33's or 35's?

[Nikkormat]

I'm not to good at the whole tire size thing, but to me it looks like there's a lot more room in the wheel wells. The current tires are 28.5 ish by 9 ish on 7 inch wide wheels. I've got a set of 8 7 inch wide slot mags and 6 8 inch wide steel rins of the same backspacing. What I want to do is run 35x12.50r15 tires on the 5 slots, or 33x12.50's on the steel rims. I think... think... I have around 4 inches of lift. The springs seem to be around 3 inches and then the Jeep has a body lift. How much body lift? I'm still trying to figure that out. But here are some pictures to ponder.

Stock height and 33's (Annihilation Principals Cherokee from IFSJA) Note that these shots are not on level ground:

Unknown lift and 33's on level ground:

Same unknown lift and 35's on relatively level ground:

My new Jeep, with unknown lift and large 235's (around 28.5) only trailer shots are on level ground:

The goal here is to get as big a tire under this thing as possible without rubbing and without trimming. It's easier to upgrade brakes then it is to add overdrive. And larger tires should ride smoother on rough roads. I honestly don't have any experience to go on here with tire sizes. So what do you think, 33's or 35's?

[AwesomeJ10]

42's

[Nikkormat]

That's a little more trimming, axle swapping, lifting, and high center of gravity-ing then I'm looking for.
35's are huge for me anyway. I oogle at the 32 ish tires on the family truck.

[Tatsadasayago]

33's will fill the fenderwells and leave room for flex. 35" would be more expensive and purely a machismo thing.
Lot of that going around lately.

[Nikkormat]

Not going for the machismo thing. I'm just looking for a practical woods Cadillac. I'm really leaning toward a 33 at this point, the gains of going to a 35 don't seem to outweigh the losses. Plus carrying around a 35 inch spare seems like a pain in the cargo area. No room for my other BEEP and caboodle.

If they don't fill the fenders like I want, I can always go lower and softer with my existing springs.

[Nikkormat]

Anyone see an issue with running 33x12.50's on the 7 inch rim? I can't decide which rims I like best.

[pyro]

Yes, you should run the 33x10.5. I was borderline between 35 and 33 and decided to go with the 33's for ride quality and cost. I think the 33's look better w a mild lift anyway. I have a 4" lift.

35's


33's (before spring settle and with no weight in the bed)

[Tatsadasayago]

What Pyro said...

[Nikkormat]

Think I'll stick with the steel 8" rims for now too.

[Renodemona]

33s on the 8" rim No rub, bumpstop to bumpstop without issues. 35s you'd be looking to regear those axles too. 3.54 with a TH400 handles the 33s fine, even in the mountains. Maybe too fine for my lead foot even

[derf]

On a 7" wide rim, the 33x12.50's will be hard to fit. And some tire shops won't mount them because the rims are outside of the "recommended wheel width" range.

33x10.50 are out there and will fit fine on a 7" wide rim but they're rare.

With an 8" rim, the 12.50 tire width is a lot easier to do.

33's are fine for a substantial number of trails out here. Once you start hitting trails that truly need 35's, you're also looking at building up a fair bit of armor on a full size. Or just accepting a lot of body damage.

[Dr. Marneaus]

I vote 33's. You'll have less to do to the jeep, less issues, you wont hate your gearing as much, etc.

You're totally fine running 12.5" tires on 8" rims, and some folks run them on 7" rims as well.

I personally run 33x10.50's on 6" rims....which some people frown upon but I havent had any trouble or noticed anything bad.

Your wide track would do fine with the 12.50's, but 10.50's are always an option as well. Keep in mind there are only 3 33x10.50's on the market. BFG KM2's and KO2's, and the General Grabbers

[Stuka]

I also say 33's. You really need at least 6" of lift for 35's to work. They "fit" with less, but only in the flat lands.

The 5 slot wheels you have will not work with a 12.50 unless you run wheel spacers (please don't).

Also not sure your new Chero has a lift. 235's just look REALLY small on a WTs, even with stock suspension.

[Nikkormat]

I took some 31's with me to go check on the Jeep. Keep in mind that these are sitting on an inch or so of snow that I couldn't be bothered to remove.



To save weight and lower rolling resistance I think I'll go with the slot mags and 33x10.50 KO2's. I'm still not sold on their mud performance but until I can find a set of 17 inch slot mags they'll have to do. Going to the bfg's and slots I should save 15-20 pounds a corner in weight vs. RT03 dynapros and steel rims.

[Stuka]

I took some 31's with me to go check on the Jeep. Keep in mind that these are sitting on an inch or so of snow that I couldn't be bothered to remove.



To save weight and lower rolling resistance I think I'll go with the slot mags and 33x10.50 KO2's. I'm still not sold on their mud performance but until I can find a set of 17 inch slot mags they'll have to do. Going to the bfg's and slots I should save 15-20 pounds a corner in weight vs. RT03 dynapros and steel rims.

The factory slotted wheels are actually pretty heavy for an alloy wheel. They have a lot of meat to them.

[Nikkormat]

Comparing oranges to tangelos on my end, so its very possible that the steels are actually lighter. The 235's and slots that came spare with my 74 seem alot lighter than the 31's and steels but that could most certainly be down to the rubber their wearing. If I get time on the tire machine I've got 12 rims to strip for storage and I can find out then. But I'd rather run 10.50 tires on a 7 inch rim anyway, and its alot easier to polish then it is to paint.

[jfliege]

When I switched from about the same size you have now to 31s I felt the change and 33s would still be ok. but the switch to 35s will end up being more expensive than the overdrive you mentioned. I do wish I had gotten 33s when I got my tires.

[firedog]

35's. I run a BJ's 6" lift, and wheel all over the most challenging places and do anything I choose to point the ol' woody at. There is definitely more squishy, more traction and softer ride on 35's than 33's when you air down some. I've had no clearance issues, even fully flexed on gnarly obstacles in Moab. I've only had to trim off the "flap" that is bent in on the bottom of the panels by the tires at full flex. I wouldn't even hardly call it trimming. more 3 minutes with a grinder and a cutting wheel back at camp with a cold beer and I was done

[uncletiffy]

Here is Miss Piggy with 6" lift and 35's

[ross80truck]

Here is my old Chief with a 4" lift and 33" tires. I am pretty sure I could have cleared 35" tires with a little trimming, but I really liked the look of the 33s.