35's on 3.73's (Overland)

[ShelbyDee]

I know this is such a redundant question on any Jeep forum you visit, so bear with me lol.. I feel like the people here know their stuff more. I'm on a few other Gladiator/Jeep groups on Facebook and I just keep reading so much conflicting information every day about tire size, re-gearing, no re-gearing, lifts, no lifts, etc etc. I am NO expert and this is my very first Jeep. I admit, I am not using it for any crazy off-roading or wheeling. Most I would do is go down to the beach with it on the sand. I don't plan on towing anything or carrying any heavy loads either. I think I'm what you guys call a pavement princess. lol
My truck is my daily driver. And it's mainly just flat highway and city driving.

So with that being said...Can I safely slap 35's on my Overland? I do plan on getting a level lift, but otherwise I don't want to mess with re-gearing. And that's where all the conflicting info comes in. I already get 16-18 mpg city driving on the 32s, and about 22 on the highway. So if it knocks off a couple MPGs, I doubt I'll notice much. And I'm purely doing this for looks and a more aggressive tire. I really can't stand the plain looking tires on this truck right now lol.

A handful of people will say absolutely not, the truck will suffer and you'll be really unhappy with performance, and then another handful of people say that it's completely fine and won't cause any issues. So what is it in your opinion? Thanks for the advice in advance!

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[Sarge502]

Based on what you say your use is. You'd be fine. I'm sure some "expert" will come behind me and give you a million reasons why not. But I'm running 35s for nearly the entirety I've had my Overland (2020) and it's definitely manageable. For now I'm on stock wheels but won't be for long. But I'm keeping the same tires for my new wheels when I get them since they're practically brand new still. I would get a Tazer mini to recalibrate your odometer. Of course you'll take a slight bit more hit on MPG but that's a given regardless.

I don't tow. I do take it off road on occasion and it performs well within my limits. But although I don't drive mine everyday due to my profession, I can say it isn't a problem. If I plan to regear it will be for 37s but honestly I'm back and forth about that and don't wanna do it anytime soon if at all. So I'll probably just stay with 35s.

Pic for reference. Sitting on Teraflex front leveling kit and Rubicon suspension

 

[mstrpoz]

My Sport S came with 35s from the dealership and I am averaging 17.5 MPG mixed driving. I would say on the highway over 65MPH I am mostly in 7th gear but it does shift to 8th sometimes. I have just over 2,000 miles on the truck since I got it last month and do not really have complaints over performance (or at all).

 

[ShastaJT6]

I know youll get a lot of different answers on this, but Ill chime in, as I recently regeared.

I have a 2021 Willys, 8 speed AT, 3.6 Gasser. Lifted 3.5" front / 2" rear. Shes built up with a ton of steel and was overburdened - Side Steps, Skid Plates, Bumpers, Roll Bar, Winch, the list goes on. I already was carrying a family of 4 when driving by myself as far as the powertrain was concerned.

I went from the stock 33s to Toyo 35s on KMC 17x9s. Noticeable lag, in addition to the vehicle already feeling overloaded. I definitely felt that I would be putting additional wear and tear on the powertrain if I didnt regear. One road trip into high altitude solidified that belief for me, the truck was not happy.

Went from the stock 3.73`s to 4.88`s, installed by a local jeep shop. Holy cow. Night and day difference. A lot of the overload was gradual, bumpers winch etc were all installed over the course of a year or so, so I didnt realize the difference. There was a noticeable difference after going to 35s, sure, but wow.. after the regear its like a whole new truck.

Plenty of low end torque, didnt lose much if any from the top end. Cruising at 70mph around 2200 rpm. Truck feels like it has plenty of power in the low end, I got 8th gear back (straight up lost 8th after the 35s were on), its running great. Acceleration feels effortless, no more feeling like Im hauling a load. I can tell the motor and trans will benefit from this.

Ive got a few hundred miles on it post-regear and at this point my MPG is basically break even. Ive lost a little street driving and gained a little on the freeway - my average went from 15.5 before regear to 15.7, so not much of a difference. I imagine road trips will be cheaper though, when Im hauling down the 5 I think ill need to fill up less often. Overall not a big difference either way as far as the gas is concerned.

I wasnt sure before I did it, I felt like it was a good idea, now I 100% know my truck needed it and I feel much better about it. Happy with the money spent and the results.

Edit: I think if I went to 4.56 Id be disappointed and felt I didnt get enough bang for my buck. I believe that 5.13 would be too much, in a bad way. I feel good about the 4.88`s and think theres enough room in there based on what Im seeing from the motor / trans that I could go to 37`s with this setup and itd run well still.

 

[Mikemann0]

ShelbyDee , Stock height no leveling kit or lift 22' Overland on 295/70/18's (34.25/11.00) with zero rub or issues , A true 35 if it measures at that would be no problem , Looks level due to trailer tongue weight.

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[Zero_Accel]

I had 35's on the gas 3.6, 8 speed auto, with 3.73's for about a year, I did a bit of everything from semi-daily highway driving to work (75 miles one way!), to some moderate trails (rated 6-7), to dune running/mud bogging.

Best way I can describe it? It was OKAY... while I got somewhat used to it, my one consistent complaint was the cruise control couldn't make up it's mind on whether to use 8th or 7th on anything but a perfectly flat level road if it was set at 65 mph. 70 mph was 6th-7th gear hopping.

After regearing mine to 4.88's on 35's, I got my passing ability and GTFOH pedal to the floor mode back, and no more gearbox hopscotch, and it handled the 37's just fine too. Oh, and I'm getting the same 18 MPG's with the bigger tires because the transmission isn't wasting fuel jumping to high RPM's on the tiniest hills. Night and Day improvement. Should have done it DAY ONE.

EASILY ONE OF THE BEST CHANGES I MADE.

That being said, you CAN run on the 3.73's, just accept that you'll be slow getting up to speed on the highway, and cruise control will act a bit dumb some times.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

Yes, I do. If you're mostly flat you will be fine. It'll be a bit more sluggish and you will not see 8th gear a lot but it's entirely driveable. I will re-gear eventually, but I will also go to 38-40 at that time.

I probably wouldn't pay to regear if I stayed on 35s for my driving which is same as yours, mostly flat, would just keep as is. I don't accelerate fast in this thing anyways, so I don't care.

Also I don't tow

 

[Fastwake]

Yes, I do. If you're mostly flat you will be fine. It'll be a bit more sluggish and you will not see 8th gear a lot but it's entirely driveable. I will re-gear eventually, but I will also go to 38-40 at that time.

I probably wouldn't pay to regear if I stayed on 35s for my driving which is same as yours, mostly flat, would just keep as is. I don't accelerate fast in this thing anyways, so I don't care.

Also I don't tow

keep your 35s and your 373s. unless your Joe racer don’t waste your $$$. I drive from Sacramento to Reno Nevada very often and would not waste my money to regear

 

[j.o.y.ride]

keep your 35s and your 373s. unless your Joe racer don’t waste your $$$. I drive from Sacramento to Reno Nevada very often and would not waste my money to regear

Oh I know, I won't regear until I go larger

 

[NewGladdyOWNR]

Either buy new 33’s or find cheap rubi take offs, you’ll be disappointed in how the Overland performs on 35’s. This is a fact.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Not ideal, but plenty do it and can live with it.

 

[Hootbro]

Had 35's on my Willys with 3.73 gears and absolutely hated it. Even with tire size correction using Jscan, it still hunt and pecked for gears in 6th and 7th. Almost never saw 8th gear. Went down to 33's and it was much better and more normal daily driving experience.

Some people can disconnect from this and live with it, I am not one of those people.

 

[XraytecH]

Daily drove my Sport S on 35s with 3.75 gears for about a year. It took one drive from South San Francisco to Sacramento and I was shook. I thought the transmission was going to blow. 4.88 regear couldn't come soon enough.

 

[Trauma PA]

I live in pancake flat Florida. I run 33s on my Willys 3.73
The act of simply driving up and over an overpass on the interstate makes my JT struggle and downshift. Even going flat I find my truck in 7th gear and not 8th. I can’t imagine how much worse it would be running 35s.

 

[ChrisNLA]

The reason that you see so many different answers, is that performance is very subjective. What is fine to one person is totally unacceptable to another - because we all like to drive different. My Sport S has 4.10's (Max Tow) and I have Rubi takeoffs on it (285/70R17) and personally, I feel this is all I'd want on my truck. It performs fine, pulls my trailer with a mower on it at 70MPH in 8th gear, but I wouldn't want to keep adding more permanent strain to it. With 3.73s, there is no way I'd personally find 35's to be acceptable.

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