Who has em and if you are coming from 37s, are you happy with them and what options are there for 38s besides MTRs and KM2s? Any additional mods over what was needed for 37s?

 

I went through the same research process a month ago. My conclusion was to stick with 37s. All 38s worth owning are 14.5" or wider. So right away you have clearance issues to tackle, a lot more stress on the drivetrain, and you'll most likely need hydro assist steering.

Assuming you are cool with that, I didn't find any conclusive evidence that the 38s were better off road, except for in sand (or mud bogs I'd guess). In addition, a 12.50 tire is better in the rocks. More pressure per square inch and the weight of the JK is enough to form the tread around the rock.

The last and best point people made is that if something happened on the trail, no one would likely have a 38" tire to borrow and you won't find them stocked anywhere.

I don't have white papers to back all this up, but just sharing what I came away with when I considered 38s.

 

I call 38's a mudder tire too because of the width and while the extra 1/2" of height is desirable the width is not. You basiclly have to build to run a 40" tire to have the clearance to run the wide 38" tires out there. IF you have to build to fit a 40" tire, why not run a 40" tire and gain 1.5" of height over the 37's.

Kinda the conclusion I came to when going big.

 

I have mad dog 38.5 x 13.5 x 17 perfect no issue like other post said

next will be pitbull rockers

 

 

interesting i always wanted a 13.5 or wider tire in the rocks. not smaller. Yes the pressure per square inch goes down, but doesn't the coefficient of friction go up?

 

"mud" tires are skinny, cut to the bottom of the pit and get traction. I just think 14.50 is proportional to a 35x12.50, 37x13.50 etc...

 

Not if the pit is bottomless. You'll just dig until you're hung up on your frame/axles. Lots of flotation is benifitial.

 

Just got my 37's put on today. I couldnt see going any bigger without a good amount of driveline/axle work. Im finally content.

 

I went from 37 to 38 mtr, not much diff in cost. I think they have a better stance than the 37. With that said, I did have to cut pinch seam and ended up trussing the front with artec truss. Very happy with them so far.