to be totally sure, but what I DO know is that in the car world, sidewall stretch makes a huge difference.
Putting a widest tire you can on a given size rim will not give you the best performance.
I dont know exactly how it would translate to off road tires, but I'm sure there is a corralation.


I'm not trying to start a argument by any means but your telling me a Kenda 10.5" tire sips mud better than a 12.5. I have had Geolander, Goodyear, and BFG over the years and either one of those three will seriously sling some mud, with Geolanders being the best I've ever ran for off-road use. As far as all around tire goes, I still gotta go with the BFGs, great in sand, snow, ice, rain, rocks and Mud, I have never hydroplaned running a set of them and that's driving the speed limit or better in some serious rain.

I'm not knocking the Kenda's, they probably are a good tire, but a wider tire and stance is going to give you a more stable ride on and off road.
 

Jeeperjamie

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I can't argue against that point to be totally sure, but what I DO know is that in the car world, sidewall stretch makes a huge difference.
Putting a widest tire you can on a given size rim will not give you the best performance.
I dont know exactly how it would translate to off road tires, but I'm sure there is a corralation.
I didn't say putting the widest tire size you can would give you better performance. Naturally you wouldn't want to run a 13.5 or 14.5 inch wide tire on a 17x7.5 wheel, I'm was particularly comparing a 10.5 to a 12.5. IMO and most off road people who rock crawl would agree, a wider tire is going to give you the better grip, meaning ones within means of the width of the wheel it's on.
 
 



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