Hey guys.

I'm pretty new to this. i have an '09 4-door Rubicon. it is my first jeep, and therefore, the first time i will be modifying the lift and tires on my vehicle. i have been taken under the wing of a local jeep club and am learning most of what i know about off-roading and what not from them.

but here's my question... most of them are running TJ's with 4-5" lifts and 35" tires. they are telling me that i prolly shouldn't go with tires much bigger than 35" because they will be "too big." i assume they are talking about the risk of flipping with the higher center of gravity.

do any of you have any input on this??

on a side note:
i plan on putting a TeraFlex 4" or 6" long arm kit (for ground clearance purposes, due to the long wheel base of the 4-door).

i apologize if this has already been brought up, i know that it's a forum taboo to repost topics, but like i said...i'm a newbie

 

i think a moderate lift (4') with big tires is the way to go. while larger tires add more height, they also add more weight on the ground. is say go with 37+ if your budget allows.

the teraflex longarm is a good choice but stay with the 4" and i believe you will be very happy with its overall appearance and performance.


-shaun h

 

When people say that tires larger than 35's are too big, it is such a generic statement. In what aspect are they referring?

1. Too big and you won't have enough power to turn them? Easy fix, regear, power tuner, CAI....problem solved.

2. Too big and you will break parts? You can break those parts on 33s as well. In fact, it can be argued that you will break fewer parts on 36's since the Jeep will go over the terrain more easily and you won't have to dog it so much. Just easy on the skinny pedal, regardless of tire size. Problem solved.

3. Too big and will raise center of gravity too much? Remember these are TJ guys, right? They have to go with taller lifts to get the same size tires we can run with only a 2" lift. Also, often when we go with the bigger shoes, we change out the wheels too. We generally get wheels with more offset. Setting those tires out farther somewhat offsets the lift by lowering COG. Not to mention, a JK already has a lower COG than a TJ.

Hope this helps some. I say bolt on the 36"ers or larger!

 

plus it depends on the wheeling you do. Here in the appalachins 35's will take you just about anywhere. When you get somewhere you need a larger tire then a 35 then its time to cage it and throw some 60's under it or stronger 44's. I try not to tear mine up real bad so 35's keep me from getting stupid.

Just ask yourself what trails your going to run. I have a 2 door though. And 35's look GREAT on a 2 door. If i had a 4 door i probably would have wanted 37's.

 

Well, I don't think they were talking about COG or flipping. I think they mean you take more of a chance on breaking something when you go bigger than 35s. I personally believe that as you start to go bigger and bigger, the tires get heavier and heavier and will grab better and better. This starts to put more torque on moving parts and axles and such. Most people, if they want to go really big, start adding on more heavy duty componants that will compensate for this added torque so it's harder to break something.

 

37's would be fine just remember to gusset and sleeve that axle. regear and have fun!

i wish i would have went 37's now. i will go with a 37 on my next tire. i think a 4" will be plenty. you have more problems the higher you go and more money to spend.

 

you guys are awesome!
yeah, i suppose the 4" would be good with the 36-37" shoes. that's kind of what i was leaning toward originally.

what else did you guys do to prepare your JK to handle the bigger tires? just gears?

 

Another thing to keep in mind is if the guy's in your club are all running TJ's on 35's that is a different game than JK's on 35's.

If your not planning on re-gearing I would suggest 35's and stay light on you tire rim combo keeping the tires in the C load range. This is what I have

If you can regear go for the 37's

 

What about brakes? When I switched from the stock little pizza cutters to my current 35s, I noticed a big drop in braking performance. I doubt I could even ever get the ABS to trip anymore.

 

If you want to be practical tire size and lift should be dictated by the type of off roading you do, but that seems to be a rare pure motivator amongst us.

The TJ is a smaller Jeep than than the JK so the largest tire and lift it can accomodate with moderate modifications is going to be proportionally smaller than a JK.

Having owned a TJ, I would say that a 35" tire on that Jeep is about equivalent to a 37-38" on a JK. And it may be even closer to 33-34" tire on a TJ.