I've had good luck with this forum in terms of getting some noob questions answered. I just bought my first jeep and I'm looking to get into a set of bigger tires. Looking at 35s for the most part. The main reason why I'm looking for 35's is because every unlimited I've seen lifted on 33's look a little "small" The wheel well and long body and 33's still leaves something to be desired. So, 35's is what I'm leaning towards. As you all know, these are expensive. I don't want to go through tires every 20k miles. I've been doing my homework and researching my options for tires and reading tons of reviews. I'm leaning towards the BFG MT KM2's. It looks like they have pretty good tread life and are pretty darn impressive off-road. Even though I'm looking at MT's...the jeep is gonna spend a lot of time on the road. I'll take it off as much as possible, but being in college that aint easyyyyy. I will be tearing up as many georgia backraods as I can though. So my question to yall is what is the best mud tire for your buck. In terms of performance, tread-wear, noise and overall "goodness".

Thanks guys,

yall have been a big help so far.

 

before you buy the 35's take a look at gearing.. i have been reading that if i go with 35's i will lose power.. i have the 3.73 gears on a 2011 JK sport se.. just look into that for your jk b4 you spend your hard earned cash. you may have to spend more than you were counting on..

 

I've already looked into that. A lot of people just say that 6th gear basically becomes useless. It's something that needs to be addressed but it's not required. It'll be something I do in the future.

 

Look at the off-brands and less well known tires, not the big popular names.

When I moved up to 35's, I was set on KM2's. Until I started looking around and comparing prices, that is. Ended up with the Maxxis Bighorns, as they had a good look, great reviews, and cost about $100 less PER tire than either the km2 or mtr/k.

Lots of options out there, just put the wallet down and spend a few days browsing and reading reviews.

 

I won't argue that 35's look good. I have 33's though on new alloy rims and they ride great, mpg went up (lighter tire rim combo than stock rubi rims/32's), and I think they look fine.

 

to each there own

 

If u are thinking of 35s now don't go with anything smaller or u will be dissapointed in no time.

If u go to 35s u can be guaranteed that u will lose power. U will want to factor in a regear shortly afterwards to bring back the factory feel of the engine performance.

My 2 cents.

Before I went to 35s I was looking at 33s and decided screw it I'm doing 35s off the start.

I have never regretted it.

 

if you plan on putting heavier bumpers, winch and other heavier after market stuff, you will without a doubt need to reager on 35's unless you like your engine red lining every time you hit the gas.

it cost me around 2k parts and labor to regear, but im in ny, you should be able to get in done a fair amount cheaper in Georgia, the labor anyway.

 

besides 6th gear 35's will have a big impact on how every other gear performs.

 

couple of things you should consider since you noted you were a college student. Your fuel bill will go up, you will not only loose performance but overall mileage at all levels with 35's and no regear, but the MT's will also affect your mileage, BFG lists them at a 4 for fuel efficeincy. A lot of people will tell you performance is acceptable but you have to decide for yourself how much performance loss and costs you are willing to accept.
IMO, the 3.8 is already on the lower end of power and I wouldn't want to loose performance and be fueling up more often.
The BFG's are a good tire, I've run them before and as long as you keep them rotated and aired properly you should be able to get a decent life out of them - all depends on your off-road aggressiveness.
Good luck on your search...