My experience with 315/70r17's on Max Tow

[Gladiatorx2]

Hello and good morning to all! Some information on my experience with 317/70r17's with Mojave wheels on my 2023 Gladiator Sport S with the Max Tow option.

When first installed I did not level/lift and did not hit anywhere, although the front fender looked " stuffed ". I also did not correct for tire size. In several thousand miles of driving the fuel economy display had shown 17.6 but in figured by hand it averaged 20.2 MPG. The front fender lip height increased just under 2" at the hub center.

After correcting with Jscan ( used 34.4 on Goodyear MT'S ) it displays 21.1 but has actually been 21.5 in combined driving. As an example on this tank I used exactly 1/2 tank based on traveling 217 miles with 217 miles until empty! My average speed based on time/miles has been 33.3 MPH. Yes, I have purposely driven in a fashion to get these numbers. Just showing what it is capable of.

The above tank was after 1.5 Terraflex spacers. In every way this was an improvement that I highly recommend! Some pictures of Gladiator with 245/75r17 and 315/70r17 ( pre and post spacers).

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[Gladiatorx2]

Also pictures of my Rubicon w/37's vs Max Tow w/35's

 

[DiehardTory]

Question, is 34.4" Diameter your actual measurement at correct PSI on the Gladdy? Also, what is the tire weight before mounting?

 

[Gladiatorx2]

Yes, 34.4 was what I calculated for Jscan and it corrected my speedometer which I verified with radar. The weight for these tires is listed at 52lbs on some sites and 54lbs on others. I have almost 8,000 miles on these and they have wore 1/32 so far. I have rotated twice.

 

[Gladiatorx2]

That was at 34 psi

 

[ALT2870]

The key thing here is you have a Max Tow which pretty much gives you a Rubicon drive train. (Outside of like two things.) So yes, the MPG makes perfect sense, near the exact same if not better then a Rubicon on 35's.

I ended playing with my Tazer to get the right speed based on GPS and local radars to get speed to match. Should always be doing this right after adding the tires for at minimum the right shift pattern.

 

[Gladiatorx2]

Yes, it did make a difference in shift points as well as fuel economy. I put several thousand miles on it prior to programming and the true miles per gallon was 20.3 and the display MPG was just under 10% low as was the MPH. The driveability was Greatly improved. Here are pictures of my current MPG as well as the trip odometer.

 

[Gladiatorx2]

That is an average speed of 33.9 MPH although my average driving speed was closer to 50 MPH. Included red lights, traffic, drive through,etc.

My true mileage is better than what is displayed usually but when I idle a lot it can be worse. Going by that on empty it shows to be ables to go 442 miles on one tank of fuel! The most that I have ever been able to put in it was 20 gallons.

I can hear it now " Nobody buys a Gladiator to get good MPG " but I assure you that it is possible if you really try . I should not that stop and go city traffic MPG is lower but straight highway at 65 or less is higher. Here is a picture just prior to upgrading to larger tires with MPG from day one when purchased new. I drove over 2,000 miles of straight highway driving up to that point.

 

[Gladiatorx2]

Here is a picture of the beginning of the best MPG coming back from a trail to show what it can do under better circumstances with the larger tires.

 

[Gladiatorx2]

Sorry for possibly being to repetitive at tires. My point is after having 245/75r17, 265/70r17, 315/70r17 and 12.5/37r17 I really like the 315's. Anyone considered them is whom this for as I hope that reporting my experience helps. Thanks to all for putting up with me and have a great day!

 

[Gladiatorx2]

I already have Daystar .75 spacers for the rear. As it sits right now I only 1/2 of rake. I like a little more than that more clearance at the back bumper is my friend . Also I should note that I have a complete set of Rubicon springs off a loaded Rubicon that I considered, especially for the front. But not having access to the spring rates I elected to stick with the Max Tow springs. My reasoning was that I truly like the handling/hauling capabilities as it sits. On my Rubicon w/37's I had stock springs and it definitely rode smoother while on trails but the stability at speed suffered. I didn't want to chance mixing one with the other in fear of it being " balanced" or lack of.

 

[MudderNuker]

You are fortunate to live almost at sea level. I'm at 7,300', down 22% in HP, with the same tire size and my MPGs are around 15. Mostly hills.

 

[Gladiatorx2]

My home is just at like 1,100 feet above sea level and the trails around here range from 900 to 3700. Our rolling hills probably actually help my fuel economy as you go down hill as much as up hills. I truly do drive for optimal fuel economy and with any new vehicles or combination of modifications it takes weeks to learn the best driving style. Over all I am super happy with the driveability and economy with the near 35's that are on the light side.

 

[Ragbagger]

Thanks for this. I also have a Sport S/Max Tow and am thinking about going to 315’s.

Just to make sure I understand you now have the Teraflex spacers on the front and the daystar on the back, with the stock Max Tow springs? Any other adjustments like shock extenders or anything? I like how my Gladiator drives right now and hate to go messing with it too much

 

[Gladiatorx2]

Thanks for this. I also have a Sport S/Max Tow and am thinking about going to 315’s.

Just to make sure I understand you now have the Teraflex spacers on the front and the daystar on the back, with the stock Max Tow springs? Any other adjustments like shock extenders or anything? I like how my Gladiator drives right now and hate to go messing with it too much

We are on the same page so I fully understand! Out of the three Gladiator 's that I have had I truly liked the suspension on the Max Tow the best. I liked the handling from the factory and did not want to negatively affect it. I had Rubicon springs already as well and others like putting the front springs on the Max Tow. I considered it but elected to keep the " balance" of matching springs. I have only added the 1.5 spacers to the front as of this time. It was an improvement to me in every way and I would highly recommend it. I will be adding the 3/4 spacers to the rear due to only having 1/2 inch of rake now. I like a little more but not as much as it had stock.

I attached 3 more pictures so that you can see the stance, rake and the poke of the 315's on Mojave wheels w/Max Tow.

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