Mall Crawler , BB 2.5 ", 35's , 3.21 , no re-gear. My experience... so far.
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
From: MIA
Mall Crawler , BB 2.5 ", 35's , 3.21 , no re-gear. My experience... so far.
Hey everyone, thought I would share my experiences and maybe help someone out who was in the same boat as I. Gotta be some more people who just want a Jeep cause it's cool, right?
Background: I purchased 2012, JKU, Auto, 3.21, stock 16"s. Bought it new. I'm not off-roading, just wanted a fun vehicle. I had a CJ7 once upon a time when I was in high-school and had lots of fun wheeling and just a great car that isn't boring.
What does this mean? It means, I'm just doing things on the Jeep that are for fun and mostly aesthetics. No mudding, wheeling, off-roading. If I happen to go off-road somewhere, it's just small dirt trails. Nothing serious. I personally, don't even like to get my car dirty. I know...my friends with Jeeps just shake their heads at me. I'm just keeping it real.
So, with all the info - I knew I wanted to go 35's, it just looks great on the JKU.
I spent sooooo much time reading threads about gears, weight, lifts, tires, rims, back spacing, tuners, etc... I was very paranoid to make any changes.
Here's what I did:
Phase 1 - Lift install, and my thoughts. Install Terraflex Budget Boost, 2.5" - shock extenders.
Did this with my friend, and it took us 8 freaking hours. LOL! Not really hard, but the majority of the time we didn't have the right tools and kept referring to the instructions.
I heard so many issues of flightyness, wobble, steering, noise, etc... Here's what I found: I felt like the JKU drove about 98% as stock. I only said 98% since maybe there was a slight difference on the highway, but maybe I was just looking for something. I drove for almost 80 miles with windows up and no music. Hitting all types of traffic, highway, speed bumps, etc. Nothing.
* There was a noise on the 3rd day I believe, it was my fault. I didn't tighten the front trackbar correctly. That is now done, no issue.
I drove it with the stock 16" rims and tires (so sad), for about 800 miles. No problems. Time for rims/tires.
Phase 2 - Ordered myself a set of 17" XD Addicts, General Grabber AT2 - 315/70/17 from Discount Tire Direct. Great to deal with, they will order stuff if they don't have it online. (Like the tires I got, they didn't have them in stock, but they can get them for you.)
My thoughts on rims/tires - with all the noise about re-gearing, and MPG's, etc... I started noticing a trend on the forums here. MPG's change dramatically with the size/wieght of your wheel combo AND your driving style AND your intended use. Some people might be missing that when asking questions and/or answering questions.
Also, like I said, I was going for 99% on-road. Not wheeling. So my main objective was tire/rim weight, then looks. That about it.
I was about to go with Duratracs, since they weigh in at 60lbs. However, I called up DTD and the General Grabber AT2 (looks the same to me - sorry) weighs in at a few ounces less and is about $100 cheaper. Took a chance on that.
For rims, I was looking at the weight as well. XD Addicts in 17" are 25 lb's. Perfect, that's slightly less than my stock steel 16", which I believe comes in at 27 lb's.
That comes to about 85lb's per corner. I compared, for example, Xd Rockstar 35lb, and falken wild peak AT's (same size, just alot cheaper) and those were 74lb each. That would put me over 100lb per corner. If you've read up on unsprung wiehgt, that's alot. It's not just 15lb... google that: UNSPRUNG WEIGHT.
Got an amazing price, threw in the hub rings for free, nice valve stems, black lug nuts with lock, etc... arrived at my door. Very happy.
Phase 3 - Ordered Superchips Flashcal to correct speedo and Auto tranny shift points. By the way, did I miss something? Why is the AEV procal and Superchips Flashcall the same price? Do they do anything different? The AEV is just a box with dip switches, which I understand works just fine. However, the flashcal lets provides you with a backlight menu and you can view and
clear engine codes? Did I miss something?
Install Rims/Tires - did this myself with a jack. One tire/wheel at a time. No issues. First drive, after I calibrated my tranny with the FLASHCAL, I set the tire height to 34".
I can really feel the difference in he Jeep now. With the budget boost, I felt almost nothing. Adding the 35's, changes the dynamics of the Jeep for sure. Maybe in my head, but I was thinking I'm hitting the brakes a little harder and I'm feeling more bouncy-ness just driving around town. Jumped on the highway and hit 75mph, no issues, was about 2300-2400 range.
Next point. Re-gearing, the way I hear people talk about gears, they make it sound like it's a must. My advice to anyone. Place the money aside for a re-gear and upgrade your tires/rims and see what you can live with.
I drive like a grandpa, Im always in the green ECO zone - so this isn't that big of a deal. As long as I can cruise at 75MPH, I'm good. I drive mixed city/highway. Since I'm not wheeling, I don't see a re-gear in my future. At least not now. I do live in South Florida, so there are ZERO hills mountains. Just all flat nothingness... so I'm sure that's another big factor for people who upgrade and may need to re-gear.
Now I have some money leftover for Flat Fenders or Bumpers... deicsions... hahah..
To recap:
2012, JKU, Auto, 3.21, 315/70/17 General Grabber AT2, XD Addicts -12mm offset, Superchips Flashcal, 2.5" Budget Boost, Shock extensions.
So far, loving it, need to play around with the tire PSI a little more. Driving charaterics are 75% the same as stock. It's very mild. After a day or so of driving it, it feels normal to me agian.
Any questions, let me know. Maybe I can help? I'm sure there are other people out there like me who are just bored of the everyday cars and SUV's, and JEEP WRANGLER's are so much fun to MOD and use everyday. I think I'll keep this for a long long time. (I used to be
a LEASE guy, think I'll keep this one.)
Thanks, hope the ramblings of an IT NERD wasn't too bad.
Alex V.
Background: I purchased 2012, JKU, Auto, 3.21, stock 16"s. Bought it new. I'm not off-roading, just wanted a fun vehicle. I had a CJ7 once upon a time when I was in high-school and had lots of fun wheeling and just a great car that isn't boring.
What does this mean? It means, I'm just doing things on the Jeep that are for fun and mostly aesthetics. No mudding, wheeling, off-roading. If I happen to go off-road somewhere, it's just small dirt trails. Nothing serious. I personally, don't even like to get my car dirty. I know...my friends with Jeeps just shake their heads at me. I'm just keeping it real.
So, with all the info - I knew I wanted to go 35's, it just looks great on the JKU.
I spent sooooo much time reading threads about gears, weight, lifts, tires, rims, back spacing, tuners, etc... I was very paranoid to make any changes.
Here's what I did:
Phase 1 - Lift install, and my thoughts. Install Terraflex Budget Boost, 2.5" - shock extenders.
Did this with my friend, and it took us 8 freaking hours. LOL! Not really hard, but the majority of the time we didn't have the right tools and kept referring to the instructions.
I heard so many issues of flightyness, wobble, steering, noise, etc... Here's what I found: I felt like the JKU drove about 98% as stock. I only said 98% since maybe there was a slight difference on the highway, but maybe I was just looking for something. I drove for almost 80 miles with windows up and no music. Hitting all types of traffic, highway, speed bumps, etc. Nothing.
* There was a noise on the 3rd day I believe, it was my fault. I didn't tighten the front trackbar correctly. That is now done, no issue.
I drove it with the stock 16" rims and tires (so sad), for about 800 miles. No problems. Time for rims/tires.
Phase 2 - Ordered myself a set of 17" XD Addicts, General Grabber AT2 - 315/70/17 from Discount Tire Direct. Great to deal with, they will order stuff if they don't have it online. (Like the tires I got, they didn't have them in stock, but they can get them for you.)
My thoughts on rims/tires - with all the noise about re-gearing, and MPG's, etc... I started noticing a trend on the forums here. MPG's change dramatically with the size/wieght of your wheel combo AND your driving style AND your intended use. Some people might be missing that when asking questions and/or answering questions.
Also, like I said, I was going for 99% on-road. Not wheeling. So my main objective was tire/rim weight, then looks. That about it.
I was about to go with Duratracs, since they weigh in at 60lbs. However, I called up DTD and the General Grabber AT2 (looks the same to me - sorry) weighs in at a few ounces less and is about $100 cheaper. Took a chance on that.
For rims, I was looking at the weight as well. XD Addicts in 17" are 25 lb's. Perfect, that's slightly less than my stock steel 16", which I believe comes in at 27 lb's.
That comes to about 85lb's per corner. I compared, for example, Xd Rockstar 35lb, and falken wild peak AT's (same size, just alot cheaper) and those were 74lb each. That would put me over 100lb per corner. If you've read up on unsprung wiehgt, that's alot. It's not just 15lb... google that: UNSPRUNG WEIGHT.
Got an amazing price, threw in the hub rings for free, nice valve stems, black lug nuts with lock, etc... arrived at my door. Very happy.
Phase 3 - Ordered Superchips Flashcal to correct speedo and Auto tranny shift points. By the way, did I miss something? Why is the AEV procal and Superchips Flashcall the same price? Do they do anything different? The AEV is just a box with dip switches, which I understand works just fine. However, the flashcal lets provides you with a backlight menu and you can view and
clear engine codes? Did I miss something?
Install Rims/Tires - did this myself with a jack. One tire/wheel at a time. No issues. First drive, after I calibrated my tranny with the FLASHCAL, I set the tire height to 34".
I can really feel the difference in he Jeep now. With the budget boost, I felt almost nothing. Adding the 35's, changes the dynamics of the Jeep for sure. Maybe in my head, but I was thinking I'm hitting the brakes a little harder and I'm feeling more bouncy-ness just driving around town. Jumped on the highway and hit 75mph, no issues, was about 2300-2400 range.
Next point. Re-gearing, the way I hear people talk about gears, they make it sound like it's a must. My advice to anyone. Place the money aside for a re-gear and upgrade your tires/rims and see what you can live with.
I drive like a grandpa, Im always in the green ECO zone - so this isn't that big of a deal. As long as I can cruise at 75MPH, I'm good. I drive mixed city/highway. Since I'm not wheeling, I don't see a re-gear in my future. At least not now. I do live in South Florida, so there are ZERO hills mountains. Just all flat nothingness... so I'm sure that's another big factor for people who upgrade and may need to re-gear.
Now I have some money leftover for Flat Fenders or Bumpers... deicsions... hahah..
To recap:
2012, JKU, Auto, 3.21, 315/70/17 General Grabber AT2, XD Addicts -12mm offset, Superchips Flashcal, 2.5" Budget Boost, Shock extensions.
So far, loving it, need to play around with the tire PSI a little more. Driving charaterics are 75% the same as stock. It's very mild. After a day or so of driving it, it feels normal to me agian.
Any questions, let me know. Maybe I can help? I'm sure there are other people out there like me who are just bored of the everyday cars and SUV's, and JEEP WRANGLER's are so much fun to MOD and use everyday. I think I'll keep this for a long long time. (I used to be
Thanks, hope the ramblings of an IT NERD wasn't too bad.
Alex V.
JK Super Freak
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,236
Likes: 0
From: Pittsburgh, PA
That was a great and honest post. Thanks for sharing your experiences. It also makes me feel better about throwing my 35s on from my last JK instead of keeping the stock KMs w/ 3.73s. I was really thinking long and hard on it b
JK Newbie
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Great post. I have a question that I could use some help on. I have a 14 sahara unlimited that Has a Rancho 2" sport lift installed. What's the largest tire you would recommend ? I have 373 gears. Thanks
Hey everyone, thought I would share my experiences and maybe help someone out who was in the same boat as I. Gotta be some more people who just want a Jeep cause it's cool, right? Background: I purchased 2012, JKU, Auto, 3.21, stock 16"s. Bought it new. I'm not off-roading, just wanted a fun vehicle. I had a CJ7 once upon a time when I was in high-school and had lots of fun wheeling and just a great car that isn't boring. What does this mean? It means, I'm just doing things on the Jeep that are for fun and mostly aesthetics. No mudding, wheeling, off-roading. If I happen to go off-road somewhere, it's just small dirt trails. Nothing serious. I personally, don't even like to get my car dirty. I know...my friends with Jeeps just shake their heads at me. I'm just keeping it real. So, with all the info - I knew I wanted to go 35's, it just looks great on the JKU. I spent sooooo much time reading threads about gears, weight, lifts, tires, rims, back spacing, tuners, etc... I was very paranoid to make any changes. Here's what I did: Phase 1 - Lift install, and my thoughts. Install Terraflex Budget Boost, 2.5" - shock extenders. Did this with my friend, and it took us 8 freaking hours. LOL! Not really hard, but the majority of the time we didn't have the right tools and kept referring to the instructions. I heard so many issues of flightyness, wobble, steering, noise, etc... Here's what I found: I felt like the JKU drove about 98% as stock. I only said 98% since maybe there was a slight difference on the highway, but maybe I was just looking for something. I drove for almost 80 miles with windows up and no music. Hitting all types of traffic, highway, speed bumps, etc. Nothing. * There was a noise on the 3rd day I believe, it was my fault. I didn't tighten the front trackbar correctly. That is now done, no issue. I drove it with the stock 16" rims and tires (so sad), for about 800 miles. No problems. Time for rims/tires. Phase 2 - Ordered myself a set of 17" XD Addicts, General Grabber AT2 - 315/70/17 from Discount Tire Direct. Great to deal with, they will order stuff if they don't have it online. (Like the tires I got, they didn't have them in stock, but they can get them for you.) My thoughts on rims/tires - with all the noise about re-gearing, and MPG's, etc... I started noticing a trend on the forums here. MPG's change dramatically with the size/wieght of your wheel combo AND your driving style AND your intended use. Some people might be missing that when asking questions and/or answering questions. Also, like I said, I was going for 99% on-road. Not wheeling. So my main objective was tire/rim weight, then looks. That about it. I was about to go with Duratracs, since they weigh in at 60lbs. However, I called up DTD and the General Grabber AT2 (looks the same to me - sorry) weighs in at a few ounces less and is about $100 cheaper. Took a chance on that. For rims, I was looking at the weight as well. XD Addicts in 17" are 25 lb's. Perfect, that's slightly less than my stock steel 16", which I believe comes in at 27 lb's. That comes to about 85lb's per corner. I compared, for example, Xd Rockstar 35lb, and falken wild peak AT's (same size, just alot cheaper) and those were 74lb each. That would put me over 100lb per corner. If you've read up on unsprung wiehgt, that's alot. It's not just 15lb... google that: UNSPRUNG WEIGHT. Got an amazing price, threw in the hub rings for free, nice valve stems, black lug nuts with lock, etc... arrived at my door. Very happy. Phase 3 - Ordered Superchips Flashcal to correct speedo and Auto tranny shift points. By the way, did I miss something? Why is the AEV procal and Superchips Flashcall the same price? Do they do anything different? The AEV is just a box with dip switches, which I understand works just fine. However, the flashcal lets provides you with a backlight menu and you can view and clear engine codes? Did I miss something? Install Rims/Tires - did this myself with a jack. One tire/wheel at a time. No issues. First drive, after I calibrated my tranny with the FLASHCAL, I set the tire height to 34". I can really feel the difference in he Jeep now. With the budget boost, I felt almost nothing. Adding the 35's, changes the dynamics of the Jeep for sure. Maybe in my head, but I was thinking I'm hitting the brakes a little harder and I'm feeling more bouncy-ness just driving around town. Jumped on the highway and hit 75mph, no issues, was about 2300-2400 range. Next point. Re-gearing, the way I hear people talk about gears, they make it sound like it's a must. My advice to anyone. Place the money aside for a re-gear and upgrade your tires/rims and see what you can live with. I drive like a grandpa, Im always in the green ECO zone - so this isn't that big of a deal. As long as I can cruise at 75MPH, I'm good. I drive mixed city/highway. Since I'm not wheeling, I don't see a re-gear in my future. At least not now. I do live in South Florida, so there are ZERO hills mountains. Just all flat nothingness... so I'm sure that's another big factor for people who upgrade and may need to re-gear. Now I have some money leftover for Flat Fenders or Bumpers... deicsions... hahah.. To recap: 2012, JKU, Auto, 3.21, 315/70/17 General Grabber AT2, XD Addicts -12mm offset, Superchips Flashcal, 2.5" Budget Boost, Shock extensions. So far, loving it, need to play around with the tire PSI a little more. Driving charaterics are 75% the same as stock. It's very mild. After a day or so of driving it, it feels normal to me agian. Any questions, let me know. Maybe I can help? I'm sure there are other people out there like me who are just bored of the everyday cars and SUV's, and JEEP WRANGLER's are so much fun to MOD and use everyday. I think I'll keep this for a long long time. (I used to be <img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=586714"/><img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=586715"/><img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=586716"/><img src="http://www.jk-
Gforum.com/forums/attachment.php?
Grattachmentid=586717"/>a LEASE guy, think I'll keep this one.) Thanks, hope the ramblings of an IT NERD wasn't too bad. Alex V.
Gforum.com/forums/attachment.php?
Grattachmentid=586717"/>a LEASE guy, think I'll keep this one.) Thanks, hope the ramblings of an IT NERD wasn't too bad. Alex V.
Trending Topics
JK Newbie
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 62
Likes: 0
From: Geneva, Ohio
JK Newbie
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
I want to go with 35's but I'm a little hesitant that they won't clear on my current setup with only a 2" sport lift. Here's a pic of what I have for clearance with the stock tires and rims. I don't do much off roading it's mostly my DD. What do you think?
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
From: MIA