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The art of choosing your tire size.................

AustinL911

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1. I'm short. Don't feel like jumping up another inch.
2. I don't rock crawl here in central Ohio. No need for maximum clearance.
3. I have a MT JTR (4.10s). I only just put my 35s on yesterday, but I can already tell you the stock gears won't be staying for long. I thought it was under geared with the 33s.
4. Plan on 4.88 gears. If I went to 37s, I'd insist on 5.13s, which from what I read, may have issues with small pinion size.
5. 35s are plenty for anything I'd ever get into.
6. I think a JT with a slight level/lift and 35s looks amazing already.
7. It still has a 3.6L V6...
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Green_Gladiator

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35s with 17s
37s with 18s
20s with 40s

I went 35x12.5x17 Mickey thompson baja legend exp.. one of the lightest hybrids I could find @ 64lbs. +1 OS and a 26lb wheel kept me within 5lbs of stock set up ...
 

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Alans17

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@Alans17, it sounds like you have a good plan in place.

If we can help in any way please let us know.
Thanks, but I may be going back to the drawing board, after all. Starting to wonder if the skinnier 35” tires on my 3.5” will make it look like it’s on stilts from the front and back. I’ll just need to measure it all out. Might need new wheels after all, but don’t want a ton of tire poke.
 
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21Moja

21Moja

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35s with 17s
37s with 18s
20s with 40s

I went 35x12.5x17 Mickey thompson baja legend exp.. one of the lightest hybrids I could find @ 64lbs. +1 OS and a 26lb wheel kept me within 5lbs of stock set up ...
Did you compare the EXP and the Baja Boss when looking at tires? Was your decision mainly weight?
 

onebad427

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To find much offroading I have to travel hundreds of miles. And we tow a popup. And 3.73 gears. So it'll be stock-ish sized tires for us. My old truck with 30.5" tires and a longer wheel base did everything I wanted for Colorado mining roads, and went everywhere Oregon to Maine. The new JT has 31.5" plus armor bits for control arms, shocks, etc. I may have to avoid the most difficult offroad trails, but there is plenty left to enjoy, and the vehicle can still get us back home again.

I plain on switching the stock 245/75 17 for Cooper Discoverer LT 265/70 17, which is about the same diameter and almost an inch wider. And load range E. This seems to be a common size, lots of choices, and easier to find a replacement while out of state. Not much MPG hit and more width for soft soil.
Unless you're REALLY abusing your tires, or towing/hauling WAY over what the truck is rated for, I'd suggest NOT going with an E rated tire. They are much heavier, and stiffer, it'll kill fuel mileage, and ride.
 

Green_Gladiator

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Did you compare the EXP and the Baja Boss when looking at tires? Was your decision mainly weight?
Yes I did compare the two. I found the Baja Boss heavy for a 35 A/T considering its competitors and I really wanted to be as close to stock weight as possible ... But the Baja Boss do have the most aggressive A/T sidewalls and are dam purdy!

The EXP does look alot more aggressive then photos show really happy with that. EXP,s are quieter than my 33 wildpeak AT,s. I daily drive, mostly sand and mud in the deep southeast. No regrets!
 

Pangaea

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'21 Diesel Rubicon - 35x12.50x17s

My Rationale - I'm in Colorado and the break over angle kind of sucks, so I needed to go a bit bigger. I do proper overlanding (ie driving to remote jungle tracks in Belize/Guatemala, extended trips into the desert), so being able to fit a spare in the factory location is pretty important, since some trips I need a second spare.

35's on a diesel with stock gearing is a great compromise. Going to 37s just adds all kinds of complications and loss of reliability that just won't work for me.
 

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DJPodratz

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We all read the tire size threads...Bigger is better, 37's are the new 33/35's, 35's look too small, etc. Without getting into a battle, Im very interested to know people's individual thoughts on how they came to decide on tire size. Did warranty come into play? Daily driver? The extra expense of going larger (re-gear)? You like the look of a smaller or larger tire...
For driving in show and mild offroading (think logging trails), and my stock 33s are just fine.
Your results may vary!
 

bleda2002

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Go with the biggest size you are debating, or you will wish you had gone with the bigger size.

I've done a few swaps now and here's what i've found.
MPG's
-Stock highway @75 - 17.5mpg, city driving 15
-37" on warn rims @75- 15.8 city driving 13.7
-39 km3's on heavy kmc tank rims (an increase of about 30lbs a corner) @75 - 15.1 city driving 13

Performance with tazer (All with 4.10's):
- Stock 0-60 - 8.1 seconds
-37's 0-60 - 9.2 seconds
-39's 0-60 - 10.02 seconds

The biggest hit I've noticed is really the torque on the highway for passing, and on 39's i finally lost 8th gear and only get in to 7th at 75. I'm also at sea level in florida, so i'm getting all the 3.6 ponies, where as if you were at higher elevations and less power this would be more detrimental. With that said, i'll be regearing to 5.13's for the 39's and will report back once thats complete and broken in.
 

SquirrelNuts

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We all read the tire size threads...Bigger is better, 37's are the new 33/35's, 35's look too small, etc. Without getting into a battle, Im very interested to know people's individual thoughts on how they came to decide on tire size. Did warranty come into play? Daily driver? The extra expense of going larger (re-gear)? You like the look of a smaller or larger tire...
Same as many have already said: 35's because it's a daily driver and I wanted to stay with stock suspension and stock 4.10 gears. That being said, 4.10 gearing is right on the edge of acceptable in my opinion. I wish there were more options for a 35x10 tire - I'd rock that size for sure.

Now, if this was more of a weekend warrior type Jeep for me... lift, gears and 37s for sure!
 

bd100

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Unless you're REALLY abusing your tires, or towing/hauling WAY over what the truck is rated for, I'd suggest NOT going with an E rated tire. They are much heavier, and stiffer, it'll kill fuel mileage, and ride.
I've used E range for a long time. I prefer the stiff tires. Improved handling. The shocks control how bad the ride is.

With the JT's stock highway tires, if you bounce the bumper then let go then the vehicle bobs up and down several times before it settles. It turns out that much of that bounce is actually the sidewall flexing, not just the shocks. In fact, I'm not going to change the stock shocks until I first see how it behaves with LT tires.

The old truck rocked back and forth a lot offroad when it was new with its stock shocks and P tires. E tires and new shocks took care of all that.
 

Joe Dillard

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My background of building Jeeps fulltime for a living dates back to 1977 when I first started working at Rancho. After Rancho, I worked for Mickey Thompson and a number of other offroad and custom shops for decades.

I will be going into fulltime retirement soon. Several of my friends and previous Jeep builders are retired and spend several months a year (8-10 months) off roading. That'll be what I do soon.

Knowing where I'll be wheeling several months a year required a certain level of build to include reliability. So I went mild with a set of 37's & small lift on my Mojave. Deep gears, locked F&R, armored, Atlas 5.0 etc is minimal for where I'll frequently be. I'll mostly be in the southwest (Johnson Valley, Ocotillo, Corral Canyon, Superstition, Anza Borrego, Moab, AZ, Table Mesa, Sonora, Martinez Canyon, CO, Billings Canyon, 21 Road, NV etc).

For the serious stuff, I'll mostly use my 1 ton YJ that's on 39" stickies. The JT will be used for most anything else. Both will be trailer queens that I'll pull behind my dually CTD with a Lance camper.

I have a Honda 700 SxS and Yamaha Kodiak 700 Quad as well for hunting duties that I'll bring on the trailer too from time to time. I have a 16' Tracker bass boat for days I don't go wheeling.

Jeep Gladiator The art of choosing your tire size................. IMG_3658


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