Blizz

Just get the 35s already. If you don't wheel hard you won't break anything. If you do wheel hard, be prepared to fix/replace a lot more parts than you can count.

With that said, I totally agree with the above quote as well. Take it out while its stock a few times and wheel it as hard as you like. If you break something, fix it with something that won't break or limit you. The guys that are out wheeling hard bring extra parts knowing they will break. They invest in quality performance parts to try to prevent failure, but with wheeling hard its inevitable. If you find that all you do is mild wheeling and mostly mall crawling, go for those big tires. Chances are you won't snap your C's or bend a tie rod at the mall or on the highway. However, just know you are increasing your risk of doing so with bigger tires. Once you get those big tires, you'll want to wheel harder. So just know that you need to be prepared for what comes next.

At least that's my thought process. If you want to play rough, bring the best gear you got and expect to want/need more. I spend a lot of my off-road time on sand dunes so 35s aren't any better than 33s, but I wanted 35s for many reasons. So I got an appropriate lift, regeared to 4.88s, have axle trusses, lca skids, and c gussets. Next step is the 1 ton tie rod. And then... lol
I highway mine daily and take frequent 200+mile trips and pull a trailer from time to time.

Invest2m4

I wonder if it is a coincidence that everyone running a 33 thinks that is the way to go??

Tread design aside, why invest money for a nominal gain in performance? If you have all season tires, but a set of take-off Rubi wheels and tires, sell yours and save the money for something else.

Rather than get further into the debate, I think there is an answer to this question in your profile. You have a 2009 JKU Sahara. Heavy, way under powered, and not appropriately geared. 35s will bring the suck. I have a light 2013 2-door and when I had 35s and 3.73 gears (a lot better than 3.21 that many of the 2012+ come with), it was not much fun. You are a lot heavier and minus 100hp.

Unless you want to drop the money on regearing, I'd say a max of 33" tires. However, I return to my argument that rubi tires are the best option.

Also, no need for a lift. Unless you want it for looks. That will just increase aerodynamic drag, making the Jeep even slower.

tarpon4me

if 35's make you cool, 40's will make you a sexual tyranasaurus... Just saying

WillysWheeler

Seem like everyone that purchases 33" tires regrets they did not buy 35" tires or end up moving up to 35" tires. I just installed the AEV 2.5 Suspension Lift with AEV Drop Brackets. Also installed Spidertrax 1.5 Black Wheel Spacers and used the Factory Willys Wheels and mounted Goodyear DuraTrac 315/70/R17 Tires. Looks good and great DD.

Chefbrujo

I've had 285/70/17's for a while now and I'm happy with my choice to stay smaller with 33"'s. As a lot of people have say, it is mostly driving that makes you successful offroad, not the tire size.
I think any warm blooded human that has a Jeep would want bigger tires than they have if money was no object. I would like 35's but I do not feel like I'm "settling" with 33"s. I'm more than satisfied with their performance and aesthetics. I'm more interested in cutting my fenders or getting flat ones so I don't rip off my stockers while offroad than I am about getting 35's. The very nominal increase in off road performance is not worth the exponential increase in costs imo.

matthias2280

I waffled about this exact conundrum for about 6 months. Went with 35's and it's one of the handful of good decisions that I've made in my life. The rest have been questionable. Very questionable...

Just get the 35's and be done with it...

jeepmojo

and slowly read through all the threads you can for pros and cons to both
You have the jeep now and thats great for you . I know for me i learned to take my time and research things well before making purchases . I remember having a list a mile long when i bought the sport and thought this will cost a fortune . im glad i didnt buy most all of those things after reading into it , it would have been impulse purchases . If the cash isnt a problem hey go big of course get a a nice quality lift and 35s , get a regear , and gussets welded , hd ball joints , hd axle joints, or truss aftermarket drive shafts, and other front end parts.
But for a person who uses their jeep as a dd and ocasionaly goes off road . I would take the time to research every aspect before you toss a ton of cash into somthing you really might not need . I dont mind having a wish list and sometimes i dont have the funds due to other bills and priorities . But if you end up getting into the offroad world a lot , you can always upgrade things as you see fit. I bought a 2 door 2011 sport with 3.21 gearing and ended up trading it a year later for my 2012 rubicon because i found i wanted those options a rubicon had and the 3.21 gearing was not a great match for 33 nitto trailgrapplers due to their weight & lack of power going up hills . so then regearing was going to have to be done.
Im glad i made the transition to the rubicon now . The 410 gearing and 33s are a good match , and even if i dont use lockers a lot, i at least have them along with the elec swaybar release . as for other mods i add them here and there
and if i wanted 35s i can add them in the future if i felt i really need them . But my 2 door rubicon does everythng i need it to do seeing im not hardcore offroader . When i do end up off road my jeep does everything ill need it to do on 33s and no lift . If i was in big boulders and on hardcore trails yeh. No doubt a lift and 35s would be the way to go. AS much as id love to go thrashing up boulders and not care about repairs , its not reality for me as its a daily driver that i depend on and i can go off road with out worrying about being stranded out there or breaking things and then No vehicle to drive until it is fixed . Best of luck and enjoy your jeep

ps i would like it to sit about 1 inch higher front and rear is about it !

Fiveofun

I run 33's on my 2.5 AEV lift and I don't think it looks silly. I still think about 35's, but for all the extra costs that it would take to properly run them, for me it's just not worth it. Even when running the stock 32's and no lift, I never was not able to tackle an obstacle.

tarpon4me

That's a true statement, but in my case not.

To the original thread starter: I've had big tires on plenty of other vehicles, which is why I decided to stay at 33's with the jeep. It gets really old fixing something every other time you go wheeling. For someone that hops curbs or considers a dirt road after a rain storm off roading, big tires are fine. I take mine in rocks, so not so much. But, big tires are also fine if you can afford to swap to heavier axles and such, but I can't, especially on a jeep I bought new a year ago.

Big tires look good, I admit for looks alone, i'd prefer 35's or even 37's. But when I look back at my previous vehicles and all the money those tires cost me, it wasn't worth it.

I hate beating a dead horse like this because there are tons and tons of threads on this very topic. But the fact is, nothing ANY of us say is really going to matter to you when you are sitting in your bed tonight, looking at those 35X12.50 Mastercraft MXT's on tire rack, and you impulsively order them with your credit card because you don't want to wait and save up the cash. When they arrive and you get them installed, you'll be happy but question the ride at first. You'll spend a week playing with air pressures until you realize you have a 35" tall LT tire that regardless what you do is going to ride like a brick bat. Then you're going to go to the beach and not take the time to air them down the first time and get stuck. The following week you'll be ordering an ARB air compressor so you can air up your tires after you air them down the next time you go to the beach, so you don't get stuck.

Then a few weeks later you'll get talked into going to an OHV trail with some random guys you met in town that started talking to you just because you have a jeep. You'll unhook your sway bars for the first time borrowing the 18mm wrenches from someone because you didn't know you needed tools, likely taking the rest of the trip getting use to the excessive body roll, while watching other jeepers in the group negotiate obstacles while you take the by pass.

Your second trip out, after they talk you into going again, you get brave and take that last ledge head on. You feel good about the sway bars being unhooked, you're use to the body roll now. Your tires are aired down, you tackled a few mile stone obstacles from the first trip that you went around, and you go for it. Those big 35's grab that ledge, you loose grip, and your jeep starts hopping. Your inexperience kicks in, you stay in the gas and it hops one to many times, for what ever reason your rear axle doesn't agree with the added pressure, and SNAP, your rear axle breaks under the strain. Now you're broken, two hours from the house, and have to figure out how to get it off the trail and back home.

After someone winches you down the ledge, i'll come behind you with my 33's, 4.56 gears, and truetracs and walk up that very ledge like it was a bostom cream donut from krispy cream, and not miss a lick.

Why did I take the time to write all that useless play by play? Because that is exactly how it's going to go. There is one thing that all people that have and use a 4x4 vehicle (not just jeeps) have in common, no matter what anyone tells us, typically we all learn the hard way. I've learned, and now i'm trying to use my best judgment and experience in regards to building my jeep. This is my first jeep, and i've had it a little over a year now. Compared to the 4x4's i've had in the past, the JK is such a exceptionally capable vehicle. But you have to build your vehicle to what you're doing. These are some of the common sense things I learned over the years:

• KEEP IT LIGHT!!! people are too quick to put the biggest and heaviest crap and armor on, thinking it's helping things. Armor what you need, go as light but functional as possible, and call it good.
• TIRE SELECTION... More important than height is tread and side wall strength. If the tire has a good tread pattern and a stiff sidewall, you're going to get good traction and are less likely to slice a sidewall on the trail
• KEEP IT LOW!!!! My Dodge Ram with the 44's on it had a combined 13" of lift, counting the 3" body lift. Needless to say it looked cool, but it was stupid top heavy. You hit a water puddle going down the road, those 44's would jerk you in a ditch too.
• FULL SIZE SPARE!! Yeah, I drove home with a stock spare once. That was a long crappy ride home with a **** eye vehicle. It was also embarrassing

Az scooter

If you go with cheap tires, no matter the size, the ride will suck. I have 35's. Toyo R/T's I like them. I take them in sand, Rocks, and anywhere I feel like. They work for me. I doubt that any of the guys that have 33's do anything rougher, but they are allowed their own opinion, just like my wife is, even if they are wrong, like my wife often is. (Okay, she is probably not wrong nearly as often as they are.)

Get what you feel comfortable with. Everyone has a different opinion, everyone thinks that their way is the only way, and if you settle on the way another person thinks, they will probably be the only one that is happy with your decision.