Noob here, not sure how to ask this properly, bare with me. 2014 JKU Sport here, SoCal region. Just ordered a bunch of stuff for x-mas. I have everything ordered up but tires. My question is should I be afraid to run a 35" Nitto trail grappler or a Toyo Open Country MT on a front D30? I did order gears, I'm going 4.56's, will I have enough power back to churn these heavier 35's, or am I going to bend an axle quick. In all honesty I'm mostly a DD and then the weekend warrior on trails, no real rock crawling/climbing, but it isa jeep and love the look of MT's. Am I just being paranoid about my usage, and I'll be fine due to the new gears? Should I just look at AT tire's instead, something lighter the D30 may handle better before I build it up? I may throw on some sleeves and gussets on the 30 if that's all it would take to help it out. Ease my mind people!

 

You'll be fine, no need to freak out. I've been running 35s in a M/T and haven't broken anything. If you aren't even wheeling it, you'll definitely be fine. I was going to run that exact same set up before I found a d44 front axle. The 4.56 will give you that stock power feeling back.

So in my opinion, yes, you're being paranoid. I would say at least half of us run d30 front axles until we can upgrade and some people choose to never upgrade and do fine. Order the 35s, if you go on the trail, be easy on the throttle and don't beat on it.

(If you start to wheel, snag a new front axle or strengthen the 30)

 

Ok I hear ya..and I expect my MPG to go down no matter what with 35's..im prepared..but if I were to choose an AT being lighter over these MT's would it go down less or not necessarily..just go MT and stop harping on it? If the AT were to yield better power and mpg results even on the 4.56's..like about what would it be..noticeable or hardly?

 

Yeah, 35s will drop your mpg but if there was any difference in A/T and M/T mpg, I seriously doubt you would even notice it. I would pick a tire based on what terrain you expect to find yourself in. Living where there's only mud, I have a MT tire. I wouldn't worry about your jeep unless you're gonna smack her around on the trails with those 35s. Take care of your baby and she'll take care of you.

And for what it's worth, I've gotten 19 mpg highway on 35s on a wheeling trip to PA. I wouldn't worry about mpg. That was with 3.21 gears though haha

 

Some people report that they are fine running stock axles and 37's offroad, some running stock tires have bent or shattered the front housing just hitting a pothole or curb in town, and some have even indicated that their C's were bent as they drove off the dealer lot. No one can tell you which group you will belong to, and no one can guarantee that you will or will not have a problem. If you are worried about bending, price out the various options so you can make a more informed decision.

 

Cool, thanks for info guys!

 

I've had 35" Toyo AT2's with 4.10 gears with a stock D30 for a few years with no problems at all. I don't recall what my mpg loss was, but I do remember it wasn't very much. I did notice some loss of acceleration and braking but after driving it for a month or so you grow used to it and won't notice a difference. As far as damaging your diff, it hasn't happened to me but I'm not a hardcore wheeler by any means. I do go off-road a few times a year but it's mostly old logging roads and maybe a few things a bit rougher than that. Hope this helps.

 

I have the same JKUS and have been running 35 Toyo MT's for over a year just fine. I re-geared to 4.56 and have C gussets, light wheeling and no problems. Plenty of power with 3.6 Auto and 4.56.

 

Awesome info.

 

Nice..any chance you have pics of these tires up close? these were one on my considrations.