Against. Puts all the stress on the steering shaft. Just spend the $1000 and get hydro assist. Here is a pic of a club members steering shaft. Broke on the trail. Been a total mess and now he's out $700 for a new box.

 

Damn that sucks. I never even thought of that. Hydro isn't really in the mod budget, and I didn't think it would be necessary with 35s. But now it another thing to think about...risk no brace and failure or brace and failure haha

 

Would the weight of the tires be the biggest factor? My 37's are lighter than most 35's.

 

Really don't need hydro with 35s. And again he said it's not a very common occurrence. It's the first I've seen of the issue when putting on a brace. Maybe invest has seen more. But there are plenty of people who run a brace with no issues. I would think you would be safe with 35s.

 

I ran the synergy brace with MC 3.5 and it drug on the coils. Finally went hydro assist. Much better solution.

 

That's what I'm thinking. It'll at least save my box until hydro becomes more of an option. And if there is any rubbing, I figure I can take a grinder and cut away a bit if needed.

 

It is not weight, but leverage. 37s put way more leverage on the steering. Keep in mind, that steering boxes aren't shearing off the frame or blowing shafts cruising down the road. All of the instances I am aware of were in cases of high stress, such as crawling rocks or Moab where there is a ton of traction. I've always wheeled the same stuff (rocks, rocks, and more rocks). When I had 35s, I could turn them in the rocks for the most part. With 37s, not a chance. The proper technique without hydro is to bump the Jeep forward and back while turning the wheel a little at a time. Just won't work all the time and I've had to be winched out of obstacles solely because I couldn't turn the tires. And now I have hydro assist (although I also went to 40s, so wasn't really an option).

As noted, the number of catastrophic failures is minimal. Just be aware if you are leaning into the wheel when your tires are jammed in between rocks. Leaking boxes is also an issue and a brace will help. With larger than 35s, a brace absolutely tightens the on road steering.

In summary, hydro is best, but most won't go that route. To brace or not to brace, is a personal decision.

 

Luckily my 37's are only 35.5".

 

What 37s are you running? An inch and a half seems like a lot...

 

KO2's

They might be 35.75. Either way they are probably the smallest and lightest 37" that I know of. I picked them for that reason.