WhiteLion

Hey guy's and Gal's,
I have a 15' JK and I want your opinions on what size lift and tires I should get, I will be using this as a expedition rig, traveling and camping around the country, but I want it to handle any terrain I may encounter on my trips. I was thinking a 3.5 lift and debating between 33" and 35" tires. Any input from the veterans here will be greatly appreciated thanks.

Mark Doiron

You can go a 2.5" lift with those 33s or 35s and avoid some problems with driveshafts, etc. Select wheels with 4.5" backspacing, or use wheel spacers. 2.5" is a very common lift height for the bulk of the expedition JKs I go out with. 33s are a bit more rare, with 35s being quite common. The tough stuff near the beginning of this vehicle was tackled by both 33s and 35s. It is Blanca Peak in Colorado. I'll let you research how others describe it ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yq51rHh8MY EDIT: Oh, and suggest you check out this very lengthy thread. Lots of ideas on how to set up an expedition rig in it.

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-s...see-em-181613/

WhiteLion

Thanks Mark,
So a 2.5 with 35s should be fine. Whats the highest lift I can go with the stock drive-shaft without experiencing problems?

And by the way I love your youtube videos hope I can join you one day on your adventures.

Mark Doiron

People say 3". But I had my front fail with 2.5" after 120K or so miles. So I suspect it is a matter of how fast. A friend with a two door lost his rear in less than a month on 4". And some auto transmissions have clearance issues that us manual owners don't at lower heights. So best advice is lift as little as possible to clear desired tires. Be sure to check out Dirtman's sticky thread "My thoughts on lifts" in this sub-forum. Lot of wisdom in that thread.

WhiteLion

Mark, I've be reading that to run 35s efficiently I will need to upgrade my axles gears, I currently have Dana 30 on front and Dana 44 with 3.21 ratio.

WhiteLion

Thanks for the help educating me in this matter, after studying the chart and reading the comments. I think I'm going with a 2.5" lift and 4.56 ratio!! with this option according to the chart I can run 35s and safely run 37s if I want in the future. I'm not doing heavy rock climbing but occasionally will hit a moderate trail here and there and maybe a small trailer for my camping trips, keeping my drive-ability good. Thanks for all the help!!!

Mark Doiron

Doubt you'll ever need those 37s. :-)

Rob 12B1P

I would go 2 1/2 lift with a 33/34/35 (probably a 285 75r17) if I were gonna build a dedicated expo rig.

Saharaunlmtd

I'll second this. A 2.5" w/ 285/75R17s is the route I wanted to go. But I already had 35/15s laying around from my last jk so I couldn't justify spending the extra coin.

mikeJKUR

Question - why suggest such a large lift for 33" tires?