White Fang

The Story:

Im in a bit of a dilemma. I've just found out that Santa Clause is going to bring me a set of new rims for Christmas PRO COMP Series 7189. 16inch rim with 4.5BS


The setup I was going to do was 285/70r17 Duratracs on stock rims with spacers and the Teraflex Leveling kit. Now with good ol' Saint Nick bringing me these new rims I've noticed some doors have opened with tires and there's quite a difference in prices.

My Jeep is an auto with 3.73 gears and got the Super Chip Flashpack. It is my DD and the leveling kit is all I want to do since it will be easy to take off and Im keeping my stock wheels and tires so I can switch in case I need to take my Jeep to the Dealership for warranty issues, I have the lifetime warranty.

Im dead set on the Goodyear Duratracs and was dead set on 33s...Until I found this.

Discount Tires prices for 5 tires:

315/75r16 (34.6") $1365.75
285/75r16 (32.8") $1326.80

A difference of $38.95! Is this right for a 2 inch bigger tire?

So tell me, if those price are correct, do you think I would regret getting the 315s? I cant regear because of my warranty, or could I? Do you think that they would look at gears if the motor blows or, heaven forbid, I break an axle.

I've been reading about how some people have bought 33s and within weeks to a couple of months upgraded to (mostly) 35s. My question is; has anyone regretted making the move to a 34-35inch tire?

Pluke the 2

No one should tell you what will void your warranty. The best advice I would give you is to go to the dealership that is most mod friendly, or the one you have the best relationship with and ask them about the tires and re gearing.

I drive with 35's and 3:73's with an Auto, Two Door and it is my DD, no complaints. It's not that slow and it's not that powerful.

My old man has got a similar setup to those wheels and 35's.

nthinuf

ANY mods can and will void parts of the warranty. If you are that worried about it, DON"T mod...

The performance difference between 33's and 35's is fairly noticeable. (particularly on automatics) Will 'you' be happy with 35's on stock gears? No clue. There is a very very large group of people that will tell you you'll hate the performance, and a very small group of people who will tell you the power with stock gears/35's is good. (invariably, the second group are people who have never actually driven a re-geared jk, and are simply trying to make themselves feel better for not doing it) Biggest consideration is transmission type...


Depends on your dealer. As noted above, some are more friendly to modded vehicles than others. Check with yours. -->Some dealers prefer regearing with bigger tires as it puts less strain on the tranny/drivetrain. And some are looking for any excuse to tell you to go pound sand.

Two instances:
-there was a thread on here a while ago about going in with a blown transmission. Dealership asked if he had re-geared for the larger tires. He had. New tranny warrantied because he had the gears. Stock gears and they would have denied.
-another one was a guy that had his dealership re-gear his jeep. Started driving cross country, had a big issue with the front axle, that took out his tcase also. Towed to a local dealership. Warranty denied. Called the dealership that did the work. They said sorry buddy, no warranty...)
It's all about 'your' dealership.

jk-willys

you're going to throw a hemi in your jeep? Where can i see pics of something like that?
Saw pics of a jeep with the front end off a F250 but never a hemi

nthinuf

Seriously? They've been around for years. Burnsville Offroad and AEV both make install kits, and plenty of shops will do the swap for you.

Go out to burnsville offroad for some pics. You can even buy one turnkey from them...

From burnsvilles site:

5.7 hemi VVT $22,000
6.1 hemi automatic $26,600
6.7 hemi VVT automatic $32,500
7.0 hemi automatic $37,000
7.2 hemi automatic $39,000

07XMan2Door

First of all congrats on the new wheels. They are real lookers.
I went from 33" BFG Mudders to 35" Toyos. I actually had both sets for 2 months so I could try them out & sell the ones I liked the least.

I kept the 35's. A little less snap around town and a little more influence from uneven streets, but that was it for cons. More clearance, pretty important when you air down. Air down 33's & your junk is getting close to the ground. The traction of these 35 inch Toyos is unreal.

That's my vote!!

pjk

mine was an 09 unlimited with 3.73 sahara. i put on 285/70/17 FC-II (similiar to duratracs). drove about a year with this setup. oem tire carrier. no clearance issues. looked great. performed great on and offroad. the duractracs are not a heavy tire. the tranny got a little hotter around town but it never overheated. no worries there.

i then switched to duratrac 315/70/17 about 3 months ago. pinch seam needed to be modified along with rubi rails. i added a orf tire carrier to handle the heavier wheel (tailgate would not have lasted with the extra weight). regeared to 5.13 and added a tranny cooler. i spent alot of money to go from 33 to 35. gas mileage from 33 to 35 is about the same for me. i am about 1/2 mpg less with the 35's overall.

i drove the jeep with the 35's and 3.73's for about 5 weeks. the tranny would get about 20 degrees hotter around town immediately. definitely need a cooler with the 3.73's and 35's. the power was noticeable down compared to the 33's. overdrive was useless on the highway. i just turned the od off each time i got in the jeep.

my feeling is if you go 35's, spend the money and get a tire carrier, 5.13's (5.38's would be even better), tranny cooler, modify the pinch seam (and rubi rails).

if you are not going to regear and do the other mods, then go with the 33's.

if we weren;t speaking about an auto tranny, i think i would have a different opinion about the mods and 35's.

cheers

mjm

Great advise... Most folks leave out the tire carrier which can be a pretty penny depending on what you go with. I'm sticking with my 33's for all of the reasons listed above until I can afford to do it the correct way. I do live in Colorado though, so a regear is a must.